The first chapter introduces the intersection of Spirit and Money. The realms of spirit and religion, engaged as they are with the non-material world, always find their way to work in a world that trades in money. The author draw on the example of religious organiizations the can be exempt from tax in the United States. The chapter futher decribes the relation between religious or spiritual practice, a private matter, and the world of money, which falls in the category of a public matter. Socities seek to treat these matters in a way that reflects their belief systems and political agreements, and several variants.
The example from the chapter that stood apart to me was the poem "Deciding" by William Stafford. The poet was aware of the nuance of an American consciousness that moves beyond the duality of heaven and earth, spirit and matter, and even good and evil. The poem decribes gold as kind of currency. It holds value as a precious metal, and harbors a long history of representating a deep curse of materialism. It is in the genius of the of the poem that expresses the inner capacity of miners to know how to trascend the simple duality (spirituality and materialism), and instead to be in both places at once - and thus in the third place. The chapter draws a comparison to Jesus, who was an exemplar and teacher of this conscious to see both what belongs to the world and what in the realm of the spirit, and beyond that to be able to discern and point out when the the two fall out of integrity. This understanding is intiutional and worthy of emulation, even if it is likely to fail.
Staffar points out that money draws on our lower or desire nature. The poet points out greed, which is synonymous with access to material goods and services. Futhermore, we are so dependent on money to provide for us in a evolved citified culture, money carries with it a dominion over our sens of well-being and our sense to self-sufficiency - a place close to our identity
No comments:
Post a Comment