The Spirit of Money

THE SPIRIT OF INTIMACY, by Sobonfu Some’, whose name means “keeper of ritual,” was born and raised in Burkina Faso.  She was a member of the Dagara tribe of West Africa.  The following is a short excerpt from her book in regards to money.  After all, “tis the season!”

Many factors contribute to the frequency of divorce in the West – money, job conflicts, infidelity, anonymity, isolation.   These result from a lack of spirit’s blessing and of community support.  In the village, these are not issues.

You have to go back to the fact that everything in the village, including money, is spirit-based.  It is only when money is taken out of its spiritual context that it becomes this huge giant that we have to struggle with.  Money was originally intended for spiritual usage.  It was taken to shrines and placed there as an offering.  It wasn’t used as a source of power. 

It’s when we start to disconnect money from its original meaning that we disconnect it from spirit.  Then we start to use it as a source of power.  Just like intimacy.  When we disconnect it from its spiritual base, we cut off it roots, and it becomes this vague thing just floating around without any kind of focus.

In absence of spirit, money becomes connected to “mine” and “I” and it’s mine, it’s not yours.  It does not belong to the community and does not have anything to do with spirit.

People make money into a personal thing.  It becomes all negative power and no spirit, giving it so much more energy than what it has in reality.  In this case it can only become an obstacle that divides people.

In a place where spirit has been forgotten, a true sense of identity is likely to be missing.  And since we have to have an identity beyond our social security number, people base their identity on their work.  Many people cannot separate their identity from what they do in their professional life.

But when you have a true sense of identity, you don’t feel insecure about sharing what you have.  And you will never find yourself fighting over the demands of a job.  – Sobonfu Some (Author of “The Spirit of Intimacy”)