Money is often considered a dirty word. It's a taboo subject often rife with struggle, secrecy and scandal. Most of us want to have happier and healthier lives. We want to find more joy and freedom and experience less tension and anxiety. For many of us, our relationship with money is one of the most shameful, stressful and worrisome aspects of our lives. I know it was for me.
Healing our relationship with money requires us to rise above and beyond the typical consciousness of ordinary existence. It asks us to awaken to larger truths that reach beyond our culturally accepted myths. Our quest for emotional, financial and spiritual growth is an invitation to have difficult and even painful conversations that open us up to a greater sense of awareness, liberation and peace.
So how do we begin to heal our relationship with money? It’s not about spending less money, and it's not about making more; the first step is about changing our habitual way of thinking. By changing our typical thought patterns, we, in turn, change the way we interact with money.
Mantras (phrases of intention) are a great way to begin this process by giving us a new belief to practice, lean toward and to give us a structure for healing our relationship.
Here are ten mantras that can help you heal your relationship with money:
1. Money is a spiritual practice.
At its root, money is a representation of value, worth and energy. Our relationship with money mirrors our relationship to life itself. Through our relationship to money, we see the truth about deeply personal beliefs around self-worth, love, kindness and faith. The process of healing our relationship with money is a spiritual pursuit, it is the process of becoming more compassionate, more forgiving, more generous and more trusting.
2. Money is a skill.
Many of us project old childhood stories onto our concept of money. We think that money is for other people. We think that money is complicated or maybe some sort of club that we haven't been invited to. We may see money as a reward for good behavior. Or we see the lack of it as punishment for bad behavior. We might see money as having more to do with luck, the stars aligning, or pleasing the gods; thinking that we have little or no power to influence it at all. But when we clear our projections, and just look at money through a neutral lens, we see that money is simply a skill. And like any other skill, with practice we can learn to master it.
3. There is plenty.
When we believe there's not enough time, or there's not enough money, or there's not enough _____, our mind instantly goes about looking for evidence to support the belief. Likewise, when we use the mantra there is plenty, our mind will instantly begin to look for evidence to support the new belief. You can believe in the finite, or you can believe in the infinite, the choice is yours. Your choice will rapidly become a self-fulfilling prophecy that either creates a feed-back loop taking you further and further into the rabbit hole of scarcity, or spirals you higher and higher into generosity and abundance.
4. There is no hurry.
Whatever your financial landscape looks like in this moment, it's helpful to know that it didn't happen overnight. Our relationship with money encompasses thousands of decisions made on a daily basis over months, years and decades. There is no quick fix and no need to rush. Every step taken in the direction of gratitude, generosity and trust, no matter how big or how small, matters.
5. Being paid hurts no one.
Many of us carry a burden of shame when it comes to wanting to be compensated. No one knows this more than entrepreneurs, especially those in the wellness industry. I work with so many life coaches, yoga teachers and spiritual mentors that offer enormous value to their students, yet chronically under-charge for their services. We all deserve to be paid. We all deserve to be compensated for our efforts, our knowledge and for our talents. When we see the exchange of money as simply a neutral exchange of energy, we can see that being paid is a win-win. Our clients, customers, students and employers receive our services and products and we receive the reciprocal energetic value in the form of money.
6. Money can come in infinite ways.
It's easy to get tunnel vision when it comes to thinking about income. Yet, this is one of the biggest limiting factors to our earning potential. If we believe the money can only come by way of 'X' then we close our eyes, minds, hearts to the possibility of Y, Z and all the zillions of other inspired ways that money can make its way into our lives.
7. The amount I earn is determined by me.
One of the worst feelings around money is the sense of powerlessness. This mantra is a powerful reminder that we are in charge of determining what we are paid. If we want to earn more, we must increase our sense of self-worth, strengthen our boundaries and openly advocate for our own well being. No one else can do this work for us. We have to be the hero of our own story.
8. I spend less than I earn.
This mantra is a fail-proof for paying off current debt or preventing debt altogether. It increases net worth and it eradicates paycheck-to-paycheck drama. When we make it a habit to always spend less than we earn, we automatically begin to accumulate wealth and bring more stability into our lives.
9. The truth is always kind.
Money shame is a special type of sticky toxicity that often makes us want to hide, pretend, or lie to ourselves and/or to others. Because of this, we might avoid taking a hard look at our accounts, balances and statements. We may use credit cards to pretend to afford, rather than facing the cold hard truth of not being able to actually pay for something. This mantra reminds us that the truth isn't something to hide, it isn't something to fear and it isn't something to avoid. We all know that "the truth shall set you free" and there is nowhere that this is more true than in our relationship to money. You can't find peace, forgiveness and compassion until you know the truth. And then from there, you can heal.
10. I am always being taken care of.
No matter where we are, no matter what is happening (or not happening) to us, no matter how isolated, scared or confused we might feel -- this mantra helps us to remember that we are a small part of a bigger plan. It reminds us to see that things are happening for us rather than to us. No matter how difficult our current circumstances are, we can find gratitude to be part of this vast universe, we can be thankful that we are turning around on this blue planet and with so many beautiful souls. We can remind ourselves of what really matters: our connection to each other, the love we experience in this world and the beauty that we share with one another.