In the age of digital media, many people seem quite comfortable sharing intimate details of their lives: whom they are voting for, how they look upon waking in the morning (and with whom), the contents of their closet. But who freely shares how much money they have in the bank, how much they get paid, and how much credit card debt they owe?
As a culture, we’re scared to talk about money. It’s primal. Money means survival. Without it, we may die. Talking about money can threaten our sense of inner worthiness (“I don’t have enough” or “I have too much and should be sharing it more”), and that can trigger our ancestral fight-or-flight response. It’s that fight-or-flight response or fear that keeps us from talking about or mindfully engaging with money.
But, will that path of avoidance or reactivity bring you freedom and spaciousness? I fell in love with meditation practice when my teacher said “Mindfulness is meant to illuminate all topics, not just the comfortable ones.” The benefits of practice come from inviting all feelings to visit and shining the light of awareness on the scariest ones.
It’s that fight-or-flight response or fear that keeps us from…
