“I don’t care too much for money; money can’t buy me love.” —The Beatles

Can a person have both wealth and a connection to spirit?  Sages and ordinary people have considered this question for centuries.

Jesus is credited with saying that an elephant could fit through the eye of a needle more easily than a rich man could go to heaven. The Christian Bible urges followers to give their money to the poor.
Jews are urged to give away some, but not all, of their money. Poverty is not a virtue. The distress of poverty can make people lose sight of their spiritual sides and can undermine their self-confidence and self-esteem. People cannot contribute to the life of the community from an impoverished, victimized position.

The medieval Jewish philosopher Maimonides held that material wealth is useless as an end in itself, but can be useful in the pursuit of greater spirituality. Judaism asserts that seeking wealth is a noble pursuit if the money is used to perform good deeds and no one is hurt in the quest for wealth. Money is not inherently bad; it doesn’t necessarily interfere with the spiritual life, but it’s surely not the source of it.  Money is of limited use because value and security can only come from within, not from an external, material source.

The Buddha taught, “If you have little, give little; if you own a middling amount, give middling amount; if you have much, give much. It is not fitting not to give at all…I say to you, share your wealth, use it. Tread the path of the Noble Ones. One who eats alone eats unhappily.”

Buddhism views material wealth as a source of desire and attachment, which are detrimental to spiritual growth. But poverty can also become an attachment when it is pursued intentionally or on principle. Buddhism eschews poverty if it adds to the inherent suffering of life.

If there is one common theme among the disparate philosophies, it is that money cannot create spirit.  But can a person pursue both wealth and a spiritual life in one lifetime? Can material wealth and spirituality exist together or does money destroy spirit?

I have seen many virtuous people give so much of themselves to other people that they have forgotten how to give to themselves. There is too much guilt around having an abundance of money. As a result many people create lives whereby they have none.

Money isn’t the totality of wealth but think not you can grow to your full spiritual capabilities without money because you can’t. You can’t study different cultures, read books, do courses without it.

Are Martyrs anymore spiritual than financially abundant people whom set up schools in third world countries?

Food for thought.

Love light and vegemite

Lis

I had a reading done by Jafree a year ago. What did I learn? That there’’s 20,000 people in the world that are in my “soul group” (soul mates), that I should live near water, that I”ve met a few guys in my soul group but they didn”t match up to my ego’’s perception of what I thought I was looking for. That I need to quieten my mind.. (Monkey Zap works really well for that.) He said I have a natural talent for knowing what will sell. He’’s right, I do. Overall I did get some value from it. My soul seemed to have a lot to say to my mind.. It wasn”t specific information like “you”ll meet a tall dark-haired man” but that’’s not why I went. If you”re interested in the bigger picture I recommend you get an Akashic reading.

Love light and Vegemite

Lis