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Financial Responsibility

In this written message, we offer a thorough and detailed fresh perspective on

• the benefits of living within your financial means,
• not chasing abundance,
• being careful and thoughtful with your money as a show of love and concern for yourself
• choosing careers and methods of earning a living
• gaining discernment regarding financial opportunities
• an unpopular and even uncomfortable honest view of donations to causes and whether they are solving the root problems

We also offer recommended reSources for

1. getting out of debt,
2. reducing chaos and facing uncertainty in your life
3. regaining some of your current cash flow
4. charging for services (by way of example)

Quite a message! It may hit directly home in ways you least expect. Hold onto yourself, please, as you experience it. Some of us hold very tricky, sensitive energies when it comes to finances, income, wealth, money and being charitable. And this message will likely touch, deeply, on all of them! All for the intention of setting more of our light free, from the inside out. In honesty even to myself, this could have been a book lol. But instead, it’s shared here in the members section, was created and presented in one day, no trees were sacrificed, no publishers or graphics designers needed to be paid and no commissions were added. Yes, this works, too. Ready to get started? Me, too!

I am here offering a HUGE hug to anyone who is facing a financial burden. HUGS!!!  Now, let’s get real, right? Hang onto your Light in this potentially difficult conversation. I see, far too often, spiritual seekers finding themselves spending money, money that they don’t actually have. Saying yes to tele summit offers, classes, programs, trips, retreats, training, tools, sessions, certifications, with the notion that they will get that money back, some way, somehow, by a universe that loves them. Now, if this is working for you, then carry on and of course don’t let me get in your way. And, for those whom this approach is starting to feel like a growing problem, I’m here with some sisterly advice and maybe some tough love and bold truths for you to consider. You get to decide what is right, true and real for you and your life, right? And when something isn’t working, it makes sense to pause and re-evaluate current patterns, yes? Ok, here we go. First, I have found that there are types of people when it comes to financial responsibility. For some people, financial decisions are made easily and in their best interests, not spending more than they have and being dedicated to earning money, in a regular process of cash in and cash out, that works. Works meaning that it actually provides the cash flow needed for living, and even enjoying your life. For others, financial decisions are difficult and unclear.  There can be deep regret with past or present decisions and then not feeling able to get things back in order. Discernment related to what is a wise use of money or even whom to trust for advice can also be challenging for those in this group. Second, whichever type you may tend to be, if you need help, please be honest with yourself about how big the problem is. No amount of positive thinking is going to fix a financial debt or a cash flow problem. Action is needed, sooner rather than later.  Why not now? Third, remember that solving a financial problem has multiple layers to it. These are our views and recommendations for another way to look at the situation, all with the goal of personal sovereignty, honoring the light of God within self and within others. Please consider these questions, for yourSelf and your personal situation:

1. What money did I spend in the past for things that I couldn’t pay (and still haven’t paid) for? By the way, this is the debt you have now.
2. Am I comfortable with the fact that my debt is like a promise I made to pay for something, that I haven’t actually paid for yet? Banks, financial institutions are actually organized structures of people, actual individual Ones who are counting on the promises they make, their bosses make and that I made to keep the system running smoothly. Is the system perfect? No, but that doesn’t mean we can void our promise to pay what we owe.  I’ll offer here that I as Jill and as my team don’t believe in, don’t “see” and am not counting on any timelines of debt forgiveness where things like mortgages or other loans and debt will be forgiven.
3. What money is coming in now? Is it enough?
4. What practical, low risk, low/no investment choices can I make to earn more money, right away (even if that means a traditional “day job”)? (Pleasseee no get rich quick schemes, no scammy type opportunities for quick money, no payday loans, no “businesses” that you have to buy into and then “just follow their program to make easy money”.)
5. Where am I spending money that, in light of the current cash flow problem, no longer makes sense?
6. Where am I spending money, telling myself it’s an investment that I actually cannot afford, at least right now?
7. To whom am I regularly contributing money that I now realize I can’t afford (or no longer feel good about supporting), at least right now?
8. What am I investing in, or paying for that I’ve been calling a business, but really it is an expensive, unaffordable hobby, at least for now?
9. Where am I asking or expecting another to assist me or even bail me out and is that really their job? Why would I have a right to their money more than they do??
10. Where am I donating money to a cause that, when stepping back, doesn’t seem like it is actually making the overall problem better or, ideally, solve? Is there any noticeable difference, truly, when I really look at the problem objectively from when I and others began donating? If not, the donations may sound great and feel good, but that doesn’t mean it is solving the root problem (bummer!!!).  More on this later within this written message.

Fourth, stepping back to consider yourSelf and where you are Now, vs. where you were when you were accumulating this financial burden. As you look at this list, where do you feel a sense of lack of choice, or not wanting to disappoint others, or feeling obligated to a commitment or even a community that you wish you could now pause or even stop indefinitely?

With these areas in particular, is it possible you are putting another’s well being ahead of your own?

Might that be part of the financial problem you now face?

Are you acting in a way that is responsible, overall, in your life (responsibility simply means responding to one’s ability)?

You have choices. Yes, some of them are difficult. Some of the choices could/will disappoint others. But, in instances where you are paying others for things you cannot afford, if you were in that receiver’s shoes, would you want someone to be paying you for something that they cannot afford? I know for me, the answer is no. I really don’t want anyone, including you, beautiful sister/brother, to be buying things from me that you cannot afford (don’t have the money for right now). Your financial responsibility matters, to your sense of being and living free in your light and in your life, which is what prompted us to share this message in the first place. It matters. You matter and your Light within matters. And it is all connected.

Financial debt creates stress, anxiety and distraction that is a very real weight on our being our light, here on Earth. We are energetically harming ourselves when we are spending money that we don’t have.

Fifth, some problems/flaws in Enlightenment Communities are what directly led to the financial burden many within it face. I’m very bothered by the popularity of “Abundance Teachings”, Laws of Attraction, The Secret and “Wealth Creation” that lead anyone on their journey to creating debt, spending money on things they may not even need and that may not even deliver on the promises that were made upon purchase. Your money is yours. You probably earned it. Money being earned isn’t old fashioned or low vibe. I find that the less effort One had to put into acquiring something, the less they appreciate it, the less they respect it and the lesser the blessings they feel from it. Conversely, I find that the more effort One puts into acquiring something, the more they appreciate it, the more they respect it, the greater the blessings they feel from it. Please love yourself enough to pause and say no to anything that isn’t working right now in your life, including spending money you don’t have. I’m also deeply concerned about spiritual teachings/teachers that lead One to believe that they need to leave their paying career, “day job” in order to be “more spiritual” or in order to be more “devoted to their enlightenment”.  I see this sooooo often in my client work.  Apparently it is not too uncommon for spiritual teachers, teachers/coaches/ascension guides that are offering “limited”/”exclusive” programs costing sometimes $5,000 per month (or more) to assist that individual in becoming more enlightened, accessing their personal mastery and other enticing promises. Why would that require abandoning one’s source of Earthly income? Answer, it shouldn’t! Jesus was also a Carpenter. For real! I’m pretty sure him earning money as a carpenter didn’t get in the way of him also being his amazing light on Earth. Because being light doesn’t pay the bills people. Preachers have an offering plate passed around and church-sponsored housing that I don’t have and you probably don’t have either. Right? We’ve got expenses and bills involved in food, shelter, clothing and any extras we desire to make our lives more enjoyable and more comfortable. My banker doesn’t care what I do for a living; they just want and deserve to get paid for whatever I may owe them. Investing in One’s self is fine. Especially when you have the money to pay for it. Especially in things that deliver observable, perceived or even tangible benefits that outweigh the amount you paid for it. Please considering running, far far away from any teacher or teaching that is advising you to leave your paying job to be more enlightened. I can’t think of anything more unenlightened. Poverty to me is not a very enlightening energetic experience.  And as Buddha shared in this message HERE, material possessions, wealth and even financial abundance do not need to be/get in the way of anyOne being their eternal light while embodied. Relinquishment of material possessions, is a form of suffering that is not needed for enlightenment.  It’s also no guarantee of accessing one’s light within… as a homeless person can attest to. There is absolutely no shame in a day job, none. Earning a living, making choices like a mature, responsible adult can feel good and is, in our view most definitely “high vibe.” For anyone on disability, please consider ways that you can live within your means.  Or, investigate what the disability system allows for in terms of earning money on the side, even if it is taxable. Taxes are one way a responsible, mature adult helps pay for the services provided for the citizenry in which we each call home.  Again, is the system perfect? Ummm no. But just because it isn’t perfect doesn’t mean I get to decide I don’t want to pay my share. I can use my vote and elect candidates where possible that help create a system that I believe is the best use of those tax revenues. And, even when voting regularly, I may not get what I want. This is life; I get it (plus I have the Serenity Prayer ready as needed lol to keep me balanced, engaged and as serene as possible (God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference)). Sixth, Another Approach, that is very much at odds with current Enlightenment Teachings regarding abundance and financial wealth. My hubby (since 1993) and I don’t have a dream board and never did. (If that is working for you, awesome ~ please keep at it!)  We chose and choose to work hard at things that pay well. We choose to not spend money on things that we don’t have the money to pay for. We pay off our credit card every month. We purchase homes that require payments that are not more more than 20-30% of our current monthly take home pay (and ideally even less).  We also live in a relatively affordable area of our country (Boise, Idaho USA) – by choice, for many reasons, including its affordability of living. The lender formulas for what mortgage amount one can afford would not give us the freedom to eat out, take vacations, have the cars that we enjoy driving, savings we like to make in our retirement and other short terms savings cushion we prefer. Lender or even land lord formulas for what One can afford often lead to someone being house poor. And it is tragic; yet no one is forcing the individual to agree to their ridiculous formulas, calculations and baked in assumptions. I wish more home owners and renters knew this; knew to question the lender’s and land lord’s recommendations and make their own well informed decisions about what amount they are willing to allocate to the important factor of shelter/housing. These are our choices, based on the lifestyle we want and wanted to create for ourselves. So far, so good! Much better than we ever planned or expected actually. Regarding career choices, especially in college and right after college we didn’t make choices based on our passions or life long dreams or such. I thought about various careers in various professions when I was in the local university, living at home so I could take unpaid internships and so I could increase my chances of getting a great job out of college. I remember telling my Dad I wanted to switch from Business to Sociology and he said “Oh please don’t – you won’t make enough money.”  That was his advice to me.  Some may have judgment about that. I don’t. I listened and I’m glad that I did. I did look up what Sociology majors typically make and agreed that that wasn’t the lifestyle I wanted for myself. I also wouldn’t choose teaching because the wages weren’t acceptable to me and what I felt was fair for the work expected, the dedication I would have for the job and the level of investment in education needed. Again, choices. Decisions. Free will. Do I still love the science and exploration of human behavior and offering (teaching) to others what they may want to know? Oh yessss. But just because I like something or am interested in it, doesn’t mean I need to invest money in any education for a job in a field that pays much less (with far lower earnings growth) than professions in business (which are also based on human behavior).  It also doesn’t mean it’ll pay the bills! Choices. Discernment. Living our choices, every day. And adjusting as needed.

Choices. Discernment. Living our choices, every day. And adjusting as needed/desired when the outcome isn’t what we desire. 

I’m grateful to my Dad for being blunt and honest in offering his opinion. I’m grateful to my husband (who was taught about personal financial responsibility from his Dad) for encouraging me to save 10% of every paycheck in my employer’s 401K plan when I was in corporate, when I’d have rather had the other 10% to spend. I’m grateful to my husband for starting a college savings plan for each of our daughter’s when we learned that we were pregnant. Again, money we could’ve spent but instead we saved. Some in spiritual communities don’t believe in savings, for retirement or anything. I’ve observed in hundreds of hundreds of client sessions, that that doesn’t tend to go well. We don’t foresee debt forgiveness as a likely scenario and certainly not one to bank on (pun lol). Seven, I’m an Empath – we want to help. I totally get it! I know what it feels like to get excited about something and be ready to hand over, sometimes large amounts of money to someone else for something you believe in or are excited to be a part of. In many instances, I didn’t have the money in my individual account and decided to ask my hubby if he supported me in spending our joint money in a certain way. I can’t imagine how hard it was for him to look at me and go with his gut that was saying, “No,” that it didn’t feel like a good idea. Every single time, in hind sight, he was totally right. He saw an angle, that from my optimism and idealism, I didn’t, couldn’t or just didn’t want to see. I get it! I definitely have some layers within me that easily:

• donate money to things with the hope that the horrible problem will be improved or even solved.  But, my very pragmatic and rational side also questions, does it? Are these billions and billions of dollars handed over to well meaning charities and not for profits addressing the root cause?  Think of the money donated to cure cancer. We still have it… Why is it heartless or discompassionate to step back and say, “Hey, maybe more money isn’t going to solve this?” It hasn’t yet. Maybe charities and causes, like us, want to “do something” and we are, perhaps, pretending that by giving money we are making a difference. But that doesn’t mean we are. We still have cancer. We still have a seemingly never ending pet adoption problem. Homelessness, especially in areas that are “doing” the most, is actually growing! Earth’s climate changes. Poverty. Access to clean water. Hunger. Real problems. What the heck are we then supposed to do to fix them, solve it? I don’t know, either. I wish I did. I wish we did. These are some of the many tough, complex problems on Earth. If they were easy, they’d be solved already. If it only required more money, it would’ve been better by now, or even solved in some cases. Many donations based ventures seem to do an amazingly good job raising/taking/absorbing money through donations, only to address the symptoms of the issue, which are never ending… (unless the root is addressed). But we have to do something, right? Well, what if doing something is at a noticeable consequence to you while barely putting a dent in a much, much larger problem? How does pretending money or even time donations is making a real difference, make it so? More on this very uncomfortable notion of donating less and holding on, more often, to your own money, in JRF Podcast #208  HERE.
• hand over money to people I want to support, that feel unfairly unsupported in this world.
• pay for things that promise something, but when stepping back, have an extremely low probability of actually delivering on those promises.
• say yes, when I “should” (to be fair to my own hard-earned money and my love and care of my own Self/One) say no. Why is it so hard to say no? Especially when someone we may really like or even want to impress is asking us to say yes? Grrrrr Earth is not easy, dang it! I’m sensing we knew that. Maybe that is why we offer articles like this, to consider, or reconsider things, things that matter.

Eight, now that you have the above considerations, possible aha moments and hopefully a fresh perspective to start from, here are some recommended reSources for creating financial responsibility:

1. For further support on eliminating/facing stress in any matters of life and living, I highly recommend the lectures on youtube and in podcasts by Jordan B Peterson (a kindred spirit imo) and his extremely practical and in very real ways high-vibe book “12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos“.
2. We have a written message HERE on Being Practical in Spirit-Based Businesses.
3. For anyone with financial difficulties, I recommend Dave Ramsey – his website is HERE.  He is very traditional Christian, which bothers some. But, I recommend him because I sense the grounded-ness and pragmatism of his approach for getting out of debt and becoming financially sound. (He has a lot of confusing other offers/side business on his site, which I invite you to ignore). For creating a new mindset and new views of financial responsibility, you may appreciate his call in radio show and podcasts. His step by step debt reduction program has helped many, many people get out of debt and regain control of their finances. Is it metaphysical? No, but neither is your debt, right? It may not be fun, but I’m imagining it will be worth it, 1000%. It’s never too late to start making sound, loving choices for our own lives. 
4. If the concept of Personal Responsibility and taking great care for your own One feels foreign to you, you may really enjoy the book Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand for another perspective. I find that personal authority, individual sovereignty and claiming our light goes right along with personal responsibility. Ayn was a bit extreme in her day, (and even now) with bold, and easily mischaracterized concepts for communities living more peacefully, more authentically and with more personal freedoms and sustainable abundance.

Nine, regarding what I charge for in my business with the Enlightenment Without Suffering approach to personal enlightenment, we offer many free reSources. And we offer many for-pay reSources, including 5-star trips to places like Exploring the Mysteries of Egypt, Mary Magdalene adventures in France, and Sacred Portal Destinations in Greece. The price for an hour long private session with me is priced similarly to a one night stay in a 5 star hotel, but with life long benefits, or longer… Our classes and courses are priced similar to a pretty nice evening out for dinner including a wonderful glass of wine, but our experience includes the very high chances for life changing epiphanies and permanent liberation from outdated enlightenment concepts that led you out of your energy field, perpetually seeking, vs deeper into it, your light ~ true enlightenment. Is always within. Of course. Fellow Entrepreneurs and Practitioners: please notice carefully my choices for pricing in above paragraph and here, for we are often led to feel guilty for charging what we know we are worth… For those who cannot afford our for-pay reSources, I am sorry, and also, I understand.  But, I’m also choosing to not feel responsible for what you can or can’t afford. Because what you can afford is your business. What I charge is my business.  This is Sovereignty in action, too, each of ours; me claiming mine and hoping you are also claiming yours. And, I love that we provide hundreds of free, deep, enriching, non-spammy, no paid ads, videos (and growing weekly!) as well as our books (each on Amazon) as well as the many recorded interviews which are all available to anyOne, regardless of their present financial and/or energetic situation.   This was a long message. But it matters! This topic matters, and I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time. So glad we made time for it today. You matter, and we love you so much.  Please re-read if it feels pertinent to you, possibly many times and as needed going forward. Answer the questions provided, thoughtfully, with time and love for yourself, your life. I hope you found this useful and helpful, for you, your One. If you enjoyed it, found it enlightening and valuable, please consider sharing it via the social links, using link https://jillreneefeeler.com/financial-responsibility/ and/or leaving a comment below, scroll down until you see comment section. Sharing or recommending invites others to experience it as monthly members, which is the manner in which I chose to offer it. Thank you! I hope for many to be able to consider these perspectives for themselves, supporting individual sovereignty, eternal Light here on Earth. With love, honor, gratitude and blessings, Jill