My friend Dr. Margaret Shepherd is a visionary and an upside thinker. Recently, she wrote an article about Stewardship Spending where she included an excerpt from her book Cash and Consciousness: 21 Days to
Abundance. With all that is currently going on in the world, I thought that her message was worth sharing with you, especially since I speak so often about abundance and giving back.

Stewardship Spending by Dr. Margaret Shepherd

Guess we all know it's been a wild week on Wall Street and Main Street. Regardless of our personal circumstances, we'll all be affected. The pundits and politicians are slinging a lot of blame, but the core problem is that as a nation, we've been breaking a cardinal rule of metaphysics and money: STEWARDSHIP SPENDING. Stewardship spending means being a good steward of your money, spending it for goods, services and experiences that are in integrity with your values, sound financial principles and universal laws. Good stewardship allows for debt, but only with a reasoned expectation of timely repayment, and a plan and structure in place to do so, and even then, only for well-justified investments. Good stewards are mindful of the mindset they are spending from because they realize the laws of metaphysics are in play. They spend consciously, thoughtfully and carefully.

These three Stewardship Spending Principles might come in handy as you sort out how to respond personally to our national financial circumstances:

1.CIRCULATE, DON'T HOARD. Money must circulate. Its nature is to be out in the world as a resource. Circulation does not mean spending money you don't have on a Baja timeshare. Circulation means reasoned purchases, tithes, gifts and investments. Cash kept in old socks and safe deposit boxes is not circulating. Hoarded money finds a way to circulate. We had a family friend who hoarded tens of thousands of dollars in his house. One day when he was out, thieves broke in and relieved him of every penny. I've often wondered if it was the universe's way of enforcing the law of circulation.

2. SPEND LESS THAN YOU EARN. This is important metaphysically because it keeps you in the consciousness of prosperity, instead of lack. Even $1 left over puts you in the mindset of abundance, so the law of attraction will attract more abundance. Evaluate monthly expenses, including debt service and savings commitments to be sure you have at least $1 remaining. (Then do with it what you will; what matters is the mindset the practice creates.) Build reserves so you can sustain yourself during periods of low or no earnings and so you'll always feel financially safe.

3. SPEND ONLY FOR AUTHENTIC DESIRES: Authentic desires are those that express your uniqueness and line up with your values and your vision. You instinctively know them; they feel wholesome and empowering. Inauthentic desires have a "should" quality - what you think you "should" acquire to gain status or belong, or anything to do with fear or ego. You have good instincts for authentic desires so you don't need a lot of rules, just pay attention to your inner voice.

As we sober up from our national spending binge, join me as a citizen committing to Stewardship Spending.

You can order the 2008 version of the Cash and Consciousness: 21 Days to Abundance e-book on Dr. Margaret Shepard’s website www.visionbuildersinstitute.com for only $15! Order one for yourself and a friend today!