Money + Prosperity Are Not What We Think They Are
Image: Ron Arad
Prosperity: being able to create and enjoy a life that nourishes and fulfils us
Money: a tool to help us do that
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We all know that money is a man-made concept. It is not something that exists in nature. Because of this, money is usually seen as something that’s not spiritual. And yet I think there are few things that are as spiritual as healing and stepping into our power with money.
Doing so means unwinding the many layers of conditioning which create the structure of our reality and disconnect us from our authenticity and pure potential. To illustrate, let’s look at how much the following types of conditioning impact the way we see and relate to money (and therefore define the container for how much prosperity we can attract in):
Family conditioning
First- or second-generation immigrant families = security is most valued. Money comes from working hard and securing a stable, well paid job. There can be guilt around spending or enjoying money
Upbringing with scarcity/poverty = survival is the main theme. You have to fight for money, there is never enough money.
Affluent families/families with generational wealth = money comes from multiple sources (investments, property, business ventures etc), the importance of having passive income is ingrained.
Families with generational trauma/hardship = underlying money fears. Can still be operating from a survival state with money even when financially stable or well-off.
Generational conditioning
Older generations = structure is emphasised: to make money you have to get a degree, find a job and climb the corporate ladder. You stay in the same career for most of your life. You can pursue a more creative career but if you want to be successful you have to first be accepted by the gatekeepers of the industry (e.g. be signed by a publisher, label or agency).
Younger generations (Gen Z and late millennials) = money can be made from the digital space (social media, blogs, online products/businesses etc). Creativity and ingenuity are emphasised. Your career is more fluid and attaching yourself to an employer or job title is less ingrained.
Religious/spiritual conditioning
Hippie or spiritual community = material wants and needs are de-emphasised while spiritual values are elevated. You need just enough money to get by, wanting more is a sign of ego.
Cultural/political conditioning
Post-communist countries = education is highly valued, there is less openness to making money through entrepreneurship or the arts (this is obviously different for the younger generations)
Consumer capitalist countries = wealth is put on a pedestal. You earn money so that you can buy things that will enhance your desirability, status or happiness.
You probably recognised some of yourself in these descriptions.
All these influences, plus our personal life experiences, combine to create our money reality. Simply put, if what we observed, experienced and were taught was predominately empowering and expansive then we will find that we attract money and prosperity with ease. If on the other hand, the messaging was fearful and limiting, or contradictory (i.e. both positive and negative messages) then we will have a harder time.
BUT we can change that.
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In my own life, I’ve had to undo so many deeply ingrained beliefs and assumptions so that I could change my relationship to money and prosperity.
Although I didn’t think I was a person who had much baggage around money, when I finished my studies and got my first professional job I was met with the reality of my programming. The work was boring, I felt empty and purposeless, and I would spent a lot of my paycheck on clothes and going out to distract myself from my feelings.
I had strayed so far from my own authenticity and now I was faced with the option of either staying stuck or evolving. These are some of the specific beliefs that I had to heal and reprogram so that I could own my power:
Belief: The only way to earn good money is in a corporate job
My path in my early/mid 20s was very academic. I spent over 6 years at university including 3 years at law school. At law school there was an intense emphasis drilled in us on getting a job with a top-tier law firm upon graduation. It was seen and sold to us as a golden ticket to success (never mind the stories of crazy hours, toxic workplace cultures and the high rates of burnout!)
The idea of having my own business and being an entrepreneur didn’t even cross my mind as it felt so foreign. I associated business as belonging to the realm of mostly older men. No one in my family had their own business and it seemed like something that was only for risk-takers.
It was the rise in blogs and social media that changed the way I saw this. Being exposed to young, female entrepreneurs online helped to expand my subconscious beliefs of what was possible and made the business world seem less exclusionary and intimidating. Seeing people who were doing something creative or working in the wellness space improving people’s lives and being paid more than lawyers therefore fundamentally shifted my perspective of what success looked like.
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Belief: Being rich makes you cold and inauthentic
This was quite a sneaky belief that took me a long time to become aware of.
I came to Australia from war-torn Bosnia at 5 years old with my parents, younger brother and two suitcases containing all our belongings. Although the first few years were hard, growing up I don’t remember feeling disadvantaged. My parents did everything they could to provide for us and we went on holidays, ate out at restaurants, and received gifts for Christmas and our birthdays. So I didn’t think that I had any particular hangups around money and wealth.
It was through a joke I realised that wasn’t the case.
You see, a few months into my relationship with my Norwegian boyfriend I noticed I kept making teasing comparisons between Northern Europeans and Southern Europeans. The jokes were based upon the premise that Northern Europeans were affluent, yet they lacked the warmth, depth and heart of Southern Europeans. And Southern Europeans while poor, a little rough around the edges and chaotic, had these other qualities which were more important.
After making one too many of these jokes, I realised they weren’t in fact jokes for me. In my mind, wealth was something that I believed made people cold, detached from others, and even a little soulless. While being of a humble background made you more real and relatable.
I could see how this created a barrier for me with money – I didn’t want to be one of ‘those’ people so I didn’t feel comfortable having more money than I needed. Which in practice meant that when I did have something extra I would feel compelled to spend it.
Once I became aware of this belief, I was able to question some of my biases against money and wealth. I could see that while wealth did make some people more snobby and detached, there were also wealthy people who were kind, down-to-earth and warm, just as there were many less well-off people who were judgemental and inauthentic.
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Belief: A degree and professional experience are your financial safeguards
This was a limiting belief that I had to overcome the hard way. As I mentioned, as soon as I started working in law it become clear to me that it was not what I wanted to be doing. However I pushed aside my feelings as I believed the smart and responsible things to do was to build my CV. So this is what I did, until... the pandemic happened.
At the time, I was living in London and had just finished up a well-paid contract role at a bank. Almost overnight all the job offers and opportunities seemed to dry up, and because I was living abroad I wasn’t actually eligible for any unemployment payments. Being unable to find work in my field for months on end and not being able to rely on government support either (which I took for granted as a backup option while living in Australia), was a huge lesson for me.
In my mind, security came from an employer, and if not an employer, then the government and the social safety net. However the experience of having the rug pulled out from under me showed me that we can’t place all our reliance (and power) on external sources of security, whether it be an employer, partner, parent or the government. Our security has to come from within – from our own resourcefulness, creativity and skills.
When we are tethered to an internal source of security, we can navigate the challenges that come our way with much more ease and trust. Instead of falling into fear or panic when unexpected financial challenges arise, we can tap into our intuitive guidance to understand the next step we need to take and see possibilities where others would not think to look.
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I hope sharing my experiences has prompted to reflect on some of your own ingrained money stories and beliefs and how they are playing out in your life. If you want to dive deeper you can download the free Energetics of Money + Prosperity 6-page guide which distills the 7 different expressions and dimensions of money (and the inner blocks that stand between us and our vision) and explore our online workshop.
— Kat