What can spirituality teach us women about money?

In this interview with Meggan Watterson, Harvard trained theologian and author of the critically acclaimed new book REVEAL: A Sacred Manual For Getting Spiritually Naked, you’ll receive insights on the relationship between self-worth and net-worth, facing financial fear, and how to identify your true calling. As someone whose work focuses on women and money, I found Meggan�s answers fascinating!

Q: Do you see a relationship between self-worth and net-worth? If so, what do you see?
Meggan says: "Yes. Absolutely. I can only speak for myself and from my experience, but the more and more I held the true worth of my particular kind of work in the world, the more I earned financially for doing the work. I think also initially it was hard to charge for something that came so effortlessly to me. I never charged for my spiritual mentoring because it was something I HAD to do- it was a part of who I am. It felt like it was such a gift to be able to express that side of who I am that it never crossed my mind to charge for it. But then, gratefully, I saw that my soul-work in the world was simply this: letting who I am be what I do. So now I let my gifts support me financially, and it’s bliss."

Q: What spiritual advice would you give to a woman who is overwhelmed by finances?
Meggan says: "Whenever finances have gotten tight for me, I had the habit of reacting by constricting myself. Penny pinching, bean counting. In other words, focusing on the lack. By focusing on how little I had, I let more and more of that idea – that I had less – into my life. Instead, I’ve conditioned myself to respond to times of financial challenge by expanding. I do this by focusing on all I have. I count my blessings whether those blessings are material or physical like my health. I take time every day to make a mental list of just how much I have to be grateful for- of just how much I have- and always will have- no matter how much financial wealth is reflected in my bank account. My true weight in gold is in my capacity to love and be loved- and a diminishing bank account has absolutely nothing over that form of gold."

Q: How does your spirituality shape your views about money (and ability to identify your true calling)?
Meggan says: "A good friend, and REVEALer Kate Northrup once said to me that money is energy. It’s not real. We made it up. Something in me clicked when she said this. Old beliefs and ideas about spirit and money just went poof. And I understood that money is an energetic exchange. This shift helped me to see the flow that happens between me and the person who hands me a check. The exchange is actually even. I offer something of equal value to that check. I also see that in this way the person receiving spiritual mentoring from me can honor a dollar value to this important spiritual work in their life. The energetic exchange of money helps them see the value and worth of this work."