Money! It’s one of the main reasons we work—and it profoundly shapes how we view work, what we believe is possible for us, and what we allow ourselves to create. In many ways, our work is a mirror of our relationship with money. One which has lost its Soul. As Lynne Twist explores in her enlightening book on the topic, The Soul of Money, this relationship is often shaped by fear, scarcity, and unconscious patterns, leaving our work disconnected from what truly nourishes us. It’s time to bring the soul back into money and let money support soulful, meaningful work.
To do that, we must cultivate a conscious relationship with money. By conscious, I mean examined. Looked at with awareness, curiosity, and honesty.
A Soulful Relationship
Have you ever truly considered your relationship with money?
It might just be one of the most intimate and influential relationships in your life. For many of us, money is tied to survival, safety, and even love. It may carry echoes of our earliest bonds—perhaps with our mothers, and symbolically, with support and sustenance, and collectively with Mother Earth.
So, how can we begin to heal and transform this relationship?
We can start by developing a soulful connection to money—soul-full, as in full of soul.
Soul is depth. Soul is meaning. It is the joy, truth, and fulfilment that lives at the core of who you are. So, that means bringing this soul back into money, and allowing money to have a place in your soul.
And here’s my hunch—when we heal our relationship with money, we become more able to create meaningful work—work that’s soul-aligned, alive, and a true expression our ourselves. Because when money stops being a source of fear or confusion, it starts becoming a source of clarity, support, and self-realisation.
Examining the Flow
What if we looked at money not as a fixed resource, but as a flow?
In the dominant culture, money is often seen as an asset to hold onto. But even within capitalism, money only grows when it moves—when it’s invested, exchanged, circulated. Money needs movement.
As Lynne Twist says, you can see it like water; it needs to flow, otherwise it becomes stagnant and toxic.
“Money is a flow, a resource for life, not a source of identity.” – Lynne Twist
So, what kind of flow are you currently part of?
A simple way to explore this is by reflecting on two questions:
Where does my money come from?
Where does my money go?
Not in a budgeting sense, but energetically. Tune into the feel of the flow. Where is your money coming from? Does that source feel nourishing, aligned, and respectful of who you are? And where is it going? Does the way you spend or give reflect what you care about most?
This flow tells a story.
Money carries energy—both yours and that of where it comes from. If you earn through work that drains you, or in an environment that clashes with your values, that energy sticks. It can show up in your body, your emotions, and your sense of vitality.
This is true for inherited money or support from a partner, too. Sometimes it comes with invisible strings—expectations, power dynamics, emotional debts.
The question is:
Are you in a flow that feels like freedom, or one that feels like entanglement?
When you begin to notice the flow, you also begin to see where it wants to change.
The Scarcity Lens
We’ve been taught—often quietly, unconsciously—to see life through the lens of scarcity.
There’s not enough time, not enough money, not enough security. Not enough of me to go around, and even I’m not enough.
This mindset doesn’t just affect how we relate to money. It shapes everything: how we see ourselves, our work, time, relationships and what we believe is possible.
When you view your career through the lens of scarcity, you might:
- Stay in a job that doesn’t nourish you because “there’s nothing better out there.”
- Silence your creative impulses because “you can’t make money doing that.”
- Undervalue your gifts, time, or presence because you believe “you’re simply not good enough or worthy.”
Scarcity creates contraction. It keeps you playing small, settling, and compromising. It makes it hard to trust your intuition, your desires, your deeper knowing.
And perhaps most painfully, it disconnects you from your soul. Because the soul doesn’t speak in scarcity. The soul speaks in enoughness. In possibility. In flow.
If your work feels stagnant, heavy, or misaligned… It’s worth asking:
What am I believing about money, and about myself?
Am I making choices from trust—or from fear?
Is my current work rooted in survival, status, or sufficiency?
Awareness is the first step. You can’t change what you don’t see.
Sufficiency – A Radical Reframe
Twist, offers a powerful reframe:
The opposite of scarcity is not abundance—it’s sufficiency.
Let that land for a moment. Sufficiency isn’t about having more. It’s about recognising what is already here.
In her words:
“Sufficiency isn’t an amount at all. It’s an experience, a context we generate, a declaration, a knowing that there is enough, and we are enough.”
This is radical—because we’ve been sold the story that we are never enough, and don’t have enough, and need to do more to be worthy.
So let’s pause for a second (or a day, since we can have the experience of enough time!) and clarify:
- Scarcity says: There’s not enough. I have to fight, hustle, and compete to survive.
- Abundance often gets distorted into: There’s so much, I can have everything I want! More is better!
- Sufficiency says: What I have is enough. Who I am is enough. From here, I can create.
Sufficiency grounds us. It doesn’t mean settling—it means starting from wholeness rather than lack. It invites trust, spaciousness, wise action and stewardship.
Implications for Meaningful Work
When you root into sufficiency:
- You stop choosing work out of desperation or fear.
- You trust that your deepest values and desires are not impractical—they’re guiding you.
- You become more open to opportunities that align, rather than just what pays the most or looks good on paper.
- You recognise that right now, you have enough to take one small step toward the work that calls you.
Sufficiency isn’t complacency. It’s fertile ground. From here, true creativity, courage, and flow become possible.
When you know you’re enough, you can begin to create work that is worthy of your soul.
Healing Your Relationship with Money
Your current work is more than a job—it’s a mirror.
It reflects how you see yourself… What you believe you’re worth… And how free (or not) you feel in your relationship with money.
So take a quiet moment to explore:
What does the way I earn reflect about what I believe is possible for me?
How do I feel when I receive money? Grateful, guilty, unworthy, empowered?
How do I feel when I ask for money? When I spend it?
What messages about money shaped me? From family? From culture?
There’s no need to judge the answers—just notice. Awareness creates space for something new.
Beginning to Heal
Healing your relationship with money doesn’t require a financial overhaul. It starts with a shift in presence. A shift in story.
Here are a few gentle starting places:
- Practice sufficiency. At the end of the day, write down three ways in which you had enough. Enough time, enough support, enough resources—even if only a little.
- Bless your flow. Each time you receive or spend money, pause for a moment. Breathe. Thank the flow. Ask: Is this aligned with what I value?
- Bring consciousness to the exchange. Whether you’re setting your rates or paying a bill, notice: Am I in fear, guilt, resentment, or in clarity, trust, and integrity?
- Make One Aligned Money Choice. Pick one small action that feels like a “yes” to your values, e.g. support a local artist or small business, invest in your growth or healing or set a clearer boundary with work that depletes you.
- Watch Your Language. Notice how you talk about money, e.g. “I can’t afford that.” → Try: “That’s not a priority for me right now.” Words shape reality. Speak from sufficiency—even if just a little.
If this feels tender or you notice resistance, that’s okay. Money touches deep layers—security, survival, even love. Be gentle with yourself.
A Deeper Invitation
Over time, you may begin to ask:
What kind of energy do I want to circulate in the world through my work and money?
What kind of flow do I want to be a part of?
Because healing your relationship with money is about living and working in a way that helps you become all you can be.
Vision for Money AND Meaning
What if work can be a sacred expression of who you are?
And earning and contributing aren’t at odds—but part of the same flow?
You start to see that meaningful work and financial flow aren’t opposites. They can belong together. With a healed relationship to money, we open space to imagine something radically different: Work that feeds both your soul and your life. Work that feels aligned, alive, and in service to something real.
This kind of meaningful work doesn’t just “happen.” It takes courage to listen to the quiet pull toward something more authentic, more connected, more you.
Take a moment to feel into that vision:
- What kind of work would feel truly aligned with your values?
- How would it feel to be paid for offering your natural gifts?
- What kind of impact would you love to have?
- How would you show up if you trusted that your contribution had value?
Write it down. Not as a resume, but as a vision. A felt sense. A sketch of possibility. You don’t need all the answers. But you do need to start listening.
From Vision to Action
Meaningful work begins with a clear, felt sense—then grows through small, honest steps.
What’s one small shift you could make today that moves you toward that vision?
- Maybe it’s having a courageous conversation.
- Reaching out to someone who inspires you.
- Exploring a new way to offer your talents.
- Saying no to something that drains you.
- Dedicating time to doing something you love.
You don’t need to have it all figured out.
You just need to begin—from sufficiency, not scarcity.
Each action you take in the direction of your soul work strengthens the flow.
The flow of trust. Of alignment. Of money earned with integrity.
Work That Honours Us
When we begin to heal our relationship with money, something shifts. We open the door to work that truly nourishes—ourselves and others.
We stop working just to survive. No longer stuck in survival or scarcity, we can choose work that feels aligned, alive, and meaningful.
Work that flows from who we are and what we care about. That serves something deeper than just a paycheck.
This kind of work doesn’t have to be perfect. But it does need to be true.
So pause. Reflect. Dare to reimagine!
What might become possible if you trusted your soul’s voice when it came to your work—and your worth?
And what’s one small, courageous step you could take?
I’m here to offer guidance and my experience to help you walk that path, should you want support, towards work that’s more alive, more honest, and more you.
Because you’re not just here to earn a living!
You’re here to offer something of real value to us all.
Photo by Ian Talmacs on Unsplash
