If an individual holds the fundamental belief that money is bad, evil, or the root of their problems, they will unconsciously reject any experience or opportunity that involves money. On the other hand, if someone believes that money is helpful, supportive, and adds genuine value to their life, they will be infinitely more open to recognizing opportunities that allow for more money to come into their experience.
There are so many examples of this, where our beliefs about something dictate how we experience that thing. There’s a cosmic mirroring principle here, where the quality of our relationship with something or someone shows us “how we see” or what we believe.
The human confusion is the assumption that your experience with something tells you about that thing, rather than deeply seeing that your experience is a mirror that tells you about yourself.
The Shift
If you can truly see this, it presents two distinct opportunities wrapped in the concept of “Total Experiential Accountability.”
- Self-Empowerment The opposite of self-empowerment involves the assumption that other things have power over you. We assume that money, other people, or circumstances have the power. This projection of power onto the external proclaims that something outside of you is responsible for the experience you’re having. For example, we assume we feel and experience lack because money is not available. However, what we feel and experience is only exposing “how we see,” and what we are seeing is that something has power over us. Naturally, with this perspective or conditioned way of seeing, you have no power to do anything about it, apart from the fearful confusion that you must violently control something outside yourself.
- Rapid & Conscious Growth Think about this. The more clearly you see that the power is within you, the more you are forced (in a way) to do something about it. Traditionally, the way people “don’t do something about it” is to be in a constant state of blame. To truly understand the cosmic mirroring principle, blame is simply not an option. Sure, we might blame for a short while, until the lights come on, and we remember what’s really happening. As it relates to money blocks, there’s a “holy shit” moment that realizes that money is not the problem, the world is not the problem. The problem… is that I’m giving my power away to money. This, of course, is where the problem transforms into a rapid and conscious growth opportunity.
Total Experiential Accountability
This is a concept/principle I came up with years ago, and it attempts to point us towards a sacred remembrance. The invitation is to remember that regardless of how things appear to be, what I’m experiencing is my creation. Sure, that statement goes too far for some people. Understandably. However, it’s only too far because the concept isn’t understood, or it’s simply too scary to come to terms with.
As human beings, we assume that we are experiencing the world and what happens. However, in reality, I am experiencing how I see what happens; I’m experiencing my interpretation, which is a projection of meaning, and this projection is a creation. I don’t experience what someone else says; I experience what I think it means. I don’t experience what people do or don’t do; I experience what I think it means. I don’t experience the gain or loss of money; I experience what I think it means. I’m constantly experiencing the miracle of what I am, which is a constant meaning-making machine. I’m in a constant state of creation and experiencing my creation.
We might see this on one level and think “Wow, that’s cool” and return to an asleep state that continues to blame the world. Then, after a while, the insight goes deeper and transforms into a genuine “holy shit” moment. Once it reaches a certain depth, there’s no going back; the insight is unavoidable and demands a reverence for life that shifts your entire focus.
Money Blocks
The “problems” you experience with money are not problems at all. What they truly are, are well-crafted lessons from life that invite you to reclaim your power. They are the perfect teacher for you to see yourself more clearly.
Maybe you can see what happens here as we come to terms with this. There’s a transformation, a 180-degree turn, where rather than running away from these blocks and problems (blame), you turn and face them. You welcome them. You embrace them. You discover the courage to look the monster square in the eyes and say, “Okay, let’s dance.”
Before we can step into total experiential accountability and transform these money blocks, we have to engage in radical self-honesty. When meeting the monster, we have to acknowledge that we are creating the monster. We must confront our shadow, own it, and offer radical forgiveness for everything and everyone for the monster we are experiencing.
Whatever the money block may be, there is an assumption that money determines our worth and value. We assume that if we have more money, we are more worthy, and if we have less money, we are less worthy. We may even assume that money is preventing us from feeling whole and complete. Do you see what’s happening here? We are giving money the power to determine our worth and value. By doing this, we will resent money to some degree, and in this resentment, we will push money away.
I invite you to engage in a temporary or long-term practice of watching yourself as you define your worth and value in relation to money. Watch yourself as you blame money, and in blaming money, watch yourself push it away.
Do you fear losing money or not having enough money? Why? I’ll tell you why: because you think it will say something about you. In this fear, you will push away opportunities to invite more money into your life. Or you will anxiously chase more money in the most unpleasant and stressful ways.
The blocks are easy to find because they will always involve the energy of fear. Once the blocks are seen, alerted by the fear, this is when we are invited to meet those blocks, to meet that fear, and invite a new way of seeing and interpreting. As we hold space for the block, we introduce a new perspective that is more true.
Forgiveness First
Don’t take this “forgiveness” part lightly; it’s a critical part of the process. Radical self-honesty recognizes that the thing we are blaming isn’t at fault for our experience. Sure, it might definitely ‘seem’ that way because that’s the story being told. But you have to ask yourself, “Am I experiencing that thing? Or am I experiencing how I see that thing? Are my emotions responding to that thing? Or are they responding to the meaning I’m projecting onto that thing?”
What’s realized is that the “thing” doesn’t have the power to “give you a meaning.” This is also to say that something out there cannot make you feel a certain way; it simply doesn’t have that power over you. That is why that thing is forgiven. The forgiveness says, “I see your innocence. I see that you don’t have power over me. I’m sorry for blaming you.”
In this forgiveness of blame, what you will always discover is that the thing you are blaming is a way of hiding from the ways you blame yourself. As an illustration, the ways we might hate money are actually a form of hiding from the ways we hate ourselves. Remember? It’s a cosmic mirror.
Just as we forgive money, forgive others, and forgive the world, we ultimately come back to an invitation to forgive ourselves. As I’ve mentioned, this life is a journey of seeing ourselves more clearly. As we do, we start to see how all the self-judgments, self-blame, and the ways we tear ourselves down are the fundamental blocks behind all the blocks we might project onto the world.
My oh my… what an incredible journey we are on.