May/June 2002 Living Now
Money and Spirit

by Fred Brown

As I am contemplating this article, a Broadway song called ‘‘Heart” from the musical ‘‘Damn Yankees” starts running through my mind. The refrain I keep hearing is the baseball players singing ’‘You’ve gotta have heart: Miles ‘n miles of heart: Oh it’s fine to be a genius of course: But put that ol’ horse before the cart. First you gotta have heart.”

Initially I wonder why this song comes to me at this moment since it has nothing to do with finances but in winning a baseball game. Then I realize that the song is giving me a theme - the role of our hearts in managing money. Since our hearts hold the essence of right financial decision-making, it seems like the right subject for helping readers find more peace and fulfillment in their financial transactions.

Recently I was reading a book called ‘‘The Finding of the Third Eye” by Vera Adler. In it, she aptly describes the role of the heart in our lives. She says, ‘‘We can say, therefore, that the actual man himself, his real personality, his essence, his memory, and all of him that will endure, dwells, in the last analysis, within the heart. Through the direct access of the heart to the Divine Spirit of love and truth come those intuitions which are always more reliable than the thought out processes of the brain.”

Adler’s thoughts confirm the ability of the heart to see our lives, including our finances, clearly. Deep inside of us we know what we need to do to manage our money wisely. If we could but listen to that still, small voice of Spirit that resides in our heart, we would have the insight and will to control our expenses, make the right investment decisions, create enough income to fulfill our needs -in short, create the financial security and prosperity we are looking for.

‘‘First you gotta have heart” as the song above says. When I began financial counseling many years ago I thought that my expertise in finance was all I needed. When in one of my early counseling sessions, a brilliant psychiatrist confessed that that he couldn’t manage his money because he was afraid to look at his checkbook balances. He didn’t want to see how much money he was spending. I realized then that I needed more than knowledge to help people manage. I needed heartfelt insights and tools to help people overcome their anxieties.

 Often the challenge we have in listening to our heart is that our minds are tuned into the voices of fears. These voices come from the outside world parents, peers, bosses, friends, those offering us services and products -what we call society. Often without even being conscious of it, we catch their anxious feelings, and absorb them into our attitudes towards money. Inundated with these voices, it’s not surprising that we are deaf to the spiritual voice that will bring us peace of mind.

To overcome those fears we need to identify and examine them. Looking at our fears isn’t easy as there is a natural tendency not to want to face them. However, during a quiet time, a simple introspective question to ourselves asking why we fear a particular financial transaction can often generate an insight into the anxiety which can reduce its emotional charge enough to let us search into our heart for the right answer.

What will our hearts tell us? Often there are no words, only a peaceful feeling that usually comes after we’ve explored the practical and spiritual implications of the transaction in light of our financial realities. The best way to begin this exploration is to examine a summary of our financial facts cash, checking accounts, investments, debts, income and expenses etc. Most of us have anxieties around our lack of understanding of these facts. Analyzing the way we manage these facts reduces our fears by giving us the insights we need to improve out position and make future decisions. With this financial self-knowledge to guide us, we become more confident in our decision-making ability, and this confidence gives our hearts room to open. Instead of looking at the transaction from a fear- based perspective, we can look at it objectively and from the heart.

 As I think back on the many cases I’ve had, I remember a case that really wasn’t my case since it involved recently made friends. We didn’t know them well, and we were concerned that our afternoon together might be heavy, as the couple had been involved in a very serious car accident, and we were seeing the husband, Myron, for the first time after it had occurred. The accident had put Myron close to death, and he had spent a month in the hospital recuperating. When he walked into our house, we gasped at the skeleton that was before us. He looked more dead than alive. Then he smiled and his whole face bathed us in so much joy and love that we forgot our concern for his health as we became transfixed by his presence.

He later told us that the driver of the truck that hit them had not renewed his car insurance; that the truck company was legally contesting its responsibility; that Myron was forced to hire a lawyer; that his car insurer was giving him the run around; that Myron’s medical insurance gave him minimal protection; and that his multiple injuries made it impossible for him to return to his work as a sculptor. In my financially oriented mind all I could think about was the huge financial burden put upon this 57 year old man who seemed to have had few resources to cope with his situation.

Myron must have sensed my concern. To relieve me, he said “I’ve lost my car, money, and health, but I have my life, and my wife. I feel fine.” And I could tell he meant it. To exude that spirit he must have had to search in his heart for the strength and love he needed to value what he had and to overcome those financial anxieties that might easily have caused him to despair.

That’s what ‘‘getting heart” is all about. It’s also the true way of winning the money game.

Fred Brown is Personal Financial Consultant/Therapist who has recently moved to Portland. He can be reached at 503-771-7650 or through his web site www.moneyandspirit.com.