The Anti-Economics Of Spirituality

I’d like to quote a hero of mine, and a fellow “doctor of the universe”...Dr. Purple, himself:

Money don't matter 2 night

It sure didn't matter yesterday

Just when u think u've got more than enough

That's when it all up and flies away

That's when u find out that u're better off

Makin' sure your soul's alright

Cuz money didn't matter yesterday,

And it sure don't matter 2 night

While I might quibble with the use of the word “soul”, I get The Artist’s point, and it’s valid. This is something that, frankly, turns most people off to the occult and the truly spiritual, and I want to get it out of the way early as we continue on this journey in the Spirituality segment of the Sovryn Technica Newsletter.

Spiritual practice – occult, esoteric, mystical, magical, Kabbalistic, pick your term – will not make you rich.

Really, done right, it likely will never make you a dime. This leads many people to ask themselves, “Then why even bother with this stuff?”

Great question. While I don’t have exact figures before me, I wonder, how many people are either killed or commit suicide that are in the wealthiest 25% of people on the entire planet? Compared to the other 75% of the population? I think the stats would show that the suicide/murder rate of that Top 25% is exceptionally higher than the other 75%. Disproportionately higher.

Why is this? I don’t know that I need to spell it out, and there would clearly be more than one reason. But let me say this: genuine self-improvement (and thus, improvement of the universe around you) and intrinsic happiness – the very heart and purpose of spiritual practice – takes time. Years. Decades. And if you take it to its heights, perhaps even centuries, or more (seriously). So much time, in fact, that the pursuit of money in the “Materialistic World” becomes increasingly difficult. Not only that, but the (often) nonsensical 9-to-5 work most do will – over time – reveal itself to be painful distraction and antithetical effort that it is to your goal of becoming a pleasure-filled denizen of the universe (remember that “galactic mindset” I’ve been espousing on Sovryn Tech for years?).

As I’ve said before, I often come at these subjects from the writings and lens of Kabbalah, which itself has a Jewish bent. In Judaism, the “perfect life” is the study of Torah...all day long. That’s right, a Jew’s “job” is to study the Torah. Not to work at McDonald’s. Not even to become brain surgeons. But “simply” to study Torah.

Do I agree with that specific idea? No. Some work, even technical or menial tasks, can be a symphony to the worker. Work can be a meditation in itself. But the abstract point of studying Torah all day is still sound: one’s day-to-day life, including what work you find yourself doing, should be a joy and a meditation.

“Gathering food is a pain in the ass,” they say. That’s only because we’re so disconnected from our food, and so distracted by much of civilization that we forget gathering food is an opportunity to connect with the Natural World (and ourselves) instead of the Materialistic World.

I’m not intending this to be an anti-work screed. Quite the opposite, actually. I want this to be a reminder that money cannot buy the true, from-the-inside, long-lasting health and happiness that spiritual practice and connecting with the Natural World can for the individual. It’s important to note, that spirituality is as much “anti-philosophy” as it is “anti-economics”.

To be clear, you’re not going to starve for taking more time to practice your spirituality, but you will find less and less time for more, shall we say, “hollow pursuits”. Do you need money to survive in today’s Materialistic World? Yes (more or less). Can you buy and do cool things with more money? Yes, absolutely.

Do you need ten billion dollars to have an exciting, fulfilling life? No. Will money take you to other planets? I’ve yet to see a single billionaire step foot on Mars (in fact, they keep failing at that). Will money attract the love of your life that will stick with you through even the darkest times? Nope, that’s a guaranteed way to NOT find that kind of lover.

Will spiritual practice give you all of the above? Yes.

So you tell me, who gives a shit if spiritual practice doesn’t make you money? Money don’t matter tonight. And it sure didn’t matter yesterday.

This was originally posted in the Sovryn Technica Newsletter Issue #10.