Article's at SnugglePie.

by Linda White Dove

Money is love. Wherever you focus your love energy is where love multiplies. Many people love to buy things; they love to spend money. There is nothing "bad" about spending money. Remember that when you do, you are focusing love, you are focusing your attention in a specific manner and your material world will multiply. At least it will for a while. 

The key, and the catch word, is balance. For when you focus your love (obsessively) on buying things, you are in the process of loving that which you are not. This is different from going shopping once in a while or buying some things you need or will truly enjoy. Compulsive spending is the habit of trying to obtain, to be, what you feel you are missing. When you focus your attention in this way, you are focusing on what you are not. Not only you deplete your finances in this way (money is energy and energy always gets depleted when focusing on what you are not) but also your time. Time is love too, as it is a focusing of your life force, of your love and your very essence. So when you are focusing your love and your very life in this way, you choose to drain yourself. As a result you are also not focusing on that which renews and nurtures you. You cannot focus on your own nurturing when you are busy seeking to find your lack. You cannot be who you are when you are trying to be who you are not.

What many compulsive and "addicted" type people find when they hit "rock bottom" is that after so much energy has been focused on being who they are not, that the abundance and the fun time ends. A person can only sustain themselves for so long when focusing their love in a way that is harmful to them. The universe is not designed for a person to be anything but loved and supported. And so a person begins to see that their lives are out of balance.

We could choose to see this as an important learning experience and a way that the universe supports us in loving ourselves. Unfortunately money is often seen as a measure of our self worth. If we manage it well we feel good about ourselves, if we do not, we feel ashamed. At the same time, if we have a lot of money, there is also fear and shame associated with being able to keep it, or of other people judging us about it in some way because they do not think they have enough of it and are not good enough.

Money is just paper, coins and numbers in data bases somewhere. We assign it value and as soon as we do this, we also assign value to ourselves. Value implies there is "good" and "bad." The shame around good and bad that money often brings up is so painful and so strongly ingrained, and the fear of not having money (or of having it) is so strong that the tendency is to avoid "going there," at all costs, including our own well being and satisfaction in life. Thus it often feels easier to keep spending money and feeling the short term pseudo-loving feelings, than to know what love truly can be and allow our finances to flow from contentment and fulfillment. Of all the aspects of the spiritual path, this is one of the most challenging yet ultimately most rewarding.

Fortunately, as soon as the choice is made to align with the spiritual teachings of money, the universe steps in to assist. There is the initial shock and adjustment as chaos steps in and changes happen. Sometimes things have to break down in order for us to see more clearly how we have loved and denied our love with money. Ultimately we can then begin to create something that works for us and brings both abundance and self love/self realization. It is not only possible, it is the intended outcome for each and every person who makes the choice to know and live the divine love that is our essence.

For anyone who chooses to open the door to this path, the hardest parts are making the choice and trusting enough to stick with what happens, even if things are challenging and scary. Yet even as things can be challenging as the changes happen, making the choice and sticking to it is sufficient to have the changes take place. However, for anyone wanting additional assistance, the following are just a few possibilities:

Keeping the perspective of the larger picture of value being subjective means you can change the value given to money and yourself. Someone "out there" decided that not having money (or having a lot of money) was bad and if you have either too much or not enough, you should be ashamed. Someone also decided what was too much, not enough and just right. The more you examine this idea, the more you can question these decisions and what they were/are based upon. Value is always arbitrary, meaning it was given by someone and then accepted by the culture at large. Value is not fixed; you can choose new values/definitions and try them on. The more you do this, the more you realize that value and meaning is relative and therefore meaningless. It only holds power over you if you allow it to.

If you are in need of assistance addressing issues around self love and money, Energy Medicine Cabinet offers the My Abundance Self Attunement that is easy to use, inexpensive, requires only a few minutes each day, and can be used in the privacy of your home at a time that is convenient for you. Because it works to help address the causes of compulsive spending, it helps not only with the actual behaviors but also the urge to spend. Additionally the attunement helps you to experience more and more your own self love, which is what money ultimately has to offer. To purchase the My Abundance Self Attunement or to learn more:

If you wish the support of a group in addressing compulsive spending, there are 12 step and (probably other) programs for compulsive spenders. An internet search should provide additional information.

Regardless of which path you choose, healing compulsive spending is rich and fertile with opportunity to learn about yourself and to live in abundance and fulfillment inside and out. If you have the courage to walk the path consciously you will discover something really wonderful: yourself. May you enjoy and embrace the journey.

Linda White Dove Copyright 2005 Linda White Dove 

About the Author

Linda White Dove, M. Ed. is a healing facilitator with a worldwide practice specializing in healing via unity consciousness and sexuality concerns. She is also a writer working on her first book and co-partner in Energy Medicine cabinet, an easy-to-use, innovative approach to health, wellness and fulfillment. For more information: http://www.energymedicinecabinet.com and http://www.lindawhitedove.com