Your Wealth

  Written by Philip Watson

Money: a mirror for self-reflection

Like it or not, money is a big part of life in this post-postmodern 21st century. So much so that it can’t help but be a powerful mirror for how we see the world and ourselves.

Put differently: tell me how you view money and wealth and I’ll probably learn a lot about how you’re relating to yourself and to life.

An empowered approach

A Relateful approach to wealth recognizes that in a very real sense we are co-creating our experience of abundance (or lack thereof). We distinguish abundance from dollars in your wallet. We’re always invited, just as in a Relatefulness session, to “claim our experience,” meaning we can always choose to see ourselves as causative of our relationship with our financial circumstances.

And it asks us to see that, whatever our current experience of money and wealth, we are already loved completely by Life/Spirit/God/The Universe and therefore are never guilty of “falling short” or “getting it wrong,” no matter how much we might want to believe that’s the case. We try on the perspective that in every moment we have the option to make new choices, take more responsibility for our relationship to money, and take action in ways that are more aligned with a life of truth, goodness and beauty.

Shifting perspectives for a healthier relationship with money

One aspect of doing this “work” involves looking squarely at our relationship to money and finances. For many of us, this can mean facing some uncomfortable truths, maybe for the first time. Do I see money as the “root of all evil”? Am I addicted to thinking about my finances, obsessing over every expense and over how to increase my income? Or do I try to ignore money and finance entirely, naively “hoping for the best” even though I often find myself on the brink of penury?

Whatever our relationship to money, the key is to start by seeing it clearly, without problematizing it or making it wrong. And from this place of honest intimacy, we can begin to shift into ways of seeing and ways of being that feel healthier and like a more true expression of the abundant universe we find ourselves in and which we ultimately are.

We can also look at how money is never really an end in itself, but rather a means to a multiplicity of ends that are as unique as each one of us, and also rather universal. What is it that we believe we’ll obtain if we get more money? Security or power, respect or success, altruistic capacity or freedom? What does wealth mean to you, and what is it that you believe money will bring you? How are those things already showing up in your life, right now?

Seeing all the ways in which we are already wealthy

Another aspect of Relateful wealth consciousness is relaxing into seeing all the ways in which we are already wealthy, regardless of our financial circumstances. Do you own a smartphone or a computer? You’re already wealthier in connectivity, processing power and access to information than the richest person in the world was just a few decades ago. Are you a Relatefulness practitioner? You’re likely already experiencing a depth of intimacy and connection with others (often with “strangers” you’ve just met) that many people deeply long for (including many who are financially very well-off). Do you have access to clean running water, 24/7 electricity and know where your next meals are coming from? You’re more fortunate than several billion people in the world today.

Realizing the ultimate form of wealth

We also keep discovering how rich our relationships can be. When we dare to bring more truth and love into any connection we find that any interaction can be a treasure trove of presence, discovery and even co-awakening from the numbness of the mundane into the radiant miracle that each moment truly is. In this sense, every single relationship is always available for us to be more full and free together, to realize and express our always-already perfection and quirky uniqueness ever more vibrantly. We can come to see that our very existence, our “precious human birth” as the Buddhists like to put it, is in and of itself the ultimate form of wealth and abundance. The mere fact that we exist in this physical form, able to feel, think, love, lose, grow, transform, learn, teach, give, receive, serve and so much more, already means that we’ve hit the ultimate jackpot.

For more on money & wealth, check out Beyond Money, our self-paced online course: