Economic Misnomer

The word economics comes from the Greek word oikonomos meaning manager or steward. Or in other words the science of economics is the science of stewardship. That is a slightly different spin on things than you might have imagined.

Stewardship is an interesting word in that it does not have any connotations of ownership or control. Instead it is more generally used to refer to the act of taking care of something that belongs to someone else. A steward is someone who attends to the needs of another (i.e. a wine steward or a cabin steward). In essence, it is a form of service.

Loving Discipline

I am basking in the satisfaction of having completed my income tax filing this weekend. I am feeling quite organized and accomplished in my financial life having completed this task well in advance of the deadline. In my glow of triumph, I was sitting and thinking about how wonderful the fruits of discipline actually are.

Divine Ideas

Money never starts an idea; it is the idea that starts the money. W. J. Cameron

Have you noticed that when you get inspired by an idea, get a clear picture of the process and results, and pour your heart and soul into working toward that picture; that all sorts of people and resources suddenly appear to support you? From out of nowhere the right people, places and things are drawn to you. Somehow the money needed to move the idea forward seems to appear at exactly the right time? It is almost as if someone knows what your intentions are!

What Is

I have discovered that for most of our financial journey we deal with what we wish we had or did not have in our lives.  How many times do we sit and daydream about what we would do if we had more money?  Or wish that we knew how it would feel to not have so many bills to pay?  We either look forward to the promise or challenge of the future, or we long for or run from our past.  It is truly a rare gift to find someone able to sit comfortably with what is in their fiscal world.

Response Ability

How do you feel when you sit down to pay your bills each month? Most of the people I know think of money as a burden. For many of us, finances cause us extreme stress and consternation. Consequently, often we are in a hurry to hand over responsibility for our money to someone else: the bank, our spouse, or our financial advisor. While there is nothing wrong with seeking advice from others, at the end of the day we must take complete ownership for how we use our resources.

Intention Attention

Money is the visible sign of a universal force, and this force in its manifestation on earth works on the vital and physical planes and is indispensable to the fullness of the outer life. In its origin and its true action it belongs to the Divine.
-Sri Aurobindo

This statement certainly gives us the opportunity to pause and reflect. “Money is ... indispensable to the fullness of the outer life.” What exactly does this mean?

For the Love of Money

I always find it fascinating that most spiritual people are so quick to dismiss money and finance as part of the seeker’s life and journey. It seems to me that this reticence to deal with the issue of money is more a reflection of our discomfort with money, than the nature of money itself. I know that we have all been taught that the Bible that money is the root of all evil.

In fact, most religious and spiritual traditions say that the love of money is the root of all evil.