You’ve got your physical body; you’ve got your emotional body. Imagine if your money energy has a body, or an energetic frame. How is that money energy body image doing right now? Let’s see how you might bless and strengthen it.
Once upon a time when I was twenty-nine, I left grad school with a Master’s degree (yay!) and 33 grand in debt (ugh). Even with the passing of time, some things never change. For example, I’m still twenty-nine. And, though my “healthy wealth status” has grown to a whole new level, I can still find both yay and ugh aspects to my finances and money energy.
It seems you often have – simultaneously – a bit of the yay and the ugh for any given situation. Let’s call it the Yay/Nay Factor. With your money scene, you’ll have places finances are growing and feeling strong. On the other hand, you’ll have places you’re feeling stretched, challenged – maybe even hopeless and discouraged.
One big spiritual key regards how you hold the energy as you grow and shift. You’re meditating and you start thinking lusty thoughts, or start working on the “to do” list. What is the quality of your refocusing – chastising, kind? It’s rare to turn monkey mind to monk mind permanently. But at any moment, you can catch up with that more conscious side of yourself, and say, Yo, Ahoy there matey. Pass the rum, will ya?
PHYSICAL BODY IMAGE, MONEY BODY IMAGE
With my training as a somatic (body-based) psychotherapist, I’ve seen that for women, body image tells volumes. You have beauty-filled physical qualities, and those … shall we say, less inspiring attributes. With your best and worst sides, what do you focus on? How, energetically speaking, do you hold the dichotomy, that edge-of-becoming-but-not-quite-there-yet gap? It may not be a Jekyll and Hyde contrast, but there can be quite a gap there.
I have a very clear memory of when I was finishing my one woman show and wearing a rather skimpy, colorful costume. A friend called me skinny (yep, she’s still on the payroll). I felt compelled to counter the compliment by pointing out my historical nemesis – my belly zone. Don’t you see this, my dear? How can I be skinny with this imperfect padding? Looking back, she was right – but perspective is so relative, and ever changing, eh?
ENTER THE MONEY BELLY (OR NOSE, THIGHS, BUTTSKI)
Your money energy body image (MEBI) holds the full picture of your wealth continuum – your money zone strengths and weaknesses, places of integrity, places that don’t make you as proud. You may be making great strides, yet only see your “money belly” so to speak, that challenging zone of your financial picture.
For me, the body image challenge zone is the belly. What is your metaphor for your MEBI challenge zone? It’s best to customize your unique approach to creating healthy wealth, IMHO. Here’s your chance. Are your money thighs or money butt a thorn in your side? Could even be a money nose I s’pose, huh.
You’ve probably heard that saying, what you focus on grows – a scary yet illuminating thought for money bellies/thighs/butts. Perhaps you’re taking on more debt or staying more unconscious with money than you’d like. Or you’re stretching but scared. When you do decide to wake up to the challenges – the Ahoy matey moment – how will you hold the energy?
Can you love your money belly/nose/thighs/butt? The big question is – when you wish to wake up inside the current money nightmare, do you scream Bad Girl/Ugly Money Belly! Or, do you, with compassionate eyes and a merciful heart say, “Ah, Welcome Back my Friend. Let’s breathe, and clear those sleep nuggets out of your eyes. You’re so much more than your money, you spiritual adventurer in disguise.”
SUGGESTIONS FOR BLESSING AND STRENGTHENING YOUR MEBI (TM)
Let’s play with this first on the physical level. Name the most and least lovely ends of your body image continuum. One side is your challenge zone and one side is your lovely zone. Good and cool.
Then, let’s name the most-and-least-lovely ends of your wealth continuum. Excellent. Now, merge the physical body image book ends and the MEBI book ends of the continuum. What teachings or clues do they offer to your situation?
For example, my healthy wealth continuum book ends: my “money belly” – being behind on my taxes. The sexy legs of my MEBI – courageously developing my soul work strength.
MEBI Leg notes: These legs are advancing, and are able to stretch and cover new ground. Damn money legs, you rock.
MEBI Belly clues:
Hmmm…The belly is a most vulnerable, tender area. To work with that, I might put my hands there and hold it with love. Might question the cultural close-minded – ness that labels this ugly and how I buy into that at times. And, hmmm, if I extend that energy to my pile of receipts, I might question that autopilot self criticism – being behind on taxes means I’m slacking. To the contrary, I’ve been otherwise well engaged. And there is time to handle this (soon, let’s hope).
Wow – after this, I might approach my taxes with a whole different belly sense, I mean energy.
What else can you tell me money belly, oh sturdy reservoir of em, wisdom in disguise?
Soul Savvy Bottom Line: Okay, this all might be a bit of a wacky stretch – that’s the Soul Savvy approach J. Yet, how you hold the edges of your healthy wealth continuum can make a big difference to your success and happiness.