Money is a great servant and a terrible master.- Benjamin Franklin

In American culture we hold attitudes about money that say money and spirituality are mutually exclusive. “It’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to go to heaven,” is one attitude that prevails. So when people embark on the spiritual path they may imagine that money is evil. Money itself has no quality, rather its characteristic depends on how it is used. I love the idea that money is energy. It represents stored energy and resources. When we use it in a spiritual way, in a way that is not associated with greed, then it can be put to work to help many people.

Money is a highly charged topic. Becoming a slave to it through the use of credit cards and excessive desires for things will hinder us. I love Benjamin Franklin’s old adage, “Money is a great servant and a terrible master.” This just about sums it up. When we’re in charge of our desires and limit them, we remain on top. When we let the desires overun us then we can fall under an avalanche of debt.

For today, take a moment to examine your thoughts, feelings and attitudes about money. Do you consider it evil? Do you let it rule you? How do you choose to use it? By becoming fully conscious of how we use this energy, we will have more control over our lives and learn to live with money as a friend, not an enemy.

One way to discern what’s important to you is to keep track of all expenses for a month. Examining the results at the end of the month will reveal where your priorities are.

Bio: Debra Moffitt is author of Awake in the World: 108 Practices to Live a Divinely Inspired Life. A visionary and teacher, she’s devoted to nurturing the spiritual in everyday life. She leads workshops on spiritual practices at the Sophia Institute and other venues in the U.S. and Europe. Her mind/body/spirit articles, essays and stories appear in publications around the globe and were broadcast by BBC World Services Radio. She has spent over fifteen years practicing meditation, working with dreams and doing spiritual practices. Visit her online at http://www.awakeintheworld.com.