I am curious to hear comments from others about how 'self-help/spirituality/awakening/self-realization' etc. has become an industry. It seems that there is a movement toward 'awakening' but then those that open their eyes see dollar signs to help others do the same.
To be truly awake would instill a dedication to help others however they desire help without putting out your hand for payment wouldn't it?
There isn't anything wrong with making an honest buck, but I can't help but ask the question: "Wouldn't a true awakening movement wave across the planet with 'pay it forward' actions which would release us all from the need for the enslavement and power broker control of the monetary system?'
Unfortunately, at the present time there is a powerful grip over most of the population to believe that 'lack' and 'abundance' are associated with how much green paper and blocks of gold we possess. What it would likely take is a movement of people that conduct themselves every day from a new system. Until people can trust that they won't be simply taken advantage of by greed mongers money as currency rather than love as currency will continue to prevail... or, it will take people who do not believe in the idea of 'being taken advantage of' and can gladly acknowledge their own good deeds regardless of how the recipient treats them. (Remind you of any historical analogy?)
This is an interesting question and one I have been pondering lately. There are certainly conflicting messages over it. On the one hand there's a growing community of spiritual seekers who are sharing the message that abundance and spirituality go hand in hand. You don't have to live in lack or feel you are sacrificing something. If you have a gift and a passion for helping others awaken then I don't see any reason why it can't be your career. It's kind of like saying a doctor or a teacher should work for free or on a 'pay it forward' basis.
I don't know if people who want to be spiritual coaches should be any different, especially because we need these people perhaps to be able to do this full time. But on the other hand, it has become an industry just like any other. Certain spiritual teachers become celebrities, and people listen to them not because they connect but more because the name is famous.
Love this question!! First of all, price and value are not the same thing (and I'm sure I'm not the first person to say this). Both concepts, however, are spattered with all types of cognitive patterning of beliefs. Beliefs are nothing more than neural patterns in our brains that have become ingrained, as 'The Answer' states it. So what really hinders our capacity to Wake Up is failing to match our habits with our desires. Not to say that authors and practitioners don't express their own flavor and bias in what they write or their approach to conducting the orchestration of healing (harmony), but if it is part of our habit to look for the God nature outside of ourselves, then there is plenty of opportunity for us to be manipulated and rife with anxiety or jumping from one approach to another instead of remaining steady and allowing change to happen and the answers to come to us instead of us fishing obsessively trying to decrease discomfort of some type.
On the other hand, the more introspective we become and see ourselves as individual expressions of God (which is love, balance, harmony), then anything that is inconsistent with maintaining balance won't become part of our practice (habit). Most of us are still remapping our neural networks, so obviously we received some input that wasn't balanced. So I would say that putting a price on spirituality is one way of staying asleep, but the person placing value on how fiscally productive their brand of spirituality is as a sign that they are powerful would also have a lot of dirty filters to clean and couldn't stand up indefinitely. Finding various modalities by which to connect to others' Higher Conscious is exercising a value regardless of fiscal benefit AND is fluid and continuous no matter what form of currency exists.
The real reason awakening is delayed is simply because we don't know we're asleep.
I have seen people offer their services on their websites with a donate button. Basically they show a price that they 'would' charge but allow the 'customer' to make the final decision. In this way, I guess they are offering their services out of gratitude. Funny thing about it, I know a woman who did just that and made a lot of money selling her e-course over a short period of time. I find it fascinating that when you offer something without holding out your hand for money, you get a hand in return and help you in much more enriching ways... and often give money as well.
I think if we approach the selling of spiritual services without expectation we are often delighted with the results.
