I believe spiritual currency, not financial, is the most valuable form of currency we have. Yet I am going to talk about spiritual currency in terms of money because many of us relate most things to money and it’s a simple way to comprehend more immaterial and abstract concepts.
What is Soul Currency?
Spiritual currency, or soul currency, if you prefer is a medium for exchange between individuals and comprised of inner assets like love, generosity, and integrity. Soul currency is the language of the heart.
Unlike water and oil, love is not a commodity, although many of us try to buy and trade it in the same fashion. Like any natural resource, I thought there was not enough love to go around and that over time, it would be depleted. For example, I used to believe that if someone else found love with a life partner, it diminished my chance of finding love with a life partner. As much as I wanted to believe that love was not a commodity, “depreciation” and “deficit” are words I would have associated it.
It’s no surprise that we equate, and oftentimes, undervalue life’s precious gifts when we compare them to money. We talk about businesses hemorrhaging as if vital life organs are at risk. We describe money as circulating like cells, the basic building block of all living things! We view the economy as a living, breathing entity. I’m not saying that money isn’t important or that a financial crisis can’t be a life crisis. There’s nothing wrong with comparing money to life but the problem arises when we allow that comparison to surpass the importance of life itself.
Is money the answer to happiness?
We often believe money is the answer to our happiness. We invest our emotional insecurities in financial securities hoping they’ll make us whole, only to realize that they only bring about more fear and doubt.
When we interact with others, we have to ask ourselves are we speaking the language of the heart or are we communicating through our ego with fear and doubt?
What is the exchange rate of your spiritual currency? Think about what you are willing to give up to achieve a profit – will it be integrity or honesty or will it be your time and help freely given without expecting anything in return?
Economy is the production, consumption, and distribution of goods and services between various agents. I have to ask myself, “What is the state of my personal economy and how does that affect the larger economy? Am I producing shame and anger or empathy and love? Am I consuming only what I need and what is selflessly given to me by others or am I greedily taking what I want without regard for anyone else? And am I distributing joy and optimism or putting out unkindness and negativity into the universe?”
Is your spiritual currency authentic or counterfeit? When it is authentic, we speak our truth, we are true to our beliefs and values and we honor who we are. When it is counterfeit, we live in denial and defraud ourselves and others in response to pain and fear. However, just as one form of currency can be converted to another, we can convert denial into truth.
And lastly, what does our spiritual currency say about our net worth? We all have liabilities that have caused us to accrue some karmic debt but we also have assets that can be used to pay off those debts and increase our sense of intrinsic value. I say our sense because we all possess inherent value whether we feel it or not.
These days, I take stock of my life and not my pockets. What I’ve found is if I can buy into the idea that only financial currency is limited and not soul currency – that is how I truly profit.