Gimme Dat Newfangled Tithing

Hi Friends ~
We had a great webinar on Raising the Money Ceiling. At the end, I picked Har-Money cards for everyone. Here is the one I got – which prompted today’s topic.

“I give back to the universe and contribute to the infinite flow.
Tithing is a way to return to the universe a percentage of your income for recirculation. Balance your receiving by giving freely. This opens the path for more prosperity to come into your life and also acknowledges the source.”

   Hope you are enjoying summer. See below section and watch your inbox for exciting free webinar offerings coming up in August, as we prepare for the final quarter of 2011.  

GIMME DAT NEWFANGLED TITHING

Listening to an abundance book recording recently, I had one of those reactions – one of those eyebrow-raised, oh-yeah? moments. The author noted that in order to tithe, one MUST tithe 10% of all earnings, period. No, you didn’t have to count the gifts etc., but otherwise, absolutely 10% of all incoming income must be tithed. Or else. Sounded like a commandment.

Don’tcha just hate it when people insist on how reality works? Reality’s obviously not listening to them now, is it? With the crazy way things are going lately, I don’t think ten commandments will quite cover it at this point. If you’re one of the current light-based tribe, you’ve likely got plenty of your own ideas that might supersede a dusty, glued-back-together stone tablet.

Yeah, I think that abundance book was written before the 2008 crash. Maybe before credit cards were invented. Or before the mortgage crisis, or before Sicko chronicled the health insurance crisis, or before today’s insane levels of student loan burdens, etc.

So yes, my reformed Catholic button got pushed. I suppose there are universal laws, or common sense compassion guidelines, but I’ve always thought these are open to tweaking and customizing. Jeesh – it isn’t like tithing 10% is the same as being subject to the laws of gravity while you’re on your way to the moon, now is it?

At any rate, how ’bout a bit of discussion on tithing. Keep in mind that this comes from your MoneyMonk friend, who was born with the view that we should all have our OWN religions. At that time, my church’s best practices were big tree climbing and pine needle path running while singing songs to God.

Now, we’re trying to sing ’em between the shifting tectonic plates of the old and new economic paradigms. It can be one mangled opera at times – but it’s coming along … occasional Tarzan yells and all.

THE MOVING TARGET OF THE OUTER WEALTH ZONES

Tithing does mean 10s. So maybe there is something to note there with this 10% thing. It’s recommended that you save 10% too. And that you have 3-6 months of expenses socked away in an emergency fund. Then there’s retirement – yeah – how many of us were consciously funding retirement in our twenties, the ideal time? And then there’s the guideline that your mortgage/ rent should not total more than 25% of your earnings. Ha!

Now wait a minute monkhead, you might be saying – that’s way too many percents for me to deduct right now. I hear you. My outer wealth chart (see it here on the right side of the diagram) has ten areas that need money love in order to create balanced wealth.  Yet keep in mind, mastering all of these zones takes time. Wealth balance is general is a dynamic, give and take, ongoing process – similar to life. You gain some there, you lose some here. You make huge progress on this spoke of the wheel, and that other spoke needs to chill for a while. You get big surprises you need to adapt to – good and bad.

When I rated my first wealth balance wheels years back, tithing was something that – well, as I think of it now, I laugh out loud at how far down the road it seemed. I had some business to attend to first – paying off debt, increasing income, improving work, scrubbing the lava off the windows from the latest volcano … You know – life in the 2000s.

What’s exciting though – and it may be hard to see this from every vantage point – is that you can’t avoid progress. Once you set an intention to befriend money and accept its teachings, the debt will get paid. These may not be the most lavish years of your life, but that’s really beside the point, in terms of what you are mastering in those years.

And then eventually, you get to try your hand at other areas, like tithing. What fun, eh?

I’m guessing you are not stingy {!firstname_fix}. Frugal is one thing – and a very necessary thing at times. If money were not an issue though, and if tithing 10% WAS some kind of universal golden rule, you’d be there, right? So, let’s see how the energy of tithing can be utilized, whether or not you can follow the 10% commandment right now.

GIVING THANKS, GIVING BACK

Giving back is certainly a wealth practice. Judaism and many spiritual groups name this as a value and expected action of community members. My Irish ancestors/peers are probably still a bit traumatized by potato-famine-type history in this regard, though the opportunity was always there with the collection baskets at mass. (Now there’s an interesting study – what was the energy of your family toward various requests for contributions?)

You may be familiar with deducting a percentage of your earnings already with savings. At first, it’s an adjustment. Many recommend automating deductions like this, so you don’t have to manually do it each paycheck. Otherwise it often gets forgotten in the mayhem, and/or easily sucked up into current spending.

Tithing is giving back to whom/what has given you spiritual food. It makes sense that you’ll need to be a bit beyond financial survival mode to think about giving back. If you are paying off debt, or otherwise getting yourself grounded with your finances, you may be excused, IMHO. (MHO goes against many abundance LAWS – so beware … mwha ha ha …)

Yet even when the cash isn’t there, there are tons of other ways to tithe and give back. Donating time, energy, and attention with conscious intention, for example – these are wonderful contributions to others and your world. These actions can also benefit your finances in a roundabout way, as in the volunteer who gets hired for a great job, due to her increased visibility that showcases her great energy.

It would seem there is a “stepping up” piece that comes from tithing, a sign of more flow and power with finances. When you make financial progress that affords you meaning in your life, and the ability to contribute to the times, you can’t help but feel gratitude. It makes sense that this type of blessing, this money-where-your-heart-drinks donation, would let the universe take notice. Oh look, Joan Farmington has stepped up to the bigger game. She’s feeding us now too – yum. Send her more plankton please …

SOUL SAVVY BOTTOM LINE:

Just like any wealth zone you are working on, it can help to have fun with it, and fashion your own unique approach. Participation with tithing is not only dependent on your income level – donating time and services counts too. You can make your own policies – even commandments if you like. Add a loud pompous voice, some finger pointing and tablet cracking, and you’ll be all set.

Putting your money where your sacred mouth is – and blessing what’s fed your spiritual essence, your creativity, your heart – is a powerful practice. It may not be a “church” per say that you tithe – have fun with creatively choosing your giftee, and honoring your benefactors.

You may need to adjust the outer wealth zone percentages on your plate to name the right percentage for your current tithing. You might try it as an experiment even, to see how it impacts your inner and outer wealth. There are many stories of tithing creating more outer abundance – but the step of leaning into tithing is a balanced wealth blessing in itself.

Blessings of balanced wealth to you,

Denise Barnes