Overcoming Money Barriers and Open the Flow of Prosperity in Your Life
“If we stop the circulation of money — if our only intention is to hold on to our money and hoard it — since it is life energy, we will stop its circulation back into our lives as well. In order to keep that energy coming to us, we have to keep the energy circulating. Like a river, money must keep flowing, otherwise it begins to stagnate, to clog, to suffocate and strangle its very own life force. Circulation keeps it alive and vital.”
This question keeps showing up around me, especially from artists and healers. It seems to carry the same underlying narrative from person to person. I’ve observed this being a common inner conflict among those who are starting their independent path of solopreneurship, one that requires you to establish a fee schedule for your clients and request their payment. Of course, the blockage to receiving money isn’t exclusive to those groups—many of us experience this conflict, whether consciously or unconsciously.
There is so much stigma around the concept of money that many judgments and perceptions about it have formed over time. Each culture also has its own ideas about what money means, with both positive and negative attachments. When it comes to making or receiving money, there are often feelings of guilt, shame, and unworthiness associated with it. On the flip side, there are feelings of entitlement, power, and scarcity associated with money as well.
So, what does a healthy relationship with money look like?
Understanding the History of Money
To understand what money is and why it exists in our civilization, we need to first understand its history. As many of you already know, money first appeared as a means for trading to take place. It is still, to this day, understood as a medium of exchange. Instead of giving you one of my chickens for a basket of your cabbages, like in the old days, I’d give you a comparable value in printed or digital currency for your product or service. It’s a trade we both agree is fair and mutually beneficial.
Over the centuries, products and services became more complex and abundantly saturated, making their value confusing. Today, the cost of products and services is calculated not only based on labor and material but also by the design of the product, years of research, knowledge and experience of the provider, return on investment, etc. Many customers are more than willing to pay a premium for a quality product.
Since products and services are often no longer a direct exchange between two people, customers rely on marketing communications or advertising to learn about a product and its value before paying the requested amount. Additionally, current trends and market values influence decision-making. Because of all this, the value of money now also fluctuates based on perceived value, global economics, political climate, etc., which adds to more confusion, to say the least.
Shifting Your Money Mindset
To simplify the way we look at money, we need to see it for what it really is: energy. Paying someone and getting paid is an energy exchange. Regardless of what skills you have and what you produce, you’ve applied a certain amount of attention and effort to it—you have given your energy to a creation. When you release your creation to someone else, they give you a form of their energy in return. Most often, that is in the form of money.
Since energy is less visible and measurable, money became an efficient way of quantifying what goes into a product or service and what it’s worth. Money makes trading completely different and seemingly irrelevant products or services possible, in a quick and efficient way.
For example, I am an artist who creates beautiful paintings. I need a few loaves of your freshly baked bread, but you need someone to fix your roof, which I cannot provide. So, I give you a fair amount of money that you can then put toward hiring someone to fix your roof. That someone can later come to me to purchase a painting to decorate their wall.
This example illustrates how money is used and how it’s intended to move between all of us—it’s meant to circulate, it’s meant to flow. We are meant to receive money but not hoard it. Blocking this circulation causes stagnation and prevents money from freely moving in and out of our lives in a healthy way. Nothing creates this blockage more than a mindset of shame and scarcity.
How Scarcity Thinking Blocks Prosperity
Years ago, I met a man who had conflicting ideas about money. He was insecure about not making a lot of money, yet he associated having a lot of money with being bad. A friend of his once asked him, “How much money do you need in your bank account for you to stop worrying? Is $300 million enough?” His response was, “No, that's absurd! That’s way too much money for anyone!” This thought perfectly illustrates how scarcity thinking can block prosperity. He didn’t know it at the time, but he had just turned away $300 million with that sabotaging mindset.
While $300 million is an extreme example, many of us unconsciously block money from coming into our lives—even when the amount is modest and fair in exchange for our product or service. When we catch ourselves doing this, we need to look within, examine why we are fighting prosperity, and remove the resistance.
A few examples of scarcity thoughts around money are:
“I don’t have enough money to take good care of my health.”
“Traveling is for rich people; I’m not a rich person.”
“Why would anyone pay for my service when they can get it for free somewhere else?”
We often project our fears onto others when it comes to giving and receiving money. Our relationship with money often reveals how we perceive ourselves and the universe. If we believe ourselves to be incompetent or unworthy, we block our potential to receive money. If we believe money is scarce and hard to come by, we might feel we must fight hard to earn a piece of it.
Developing a Healthy Relationship with Money
The relationship you have with money is much like any other relationship in your life—it is formed by how you treat it. If you honor your money by taking care of it, you are likely to generate and amplify it over time. If you don’t show respect or gratitude for the money you have, it will likely leak out of your life. The saying “Easy come, easy go” reflects this dynamic.
Taking care of your money includes budgeting, tracking your spending, managing and investing it, and earning and spending wisely. Respect that having money gives you the resources to take better care of yourself and your loved ones. It also gives you the freedom to explore higher possibilities for self-actualization.
Spend your money wisely on healthy and meaningful things that enhance your being. Conversely, accept money from others with discretion. Be mindful not to indulge or take what does not belong to you, as it can stifle your vitality. Remember, money is a form of energy, and energy is currency.
The Free Flowing Nature of Money
The flow of money is a universal law, much like the principles of feng shui (Chinese for wind and water). Money is meant to return to you when you spend it wisely. It is never gone, even if you experience a loss from an investment. However, allowing setbacks to influence how you treat money can block it from flowing back to you.
When we believe there is plenty of money for everyone in the world, and that the universe always provides, we start to see money as a tool to share, connect, and create with others.
The way you perceive money shapes your reality. By recognizing and addressing limiting beliefs, you can open the flow of prosperity into your life. See money for what it truly is: energy, a tool for growth, and a medium to connect with others. When you honor your relationship with money and let go of scarcity thinking, abundance can flow freely in and out of your life.
