Just Under the Surface
OUR MONEY STUFF is our heart stuff, our mind stuff, and our life stuff. I like to look at the energetic substance of things. What is overspending made of? What is underearning made of? Where do they come from? What causes them to persist and reoccur? How do we move through cycles of having and not having? How do we handle our fears? What is “enough?” How do we introduce ease and spaciousness into the process of decision-making and handling money?
I’ve spent a lot of time exploring my own experiences of craving, approval seeking, finding agency, and sitting with grief. I think about time (how I use it and how it functions in my life), and culture (the tone and texture of the experiences I’m creating for myself and with others). I lean gently toward experiences of expanded agency—moments when it’s clear that I have freedom of choice, and the ability to act and create.
Money comes to us through relationship. There’s an exchange: we’ve identified something we need, want, or value—or someone looking in our direction does the same. Hidden elements circle and squirm in the damp soil underneath these relationships: power, obligation, belief, control, ownership, belonging, and the basic, human desire for freedom. These themes affect the way we treat and think about money.
Sometimes, there are knots, delays, and crises around money. We’re managing our cash flow, our beliefs and expectations, and our relationships with others all at the same time. We want to get somewhere, and it’s easy to default to urgency and fear. At times, we use fear to motivate ourselves to act, flying into anxiousness and overwork.
Start here: Return to the body.
Say simply: “Hi, body. What do you need?”
When day after day, you drop your shoulders, relax your jaw, and open your palms—when you breathe deeply, and sit with your hand on your belly or chest, noticing the sensations in your body—you begin to communicate something new to yourself. New outcomes become possible: new conversations, new ideas, new solutions, new partnerships. It’s hard to make new choices when you are frozen by fear. Coming back to the body is a useful first step when it comes to transforming our behavior.
Tiny changes can cause great waves. Our lives are about connection: the connection between the inhale and exhale, the constriction and expansion. As we make room for all of life, we create powerful side effects: ease, capacity, faith, and unexpected access to energy and vitality.
Ready to take on your money stuff? Visit my coaching page and book a call.
