Free Weekly Syndicated Advice Columns
Published Every Wednesday Afternoon (PST)

RECEIVING MONEY

"When I do my work for free, I have lots of people. The moment I charge, it's a different story. I wonder what is happening. Do I have a block about money?"

As the saying goes, why would they want to buy the cow when they can get the milk for free? This Universe requires balance: for everything that is given, something must be received in return. The system of money as payment supports this balance, as do systems of barter and exchange. Someone has to pay in some way for what is given, and if you do not allow yourself to receive, then ultimately, you will be the one who pays for it.

You can give a sample of your work for free as an introduction to give people a taste of what you have to offer, but then you must ask for what you are worth before you give any more. If they are only happy to receive your work if you give it for free, then they are taking from you, and not valuing or respecting you, or themselves. Do what you do because it gives you joy, and spread that joy to others. Value that joy and attract what you need to support it.

Manifesting money is a creative process. There is all the money in the world available to you right now - you just need to feel worthy of receiving it, and to find creative ways to attract it to you. You can use different forms of marketing to reach your customer that speak to them about how they can benefit from your work. Targeted advertising, flyers, brochures, business cards, etc., don't have to cost a lot of money, they just need to be an attractive and welcoming invitation that describes you and your work, what people will get out of working with you, and why it's worth paying for. (In a reading, I can help you design promotional material that will attract your customer and build your business.)

If you constantly give yourself and your work away for free, it tells the world that what you are offering has no value because you do not value it. People love to receive things for free, but they do not appreciate those things as much as the things that they value (even offering this column for free may diminish its worth for some people). People pay more attention to the things they pay for, and the more they pay for it, the more they value it (like expensive cars or designer clothes). Asking for money for your work gives it value; however, you must feel worthy of what you are asking for, or you will not allow yourself to receive it. Those people who win the lottery but squander the money never felt worthy of having it. You must own your value, you must ask for your worth, and you must allow yourself to attract it and receive it.

"The people around me are so excited and supportive about my work, but I sometimes wonder how to keep it all going, because I don't want this beautiful energy to be rooted in money. Not that money is a negative thing, but people have their own expenses, so i feel that money has to come to me from somewhere else, but how?"

It sounds like you are putting other people's needs ahead of your own. If you don't honor and take care of yourself, who will? The Universe helps those who help themselves. If the people around you are so excited and supportive of you and your work, then they will be happy to give support to you in the form of money. So many people have an issue with charging money for doing what they love to do, especially for spiritual, healing or creative work, as if that somehow prostitutes it. But if the money has to come from doing something other than what you love, then that is truly making yourself a prostitute (Webster's dictionary defines prostitute as: a person who deliberately debases himself or his talents, as for money). Money can be a beautiful thing, if you allow it to be; it can support so many beautiful things that give joy to you, to others, and to the world.

The most important thing to remember is that money is a creative force, and you must find creative ways to make it. By honoring your own creativity and worth, and valuing yourself and your work, you will attract money to you. People will be attracted to the energy of worth that you exude, and they will value what you have to offer. You will then be attracting an abundance of money to pay for all that you need, and to spread around. You can invest that surplus of money to create more prosperity for all.

When you make money, you have money to spend, and can invest it in other people's ideas and creations, which supports them to thrive. For instance, when you buy a company's stocks or products, you support them to make money, to pay employees, to pay suppliers, to pay taxes (which support the societal infrastructure that we all potentially benefit from), and to increase their country's economy (keeping in mind that you also support their beliefs and policies). These employees and suppliers in turn earn money to support their own needs, and ideally, to spread money as well. This is how money is intended to flow and makes the world go around.

If, on the other hand, you do not allow yourself to receive enough money for your services, your energy will start to resonate on the frequency of fear and anxiety, pain and suffering. You will spend your time and energy being concerned for your own survival and for those who may be dependent upon you. You will then need to ask or even beg for what you need. You may even ask others to give to you for free, which does not allow them to receive money or honor their worth, which perpetuates this cycle of contraction and pain. You will not have enough money to support the causes that are important to you (although you can always invest your time, if all your time is not consumed in trying to make ends meet). Your sense of self-esteem and self-worth will become more damaged, reducing you to lower and lower frequencies. Where is the spiritual value in that?

If you allow yourself to ask for the money you deserve, then you can give others the money they deserve. You can invest your money in beautiful things, like the arts. This supports the artists to generate more and more beauty in the world, making this world a more beautiful place, and raising the frequency for everyone on Earth. You can invest your money in the causes you believe in, allowing yourself to have power and influence in the world. You can allow yourself to experience joy instead of worry, and resonate at the highest frequencies. You can have time and peace to devote to expanding and sharing your spiritual awareness, and evolving your consciousness. This is why it is worth it to ask for what you are worth, because it not only gives you power to raise your own consciousness, but it gives you power to influence the world.

Copyright ©2005 Grace & Grace Associates Consulting, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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