Your Spiritual Path - Only $29.99
by Jeffrey Pierce

Spirituality and money do not share common ground. They don't speak the same language, share the same philosophy, and shouldn't even be considered in the same train of thought. Money is a selfish, greedy concept, rooted in fear and used exclusively to ensure a fair exchange of value in a commercial transaction. It says, "I am offering you a product. This is that product's value. Before you can receive it, you must first give me something of equal value."

For that message to come from a spiritual teacher of any path is truly messed up.

The Role of a Spiritual Teacher

A teacher acts as a representative of the material they teach. While a passionate vegan may be able to teach you how to grill a steak, chances are they won't possess any of the finer nuances of the craft. They won't understand how it tastes, won't be able to demonstrate the flavor or share the experience with you. That Texas rancher who raises small, closely tended herds of organic free range cattle? The one with the custom-built grill who can recite the recipes for seventeen dry rubs off the top of his head and will tell you which will best compliment the side dishes you're serving? That is who you want to teach you how to grill a steak, regardless of the vegan's credentials. They know where you're coming from. They can feel what you're saying and you can feel their response. They aren't standing at the head of a class, but beside you at the grill, cutting off a portion and sharing that first taste of discovery with you.

In the same manner, a spiritual teacher should embody the material they teach. Does the Divine require an equal exchange of energy? Does compassion? Or love? If you bring me a god that comes with a price tag, that is a god that I will never follow. Show me a representative of the sacred that is willing to love me first, despite my flaws, just because I'm part of their extended sacred family, who is willing to give simply because, as a spiritual teacher, they are teaching things of Spirit and do their best to embody that path, and I'll stop and listen.

See, the problem is that a spiritual teacher is a lot like a parent. Parents don't charge their family for meals. In the same manner a spiritual teacher simply gives. Period. Spirit provides. So does a job outside of the path we teach. Do you really think that the divine will let a teacher out-give the blessings that Spirit is willing to provide that teacher with? The rule of thumb is, "Give freely from your surplus." A spiritual teacher does not need their teachings to survive. By its very definition, everything that a spiritual teacher can offer you is part of their personal surplus. To charge for that surplus has nothing to do with Spirit, but is greed plain and simple.

Overcoming Greed

Greed is so much a part of our culture, that we think of it as the way things should be. Our entire culture is measured not by the relative joy, prosperity, and health of our neighbors, but by how much we have ourselves. We are obsessed with our next vacation, our next new car, our next shopping trip. We are so obsessed with money, that we have phrases like “retail therapy” and “buyer's remorse.” We have catchphrases like “Keeping Up With the Joneses” that are used in many parts of the English-speaking world. None of that has anything to do with Spirit. A spiritual teacher that truly "walks the talk" holds a position that is far above concepts like wealth, money, and greed.

There's a story that I was taught while studying shamanism. I don't remember the Native People that it came from, but in the story one hunter (we'll call him Gary) loans another (we'll call him Joe) his spare bow. Joe is so taken with the weapon, that he fails to return it. After a series of events, Gary comes with some of the elders of the tribe to reclaim his possession – at which time Joe talks of how the bow's craftsmanship is far superior to anything he could make on his own. Not only is it a beautiful weapon, but its accuracy and the pride that it gives the hunter who borrowed it makes him a better hunter.

It's at this point in the story that Gary, the rightful owner of the bow in our eyes, apologizes to Joe. “It was your bow all along,” he says. “I was simply holding it for you.”

A spiritual teacher understands that concept. Sure it was Gary's bow. He gathered the materials, crafted the bow and honed it until it was just perfect. There was an understanding in place when Gary loaned Joe the bow that it would be returned. When Joe's spirit as a hunter connected with the bow, Gary realized that the connection with Spirit trumped any connection Gary had with the material bow. Wha'ts more is that it was Gary's spare bow. Only being able to use one bow at a time, it represented a surplus and Joe had a need. The reason that Gary apologized to Joe is because Gary had initially lost sight of what was truly important.

Now extend that concept to your spiritual path. Imagine that a teacher insists that you part with your material money or they cannot give help you deepen your connection with Spirit. I think you understand the problem.

Joseph Campbell said, “Money is congealed energy, and releasing it releases life possibilities.” Those of us who walk a mystical path would no sooner work selfish, self-centered magick than we would twist a curse. We would never draw energy from others to blindly benefit ourselves, especially when the others in our Circle were suffering. Yet, if Joseph Campbell is right, if money is congealed energy, then we do exactly that on a very regular basis.

Who Do You Turn Away?

Think of it this way. Imagine we had a village of 100 people and gave each person $1,500 USD to live on for a month (and I personally know people who survive each month on that amount or less). This amount includes groceries, rent, gasoline and car insurance, utilities, phone, Internet – the works. In a community, those who had a little more (for instance single people without additional expenses or dependents) would give something to those with less (the elderly and families who have to support children). We'd pool our resources together and share homes and meals. Clothes would be handed down. Someone who had two of something would give the spare to someone who had none. No one would go hungry. Everyone would have enough - and when there was a bounty, everyone would share in that bounty.

But that's not how our culture works.

If you own your own home, you're already better off than more than half of my peer group. I personally know a single parent who just had their public housing voucher revoked. The reason she was given? There's no more funding. If you've already found a place to live, you're already covered, but if you haven't, you're out of luck.

I personally know a family that relies on food banks from time to time to feed their family. The husband works full time; the wife stays home with their school-age children, packed into a tiny shoebox of a home. Where they could once rely on food banks to help them out (you're allowed to visit one per month under State of Oregon guidelines), things have been so bad that they've not only received so little food that they could barely scrape together a single meal from what they were given, but the food bank gave them a voucher, stating that the food bank's supplies were so low that the family was authorized a visit to a second food bank that month.

And this is commonplace.

Now let's say that one of those people was a spiritual seeker who came across a class that I was offering, but couldn't attend because the $10 USD that I charge could be used to feed their children. How is it okay that they're turned away, simply because they are unable to meet a non-spiritual standard? And what if I'm not consciously turning them away? What if they simply see the advertisement, notice the $10 USD fee, and are stopped at that point because they can't afford it?

Giving and Love

Spirituality embraces. Money divides. The two concepts could not be more opposed. Spirituality gives you strength when you're weak. Money demands you give more whenever you're in need of more. Spirituality opens doors to community; money divides into "haves" and "have nots."

True spirituality is based on love.

And to quote The Beatles, "Money can't buy me love."

I've heard the arguments. "There needs to be an even exchange, a balance." Between who? Me and the person that I'm serving? Between me and the person I'm honestly doing my best to help? I would much rather have the balance maintained between me and the Divine. Let me give, in love, all that I'm able and the Universe can sort out the details. At the very least, it will teach me to love better than I do now, which will carry me that much farther along my spiritual path.

Students have told me, "You need to give people the opportunity to express their thanks and gratitude." That one I understand. Thanks and gratitude are spiritual concepts. You can't buy either, but both are the natural byproducts of love. If you want to give back, tell someone about Old Ways so that we can increase the number of people we are able to give to. If you want to do something more tangible, purchase one of the books that I've written. If I've given that to you free as well (and we regularly give them away), take a moment and write a review and place it on Amazon. You'd be surprised how many sales a single review will produce.

We give everything we can at every opportunity. And do you know what? We've been blessed more than threefold for everything we've done.

There are a couple of concrete spiritual principles why this works.

Principles of Giving

You can't simply go out to the street corner, pull out your wallet or purse, start handing out money, and expect that you'll receive more than you gave. You'll end up penniless. There is no spiritual law that watches out for the finances of the foolish. And giving absolutely must be done out of love. It can be uncomfortable. It can be challenging. But you cannot give for selfish reasons and anticipate being blessed in return. Giving must be done out of compassion; out of kindness; out of love.

The first rule is that you have to be a good steward of what you're given. From a shaman's perspective, all of reality is alive. An easier way to embrace that concept is to consider that everything is sacred - everything from your loved ones to your salary, from the food in your cupboards to the things you turn to for relaxation and entertainment. If you honor that, if you treat it with love and respect, with gratefulness and thankfulness, then your world will expand, not shrink.

Second, you have to work within your community. Community is a pretty nebulous concept anymore, but I define it as those who enter freely into your circle of love (either emotional or spiritual love) and are welcome there. My community is pretty large, embracing my family, close friends, and all of you who read Old Ways or take classes from me. Those are the people that you give to. Their needs will either be apparent to you or you will suddenly feel an urge to do something for them.

If you simply keep those two concepts in mind, you will stay right in the heart of spiritual giving. The love and blessings don't so much return to you as they increase the amount of goodness that is within you and surrounds you. You will be blessed - more than you imagined possible and in ways you have yet to comprehend.

Thoughts? Comments? You can contact us at connect@oldways.com or interact with Jeffrey, Briana, and the Old Ways community on our Facebook page.

Originally published in Old Ways on January 1, 2009. Edited, expanded upon, and republished on January 4, 2011.