Principles of Money Energy: Tales from beyond your checkbook
By Robin McCutcheon
To my dear friends in the Quite Frankly Nation: this essay is a basic theory of the fundamental building blocks of learning how “money” works, what it represents, and how you can start having a surplus of it and, hence, more abundance of it in your life.
First, we have to comprehend what is “money”. In the real world, money is a tool. Money, in and of itself, is just a ‘thing’ that we use to exchange for good and services. A true money fulfills four functions in the material world: it is a medium of exchange (you use it to buy stuff), it is a unit of account (it is used to count things), it is a standard of value (meaning, it never loses value), and it is a standard of deferred payment (you use it to pay off your debts). All of these characteristics are present in a true money. {Therefore, you can conclude that the Federal Reserve Note fails the essential test of being classified as ‘money’. It is not ‘money’; it is a fiat (fake) money.} But ‘money’ is much more than what we see in the 3D world.
Second, we have to realize that ‘money’ has a metaphysical aspect. Money represents energy. What I mean by that is this: when you work your job, you expend your personal energy for your employer, and in return you are paid money. Therefore, ‘money’ also represents an expenditure of energy.
Third, because money represents energy, the general concept of money comes from Universe (you can call it God, or Source, or whatever is the binding force that holds all of Everything together, as One). I believe that the general frequency of Source/God/Universe is Love, which is the highest form of the energy of Happiness. (See my recent editorial on the Pursuit of Happiness, here.
The reader can clearly see that ‘money’ is a tool; like a hammer is a tool, money can be used for good or evil. You can use a hammer to build a house or destroy it. This is why it is important for you to do a job that you love, because being unstintingly generous in giving of your energy to it results in abundant rewards from Universe via your employer. (Humans are not the source of money, they are the middleman in the energy transference of money from Source to you.)
All of this to say that there is more to ‘money’ than meets the eye. So, let’s explore a little bit with some real-life experience. Mine.
My learning about ‘money’ did not begin in my growing up years, as neither of my parents really understood what money was beyond their observation of the material world. My mother was pretty good at balancing a checkbook, but my father was a spend thrift. He used to joke that he had a hole in his pocket and the money kept falling out. The truth was he could not bring himself to save money, because his list of ‘wants’ was longer than his paycheck. Neither one had much of a ‘delayed gratification’ habit. In other words, they did not know how to teach what they did not know. I learned about money energy after the age of 40, when I was freshly divorced, having left my home, and had only one friend in the world to help me start a new life.
When I left my home, I had only room enough in the friend’s apartment for myself, my cat, a few of my books, and some of my clothes. This friend advised me to take all of the debt that my soon-to-be former ex and I had accumulated…not because I was wealthy enough to pay it off (far, far from it), but because by taking that debt with me, I removed it as a lever of power and control that my soon-to-be former ex had over me. Essentially, I removed all the chains that bound me to him and walked away with it.
Next, I had to find a job, because I was unemployed. I had earned my master’s degree in economics, but found no employers hiring. I pondered this dilemma, and my friend advised me to “find a job you can do” as a temporary stepping stone to something better. I found a job at Michael’s Arts & Crafts, which paid me $8.15 per hour.
When I received my first check, which was just a little over $300 per week, after paying all my bills and my credit card payments, I had $4 left in my checkbook. I despaired because I had two more weeks to go, driving every day to work, and not enough money to put a tank-full of gas in my car. Sitting all alone in my friend’s apartment, I wept, pitying my situation in life. And, sitting there, anguishing about how I was ever going to make enough money to even pay off all that debt I had taken out of my marriage, I prayed the most sincere prayer to Heaven that has ever left my lips. “Please help me figure out money! I need help to figure it out, so that I can get myself on the right track, get out of debt, and walk the right path.” And, that’s the exact moment that Universe stepped in to teach me about Money.
Universal help began with that first paycheck. The amount of money was literally just enough to pay my half of all the living expenses (rent, utilities, phone, water), but not food. This is where my friend was generous. He paid for the groceries, filled my gas tank, and then took me out to dinner. I allowed myself a case of Ramen noodles to take to lunch.
I learned how to celebrate balancing my checkbook. I was scrupulous in how I spent money. Every penny that I spent, I wrote down in a logbook. I only bought items I truly needed to live with cash. I paid off my lowest balance credit card first, and when that debt was paid off, I used the extra money to focus on the next credit card with the larger balance. I eliminated my cell phone, because it was an expense that was not necessary for living. Since I was responsible for my long-distance phone call bill, I didn’t make any calls. (If my adult children wanted to talk with me, they called me.)
My observations of how money worked I learned as a cashier at Michaels. The flow of money, in and out of my cash-drawer. Starting with a set amount and ending the day with thousands of dollars.
After a few months, I reapplied to the PhD program at Wayne State University. At the end of my interview with the Graduate Director, I told him that I needed a Graduate Assistantship to help me pay for my degree program. He said, “We don’t have any, right now. But, I’ll keep my eyes open.” I left his office deeply disappointed; I needed to finish my PhD so I could get into a job that I would adore, teaching economics.
On the long drive home, I prayed, but this time it was one of ‘thanks’. “Universe, thank you, for leading me to what is best and most appropriate for me,” and by the time I got home, there was a voice message waiting for me. It was the Graduate Director. “Well, I hope you can begin your studies the first week of January – we found an assistantship for you!” The Assistantship paid the exact same amount of money that I was earning at Michaels.
From Michaels to Wayne State, paycheck by paycheck the unspent balance in my checkbook grew: $4, $16, $32, $64, $128, and on and on, week by week, month by month, year by year. I started a consulting business “Feng Shui Made Easy” and another business doing taxes. I worked three jobs that I loved. The money which started off as a trickle, began flowing. I paid off my two credit cards. I paid off my car loan. In a few years, I looked back and realized that I had come out of a long dark tunnel and into the light!
I believe the Universe honored my dedication in learning how money energy worked, beyond balancing my checkbook, and has continued to reward me throughout these many decades. You can do this too – only “ask and it shall be given unto you.”
Robin S. McCutcheon
Professor of Economics
Lewis College of Business, Marshall University