Letting Go Allows Abundance To Flow

Can we be spiritual and rich at the same time?

Many spiritual students confuse money and the attachment to money.

Money itself is just a tool or a convenience; a means by which energy takes shape temporarily before it transforms into something else.

The attachment to money, on the other hand, is the notion that money is the source of wealth, happiness, and fulfillment.  

It's the belief that our wealth and power lie outside of ourselves; in numbered pieces of paper or shiny clumps of metal.

This attachment leads to the belief that the means justifies the end.  It's an attitude that makes attaining money the purpose and reason for life. 

If we experience frustration and lack in this area, chances are we are acting from a place of need and attachment. 

When we are attached to money, we pursue it.

During this pursuit, life passes us by.  When life passes us by, we have sacrificed our true purpose (to live life to the fullest) for an empty and unfulfilling illusion.

I came to fully understand this whole idea of attachment to money one day when I was skateboarding through my neighborhood.

I often go cruising down the quiet suburban streets to get a breathe of fresh air, enjoy the day, and get the energy in the body moving.

This particular day, as I was enjoying the sights, sounds, and people, I happened to glance down and see a small shiny round object on the ground.

I stopped, got off my board and walked toward it.  It was a quarter.  Pleasantly surprised, I smiled and thanked the universe for this gift and kept on riding.

I had gone not even 50 feet and I saw another shiny round object on the ground.  This time a dime.  "Cool!" I thought to myself, and thanked the universe again.

I continued on my way, turned the corner and yet again I found another coin, a quarter!

I laughed to myself in happy amazement and kept riding. 

In the the span of about 10 minutes I found a total of 8 coins, nearly all of them in different spots. Three quarters, 2 dimes, and 3 pennies for a total of 98 cents.

It was almost unbelievable to find all these coins in such a short time when I wasn't even looking for them in the first place.

After the 8th coin, I began to notice a few things happen.  For one, I began to think "this is just too unusual, I'm getting too lucky."

It was like a subconscious closing off to receiving the gifts of the universe.  It was like my mind was giving me a reality check (and in the process blocking the miraculous).

It was as if my mind had reached a threshold of how many "lucky coins" I was mentally willing to accept into my concept of reality.

Secondly, I noticed that as I kept riding, I was no longer basking in the cool breeze, enjoying the unique personalities of each house, feeling joy at the natural arrangements of plants, trees, and people.

Instead, my eyes began to scan the ground, actively searching for the next coin; the next mini-treasure. 

My mind switched into acquire mode with the goal of finding and attaining more money.

Instead of being in a state of peace, joy and appreciation, a state of being in harmony with spirit and attracting abundance; I became consumed by this instinctual seeking, a state which neglected abundance and focused primarily on acquiring.  

My head was down as my attention became fixated on the passing gravel, potholes, and leaf-filled gutters.  Without coins, this world looked dark, barren, and unpleasant.  It lacked life, it lacked the vibrancy of spirit, of light and creation.

When I realized what had happened I snapped out of it.  I thought to myself, "Wow, I've lost track of what was truly valuable to me; the real reason I came out today.  I went for a ride to see the sights; to enjoy the beauty of creation as expressed in these plants, houses, and people; to feel the joy and exhilaration that comes from riding. 

The universe gave me a few gifts and since I was still attached to money, I got caught up in acquiring more.  This searching resulted in me neglecting the whole purpose of coming out in the first place.  And it also closed me off from receiving more."

Then that animal part of me argued its case, "No! I must keep looking for coins.  I might miss one if I am not looking down at the ground."

This brings up a key component to spiritual work; faith.  The ability to let go and trust the universe.

How did I first find the coin?  Was I deliberately searching for money by scanning the ground?  No.  I was enjoying the scenery, in a state of peace and I suddenly felt the urge to look down at the precise moment that I passed a coin on the ground.

The universe had nudged me to pick it up.

So now I could choose to turn over this chance of finding another coin to the universe and go on with observing the beauty around me, trusting that I will receive another nudge if I pass a coin; or I could choose to take matters into my own hands and actively scan the ground, neglecting my original purpose in riding and even put my own safety at risk (since I will not be watching for traffic as well while scanning the ground).

As much as I wanted to only look up and enjoy the ride like I had when I first started, it was a bit of a challenge.  The ego kept directing my eyes to the ground in search of money; almost addicted to possibility of the pleasure that comes from attaining it.  I had to consciously keep bringing my attention back up.

This story is a perfect anecdote for our life and our relationship with money (or anything else that gives us pleasure).

When we get a taste of something good, it's instinctual to begin to seek more of it.  Yet it is the seeking itself that drives it further away from us and leads us into suffering, lack, and unhappiness.

This is why I said fulfillment is found not through attainment but by letting go.  In the letting go, we are releasing our attachment to that which we have sought after. 

When the seeking is released, we come back to our inherent energy of peace, joy, and abundance.  It is in this state that all these gifts come to us.

Life is meant to be enjoyed and lived to the fullest.

As life gives us these wonderful gifts, we can allow ourselves to appreciate them in that moment.

When we realize that the source of our abundance is within and let go of attaching to any outside source, we are free to enjoy the simple and extravagant gifts that life has to offer. 

From here, we will be open to anything that comes our way.