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Paying a Spiritual Worker

Re-post from my Business Alchemy Coach Blog post dated July 23, 2012

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Paying a Spiritual Worker

There is an interesting mind-set in some of the spiritual/magickal communities that our skills and knowledge are given freely by a Divine Source and therefore we, as Spiritual Workers, shouldn't charge money for our services.

It's an old mind-set that doesn't serve the Spiritual Worker nor the client. Everything has a worth and value. There is an exchange of energy when people engage and communicate. The problem is when people start to think of the exchange of money in a negative way.

In our society we are conditioned to have a bad relationship with money. It has always been seen as something that only a select few have and hoard like it's their last breath. Money and wealth is something we all strive for because we need it to exchange for items and services.

Why is a spiritual item or service any different?

Now, what I usually hear from those that don't believe that money should be used as an exchange is with regard to spiritual services such as tarot reading, spellwork, healing and teaching. I've heard over and over that I was given the talent to read tarot cards freely from Goddess/God and should therefore pay that forward by reading for people for free.

I'm not sure where people are learning how to read tarot for free but honestly I haven't found those resources. I've paid for workshops, classes and books to develop my divination skills. Along the same lines I have paid money for spiritual training by Elders and spent a lot of time in classes and with my nose in a book I bought.

So where is this freely given gift?

We are all spiritual beings connected to each other and to the Divine Creator. I believe that the ability to perform spiritual work is innate in all of us just as it's in all of us to learn to speak a language correctly, we just need to find the teachers and resources to help us embody that skill. However, not all of us have the desire to become professional Spiritual Workers. And honestly not all of us have the skill to work professionally as a reader, witch or run a magickal shop.

When we put spirituality and magick into a box separate from other skills and talents we are putting it outside of ourselves. It becomes something that is different from everything else in our lives. It's something that is "over there" and not "here".

Personally, I wouldn't work with a Spiritual Worker that hasn't taken the time and energy to develop their skills as far as they could. There is only so much you can do with what you have been given, at some point you need to seek the teaching of others and value that teaching with an exchange of energy.

I have and will continue to trade what I offer with what others offer. I do trade-for-trade, meaning that if I have something you want or need and you have something I want or need we can trade for it no matter the monetary value of the item/service.

For example: You offer a class and I offer a class. You would like to take my class and I would like to take your class. You charge $30 for your hour long class. I charge $50 for my two hour class. I'm not looking to make up that $20 difference or that extra hour. It's a trade-for-trade energy exchange. It's even-steven in my book.

Trade-for-trade is my favorite way of doing things. Unfortunately the gas station down the road isn't interested in my tarot readings for a tank full of gas.

The mind-set that charging money for something makes it less spiritually connected is hog-wash. An unhealthy relationship with money and wealth will keep you away from the wealth you deserve. Exactly why would financial abundant energy want to hang around a person who thinks ill of it?

photo courtesy of Free Digital Photos

Meet Sara (fictitious person). She's an artist. When she was 7 her mother found her laying on the livingroom floor sketching the family cat Bonzo. Her mother was amazed at Sara's talent and found out that Sara loved to draw and paint.

For a few years Sara kept a sketch book of her drawings and enjoyed the art class at school. Finally when she was 12 she asked to take a summer program art course. Her mother agreed and Sara's love for art grew.

Sara went to college and got a degree in art. She now works as an illustrator for a big fashion magazine. Sara took her divinely given gifts and turned them into a profession. Should she not be paid for her talent?

Why is a talented artist being paid any different than a talented spellworker being paid?

Where is the line drawn that separates divinely given gifts that are okay to buy and sell and divinely given gifts that are not okay to buy and sell?

Is the ability to do art not as sacred as the ability to read tarot? Maybe that is where this mind-set lies. I don't know.

I'm a crafter. I make clothes. I have a degree in fashion design. Was I born with some of these abilities? Sure. Could I make a living using these talents if I had never paid money to develop these talents further? Maybe. Did I pay for training to develop these talents? Most definitely.

For me there is no line. Value those things around you as you wish. It's your choice however don't get your panties in a bind when others value those things differently.

As for paying money to train as a priestess/priest or for initiation - well that isn't any different. The people I have learned from are a wealth of practical knowledge that we are just not born with. They have studied hard the history of cultures and traditions and know their stuff. They have used an abundance of energy to learn what they know. I will always value that and gladly exchange money for their knowledge.

Be smart. Research anyone you choose to learn from or buy from. If what they are offering doesn't feel right to you to pay money for it then don't. Move on and find something that jives with you. They may not know their stuff or maybe they just aren't the right Spiritual Worker for you. Either way if you aren't willing to pay them money then don't waste energy complaining about them charging for their service/product.

It's important for us to support our spiritual leaders, teachers, and workers the same way we support the person who changes the oil on our car or the person who grew the apples we buy in the grocery store.

And at some point in our future where money is not the #1 method of exchange we can pick-up this topic again.

Why "cutting cords" can be dangerous.

I've been meaning to talk about this for a while. I had considered doing a video but decided it was easier to explain with written words.

I get a countless number of people contacting me desperate because they think they have been cursed, crossed or have plain ol' bad luck and they want me to fix it with a spell. After going through the process of divination and talking with the person it finally comes out that they had someone do a cord cutting to release/get rid of/separate from something or someone which they no longer needed in their lives.

Now, I will be honest, I've never had a cord cutting performed. I've heard of it and it never really made sense to me...and really it seemed way too new age-y and neo-pagan-y. So I did some research, and inquired about the process with my Spirit Guides and after dealing with a handful of clients who had a problem get worse after having cords cut I came to the conclusion that doing this, without proper knowledge of universal energy, can be dangerous.

I know I am going to get all kinds of comments from cord cutting folks who say they know what they are doing based on blah-blah-blah. My reply is this: Good for you. However, there is a problem somewhere or I wouldn't be getting people frantic about curses and jinxes after having cords cut. So hear me out.

 

Everything is energy. We are energy just smashed together in the form of a body. Think of it as electricity...energy. Any good electrician knows you don't go around cutting wires/cords without reconnecting them or safely sealing them. The same goes with cutting energetic cords in humans. Look at it this way, a doctor has to use cauterization when removing organs or repairing tissue in the body or else you bleed-out and die.

Cutting cords without care for what these open wounds (and yes they are wounds, why else the need to rid yourself of that energy?) may latch onto or worse what may latch onto the wounds is just plain messy work.

Each client that comes to me with this problem is asked to describe how the cord cutting was performed and it usually ends after the cords are cut with prayer, love and light and that's that. So I ask, "What did you re-attach that cord to?", and I get silence.

Cutting cords and letting them free-float in space is dangerous, any thing can attach itself to it and fester there. Bad/negative energy is drawn to those things that are weak and open without protection. So you may cut away the abusive relationship and boyfriend but what happens to that open wound at the end of the cord?

First, I want to say that cutting cords leads me to think it is a haphazard way of taking care of a problem. There is a connection to a person or situation and if you cut that cord part of you is still connected. Even if you draw in that energy back to yourself (I haven't had a client say this was done but maybe the worker did it without their knowledge...which is another blog post in itself) that piece of connection is there...forever.

 

I like to take control of all things that I can in my life, so plugging-in instead of attaching cords makes more sense to me. The connector gives you the option to unplug when and if you need to. This gives you more control.

However, you can't leave a bunch of plugs hanging around loose either. Also, leaving a cord hanging around unconnected is a waste of energy. Have you noticed all the eco-friendly information out there reminding people to unplug their smart phone charger when not in use to save on your electric bill? The same goes for spiritual energy. Your energy is still flowing through that connection to nothing. It's being wasted. No wonder I get clients who feel exhausted after a cord cutting that was supposed to make them feel better! So taking control of your energetic connections needs to go a step further.

 

Whether you have connected a cord or plugged it in, when you are ready to cut it or unplug it you need to re-attach it to something else...even if it is temporary. Attaching it to something vague like "love and light" or "blessings" just doesn't cut it (pun intended). You can't fill a specific space with something vague. You can't put a round peg in a square hole...that's just basic physics.

People ask me what this means, so let me explain simply. Let's use the abusive boyfriend problem: You're cutting cords to this person and this relationship. Just filling that space with love/self-love/light/violet energy or whatever isn't enough, you need specifics. An option would be to cut the cord then re-attach it to self-love through (here are some examples):

• prayer and meditation to heal and restore yourself
• treating yourself better and doing things that are totally for you like working out, spa days, going back to school, etc.
• doing those things that you always wanted but couldn't while in that relationship (travel, reading more, going out with friends, etc.)

Yes, some of this sounds trivial but these are all valid and needed options when moving forward from a bad relationship toward taking care of yourself.

Take control of your energy. Unplug or cut then replug or re-connect to something specific. Fill that void with what you need in your life at that moment or what the empty hole is best filled with.

 

Like I said, this can be something temporary because you are in control of your energy and you can plug-in, unplug, splice, re-connect and switch as you need. And this is where having someone else cut the cords for you makes me cringe. You have to be active in this process. No one can do it for you. Someone can support your process but it is all on you, baby. It's a personal process and if you aren't strong enough or ready to do it then you are setting yourself up for a slew of problems that can and will feel like a curse.

Cord maintenance is also important. You need to be aware of where your energy is going and how it is being spent. Check in every once in a while and make sure things aren't unraveling or that holes haven't been burned in the wiring letting precious energy leak out. This can be done a number of ways...some folks check-in through the Chakra system, others through divination, still others through medical check-ups (if you are having thyroid problems you may want to check out your communication cords, for example). Carolina Dean wrote a great blog post about using candles for preforming a spiritual check-up. Figure out what works for you, experiment and then embody it.

I can't say enough, especially to women, to take control of your lives! Be cautious of what you connect to and detach from and how you do it. If you need to seek the help of someone who cuts cords then ask questions about the process and what that open connection will be attached to. Also, be sure you take an active part in the process.

If you have had cords cut (by someone else or yourself) and are feeling empty, exhausted, restless, cursed, crossed, confused, etc. here are some suggestions:

• Clean and cleanse (meaning physically clean your surroundings and yourself, purge, clean-out then cleanse spiritually and energetically)
• Journal/write-out the process from beginning to end and find the leak or what went wrong then use that to make the situation right.
• Check-in on your energy levels, cords, plugs and connections. Find the drain in your energy and physically, magickally and spiritually take control of it by re-attaching to something specific.
• Seek the help of a professional who can help you to find the problem and the solution.
• Cleanse, cleanse, cleanse and then empower/fortify and protect!
• Meditate and work with your Spirit Guides to bring balance back in your life.

Remember when we purposefully let go those things which no longer serve us we are open to receive things that enrich our lives. Do it wisely.

Blessings!