Beyond Money & Survival - The Way of Phi in Practice -

The Way of Phi is beckoning You to move out beyond the Linear, into the Circular and then to find the Dynamic Balance between them

Dear friend,

Have you ever met anyone who has a healthy relationship with money?

I have asked several people this question, including money coaches, wealthy people and so far I haven't heard anyone say yes.

I don't mean that no one does, that I do not know, but they could be rare.

In other words, most people, including very affluent ones, seem to have issues with money.

The prevailing reason for this, I think, is that most fundamentally money means survival.

I don't mean that only technically, but especially emotionally.

The feeling that emerges for most people considering money is somehow connected to survival.

And survival, to many, closely tied to fear -- either fear of death or fear of suffering.

Thus money is more often than not connected to fear.

Yes, money opens doors, gives opportunities, lets you travel, buy things, do things etc. but beneath all that, there is an awareness that all of that could be taken away in one way or another:

The bank could go bankrupt, as with the Lehman Brothers in 2008.

The banks could freeze your account, as during the protesting convoys in Canada during Covid.

And even in a stable and honorable bank, money always seems to lose value over time, so the only way to "keep" the wealth is to invest it, which means additional uncertainties around value over time and losing assets.

In the lingo of The Way of Phi, money is a Linear concept since it lends itself readily to measuring.

Perhaps the most Linear concept that we encounter.

And it's around us most of the time in one way or another. Few days go by without any kind of financial transaction taking place in most people's lives. 

Meanwhile, as we have seen, money is connected to fear.

This is rather fitting, for it turns out that both money and fear are connected to the left hemisphere of the brain:

The left neocortex (thinking part) concerns itself mainly with measuring things, solving problems and setting goals. Making money falls squarely into these categories.

The left part of the limbic brain (the emotional part) houses what Carl Jung calls our Shadow, i.e. the unintegrated emotions from our past, i.e. fear especially. Or our inner wounded child. Ouch!

Being focused very much on money and fear, our society is in many ways steeped in fear.

-- Which explains quite a few things when it comes to how humans behave, would you not agree?

So, what is the solution? 

How can we remedy this unfortunate situation?

Surely, we are not supposed to walk around in fear all the time?

Well, fortunately the Linear is not all there is.

For if we turn to the right hemisphere of the brain, there is a whole world waiting for us with arms open wide. 

Quite literally.

The right hemisphere of the brain, concerns itself with the Circular:

The right limbic (emotional) part is what Carl Jung calls our Anima/Animus, the playful, the inner happy child. Yes, we all have one of those as well. Yay!

The right neocortex (thinking) part on the other hand concerns itself with concepts that cannot be measured, with visions, with big picture thinking and most of all with presence, here and now.

A lot of people who "wake up" take to the right hemisphere of the brain.

That seems "truer" somehow.

Being who we are rather than being obsessed by doing all the time.

Whether we get into yoga and meditation, spirituality, retreats, or whatever else makes us connect with who we ARE.

However, as much as the purely Linear way of living is unhealthy, only valuing the Circular is also out of balance, and at some point, we need to start recognising the value of both. Because just as it does not make sense to use half our brain when it is the left hemisphere -- it does not make sense to only use half the brain when it is the right hemisphere.

And when that has landed, when we can start moving towards Dynamic Balance, this holy grail of personal equilibrium that I keep returning to. For in it lies so much of what we are longing for.

Coming back to money and survival, by embracing an abudance mindset rather than a scarcity mindset, much shifts.

But that is only one part of it.

For if we really want to shift our awareness around any topic, we have to go deeper than our mindset: we have feel differently about it.

Which means engaging with the limbic regions of our brains.

Going deep.

Healing our inner wounded child and playing with our inner happy child.

For there is a world of wonders beyond this perpetual fear that grips so many by the throat day in and day out.

A world of inspiration, harmony and play.

A world of awe.

And as we start to use our whole brain, both thinking and feeling parts, we begin constructing the bridge in our brain – the corpus callosum.

And then money can actually become a way to manifest who we are through what we do and enjoying the rewards of it.

Because we are now no longer acting out of fear or survival.

And since we have integrated the fear and know that we are probably not getting out of here alive anyway, so aiming at "surviving" is futile as best.

Instead, we welcome life in all its richness, with all its challenges and with all the adventures.

When you are ready to embark on your greatest adventure, click here. Let's get started!

With gratitude, 

Christopher