Conscious Choice: Money as Energy

October 2003 | Body & Mind Health

Money as Energy

by Julia Mossbridge

Like many first-time authors, I check my book’s rating on Amazon.com several times a week. That’s a lie, of course. Several times a day is more like it, but still a lie. The truth is there have been days when I’ve checked more than several times a minute.

When I recently sneaked a peek during a burst of procrastination, I noticed that, in its infinite wisdom, Amazon had paired my book with an equally popular book about prosperity consciousness — using your awareness to attract money into your life. They had a deal where you buy the book together with my book and save money (so apparently the book could start working even before you read it!).

The title of my companion book was Money is Love. At first glance, I felt repulsed by the title. My instincts said that in this greed-stricken culture, it’s hard enough to counteract the media onslaught telling us that Money is Success, Money is Power, and Money is Happiness. I don’t see a reason to confuse the money issue by considering whether it equals love.

But after my abrupt dismissal of the book, I felt a wave of what I call "spiritual correctness" wash through me. I realized I was gathering unwanted bad karma by dismissing this other book. My auric field pulsed with remorse as I knew it was wrong to reject a fellow author’s message. Spiritual correctness insisted there must be a lesson in this for me: my book was paired with Money is Love for a reason, and until I understood it I would be haunted by the title evermore.

I ordered the book to see if I could learn the lesson. As I started reading the book, I relaxed a little bit. The author was not trying to get people to believe that money is a good substitute for love. Instead, the book is about learning to see money as an extension of loving energy — the stuff that permeates the universe.

But I still had a problem with prosperity consciousness in general. I’ve always seen prosperity consciousness as a movement telling me that it is my birthright to be wealthy, and I’ve always had trouble separating this idea from simple greed. Thinking back on my experiences with money, I began to explore the difference between greed and prosperity consciousness.

One thing I’ve noticed is that when I focus on money for its own sake, I don’t get money. I’ve prayed prosperity prayers, I’ve meditated by focusing on the warm glow of gold, I’ve carried prosperity amulets, I’ve even dabbed on "quick cash" aromatherapy potions. The result of each of these money-focused actions has been the same experience: I remain focused on money and still feel like I don’t have enough of it.

In contrast, my most prosperous experiences have happened when I earnestly ask for the right path to become clear and for money to be provided as it best supports that path. For example, when I wanted to go back to graduate school to complete my Ph.D., I prayed for acceptance into the graduate program as well as money that would allow me to remain in school. I made the assumption that if going back to school weren’t the best path, I wouldn’t get the money to support it. In a few weeks, I was accepted and received a full tuition waiver and stipend — a rousing yes pointing me in the direction of my chosen path. In this case, I let money act in a supporting role, not as a star player in its own drama.

These two kinds of experiences seem to illustrate the difference between greed and prosperity consciousness. As soon as we see money as an object in its own right, it can be stolen, horded, and worshiped. Greed depends on money being experienced as a noun — a thing that sits in stacks and stays there. But prosperity consciousness, in its best form, is seeing money as a verb — an energy that flows continuously from hand to hand in support of transformation, growth, and love.

Greed and prosperity consciousness also have different influences on our ability to give charitably. Greed makes us think we’re safe when we get enough money. The problem is, greed also tells us we never have enough, so we can’t give any away. Prosperity consciousness, on the other hand, tells us that safety arises from our trust in the Universe to provide for us when the time is right. When we experience prosperity consciousness, we strengthen this trust by sharing money with others, becoming part of the continuous flow that, in the best case, serves everyone.

Okay, I think I’ve learned my lesson about my companion book. Now, how can I get paired up with a number one bestseller?

Julia Mossbridge, a Chicago-based writer, is also a mother, cognitive neuroscientist, and author of Unfolding: The Perpetual Science of Your Soul’s Work (New World Library www.unfolding.org).

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