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Post by Peter on May 29, 2009 6:42:22 GMT -5
The topic of money as a spiritual asset came up on the board this week Money as a spiritual commodity is an interesting discussion, I've heard a few people talk about it as condensed energy. I came across this talk by Corinne McLaughlin www.sevenray.net/sri_audio_corinne.html "Money as a Spiritual Asset" which I listened to because I noticed I was highly resistant to the title. As a (part time) healer, something that often gets discussed in my field is the need for exchange with the client. Many Reiki practitioners argue that it is a requirement to receive some sort of payment - which balances the transaction - and that the treatment is even less effective without it. See middle section of this page: www.aetw.org/reiki_ifaq4.htmAnd this article was very relevant for me: www.wisechoices.com/reiki_articles_exchange.aspSo the question is: Is energy balance important in our dealings or is it important to give unconditionally without expectation of return? In the context of this board, if we have an interaction of two seekers sharing the fruits of their labours then I would see that as being in balance. But if someone comes in to give a teaching, then is that a gift without expectation of return or is it one half of a transaction? |
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Post by stardustpilgrim on Oct 10, 2022 13:25:41 GMT -5
...........bumped.......... The topic of money as a spiritual asset came up on the board this week Money as a spiritual commodity is an interesting discussion, I've heard a few people talk about it as condensed energy. I came across this talk by Corinne McLaughlin www.sevenray.net/sri_audio_corinne.html "Money as a Spiritual Asset" which I listened to because I noticed I was highly resistant to the title. As a (part time) healer, something that often gets discussed in my field is the need for exchange with the client. Many Reiki practitioners argue that it is a requirement to receive some sort of payment - which balances the transaction - and that the treatment is even less effective without it. See middle section of this page: www.aetw.org/reiki_ifaq4.htmAnd this article was very relevant for me: www.wisechoices.com/reiki_articles_exchange.aspSo the question is: Is energy balance important in our dealings or is it important to give unconditionally without expectation of return? In the context of this board, if we have an interaction of two seekers sharing the fruits of their labours then I would see that as being in balance. But if someone comes in to give a teaching, then is that a gift without expectation of return or is it one half of a transaction? |
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Post by japhy on Oct 29, 2022 18:10:50 GMT -5
...........bumped.......... The topic of money as a spiritual asset came up on the board this week As a (part time) healer, something that often gets discussed in my field is the need for exchange with the client. Many Reiki practitioners argue that it is a requirement to receive some sort of payment - which balances the transaction - and that the treatment is even less effective without it. See middle section of this page: www.aetw.org/reiki_ifaq4.htmAnd this article was very relevant for me: www.wisechoices.com/reiki_articles_exchange.aspSo the question is: Is energy balance important in our dealings or is it important to give unconditionally without expectation of return? In the context of this board, if we have an interaction of two seekers sharing the fruits of their labours then I would see that as being in balance. But if someone comes in to give a teaching, then is that a gift without expectation of return or is it one half of a transaction? This topic used to trigger me a fair bit. I once got in an argument with ZD (whom I respect a lot) about it. Recently I have become more relaxed. Ideally I find it beautiful if teachings are offered free of charge / on donation basis, but then that is not always possible. For the Zen teachers I deal with, usually normal sitting during the week is free although there is a basket for donations or one can become a member and pay a membership fee (both is not strictly required and never talked about by the teacher, but there might be a note on the website or such). Longer retreats usually have a fixed price (food and accommodation also need to be paid plus some fee for the teacher usually), but they always say that nobody should not take part for financial reasons. Usually you can ask them for a discounted price and they give you some extra (kitchen) work or something like that. |
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park
Junior Member
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Post by park on Nov 15, 2022 13:42:08 GMT -5
That's an interesting question to contemplate.
I have found that if I help selflessly, not expecting anything in return, and actually WANT to help in this way, in the sense that it is not a great drain on my energy, I DO receive compensation in the form of that warm-fuzzy feeling of having done something good, and happiness & joy. An example might be when I put in quite some energy to organize that a struggling young son of a friend receive a postcard from Antarctica. How cool is that - I felt great joy all week! Even if he paid me a sizeable amount, I would NOT have felt equally good, so it is me who should be grateful.
But then there are examples where I am asked to help but it is a great drain on energy. An example might be my friends asking me to language-edit their (often long) articles. I find this tedious, I do it because I like to help friends, and they help me, but it's definitely a drain on energy.
I'd say that yes, there should be compensation, because otherwise even the greatest and most selfless saint will eventually give up, but that compensation need not be monetary or otherwise provided by the "helped"... it can come from inside the giver.. and that is all for the better I'd say.
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Post by lolly on Nov 16, 2022 3:27:17 GMT -5
The topic of money as a spiritual asset came up on the board this week Money as a spiritual commodity is an interesting discussion, I've heard a few people talk about it as condensed energy. I came across this talk by Corinne McLaughlin www.sevenray.net/sri_audio_corinne.html "Money as a Spiritual Asset" which I listened to because I noticed I was highly resistant to the title. important to give unconditionally without expectation of return? This. |
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Post by zendancer on Nov 16, 2022 6:43:07 GMT -5
The topic of money as a spiritual asset came up on the board this week As a (part time) healer, something that often gets discussed in my field is the need for exchange with the client. Many Reiki practitioners argue that it is a requirement to receive some sort of payment - which balances the transaction - and that the treatment is even less effective without it. See middle section of this page: www.aetw.org/reiki_ifaq4.htmAnd this article was very relevant for me: www.wisechoices.com/reiki_articles_exchange.aspSo the question is: Is energy balance important in our dealings or is it important to give unconditionally without expectation of return? In the context of this board, if we have an interaction of two seekers sharing the fruits of their labours then I would see that as being in balance. But if someone comes in to give a teaching, then is that a gift without expectation of return or is it one half of a transaction? expectations are never good I find obstacles with people fall away when you don't want anything from them and if you genuinely care about them Agreed. |
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Post by zendancer on Nov 16, 2022 7:42:52 GMT -5
...........bumped.......... This topic used to trigger me a fair bit. I once got in an argument with ZD (whom I respect a lot) about it. Recently I have become more relaxed. Ideally I find it beautiful if teachings are offered free of charge / on donation basis, but then that is not always possible. For the Zen teachers I deal with, usually normal sitting during the week is free although there is a basket for donations or one can become a member and pay a membership fee (both is not strictly required and never talked about by the teacher, but there might be a note on the website or such). Longer retreats usually have a fixed price (food and accommodation also need to be paid plus some fee for the teacher usually), but they always say that nobody should not take part for financial reasons. Usually you can ask them for a discounted price and they give you some extra (kitchen) work or something like that. What did we argue about? I can't remember.  Every human and every situation is unique. Some ND teachers are NOT financially independent and depend upon donations to survive in the same way that school teachers need an income. Some ND teachers have "outside" sources of income and can offer satsangs for free. Some ND teachers, such as Adyashanti, Gangaji, etc. have foundations established by their followers that pay for all expenses. In the past I would accept reimbursement for long-distance travel expenses only, but it always felt too distasteful to accept payment for pointing people to the Absolute, and I always donated any honorarium to the organization hosting an event. These days I never accept payment of any kind because pointing to the truth and explaining how to escape the consensus paradigm is an extremely enjoyable activity, and I consider any invitation to speak about ND a wonderful opportunity. One of the Buddhist precepts for monks taking advanced vows of renunciation is to never handle money at all. That might've been an appropriate precept in a Buddhist country where monks begged for food and lived in monasteries for free (monasteries supported by the donations of laypeople), but that model seems absurd in contemporary non-Buddhist societies. I even think that Buddhist societies should abolish begging and require monks to get a job and earn their keep. It seems ironic that money is such a huge stumbling block for many people to whom spirituality is important. Money only has a few uses. It can be saved, invested, spent, or given away, and giving it away to help people with no expectation of anything in return is tons of fun. I can highly recommend it. There seems to be some sort of cosmic law that if money (or help of any kind) is freely given with no expectation of anything in return, it will return in spades and can be given away again and again.  |
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Post by zazeniac on Nov 16, 2022 10:48:01 GMT -5
Survived another hurricane, Nicole. Such a forceful lady. Got to watch Artemis take off, up close. Turned the night into day. It was so freaking awesome.
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Post by zendancer on Nov 16, 2022 12:28:55 GMT -5
Survived another hurricane, Nicole. Such a forceful lady. Got to watch Artemis take off, up close. Turned the night into day. It was so freaking awesome. Yep. Nicole turned out to be a lot nastier than first anticipated. You must live close to the Cape. My brother is the CBS guy who reports on space news, and it is truly mind-boggling to watch the big rockets take off. The last shuttle launch I watched was at night from the top story of the CBS tower (about 3 miles from ground zero), and it was amazing. If I remember correctly, Artemis had 7 million pounds of thrust and is the most powerful rocket ever launched. I would love to have seen that in person. |
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Post by zazeniac on Nov 16, 2022 13:00:58 GMT -5
Survived another hurricane, Nicole. Such a forceful lady. Got to watch Artemis take off, up close. Turned the night into day. It was so freaking awesome. Yep. Nicole turned out to be a lot nastier than first anticipated. You must live close to the Cape. My brother is the CBS guy who reports on space news, and it is truly mind-boggling to watch the big rockets take off. The last shuttle launch I watched was at night from the top story of the CBS tower (about 3 miles from ground zero), and it was amazing. If I remember correctly, Artemis had 7 million pounds of thrust and is the most powerful rocket ever launched. I would love to have seen that in person. Yes. I live near Cape Canaveral. Still have friends who work there. Got in pretty close. It was magnificent. 8.8 million lbs of thrust. It launched at 1:48 am. |
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Post by zendancer on Nov 16, 2022 15:08:35 GMT -5
Yep. Nicole turned out to be a lot nastier than first anticipated. You must live close to the Cape. My brother is the CBS guy who reports on space news, and it is truly mind-boggling to watch the big rockets take off. The last shuttle launch I watched was at night from the top story of the CBS tower (about 3 miles from ground zero), and it was amazing. If I remember correctly, Artemis had 7 million pounds of thrust and is the most powerful rocket ever launched. I would love to have seen that in person. Yes. I live near Cape Canaveral. Still have friends who work there. Got in pretty close. It was magnificent. 8.8 million lbs of thrust. It launched at 1:48 am. Wonderful! The 7 million pounds of thrust I was remembering was probably the Saturn 5. This baby was bigger. Thanks. |
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Money as a spiritual commodity is an interesting discussion, I've heard a few people talk about it as condensed energy. I came across this talk by Corinne McLaughlin www.sevenray.net/sri_audio_corinne.html "Money as a Spiritual Asset" which I listened to because I noticed I was highly resistant to the title. 
