Coming off The Truth Event tour with my good friends, Aussie speakers Kim Serefini and Annette Symn, I was struck by a question Annette would ask in the entrepreneur business building portion of her talk, “How many of you would like to make a lot of money?” Even more striking was the hesitancy people had in raising their hands. In each event, only one or two people would raise their hands when asked this question. Why?

Somewhere, deep inside, there is the belief that “money is the root of all evil”…but is it really? Is it more so that deep down, when you don’t feel like you are enough as you are, then what you have isn’t enough either?

It’s not evil at all to desire money or to have it; it’s powerful energy that brings with it FREEDOM and choices when in the hands of a conscious person. I remember hearing Guru Satya Sai Baba once say, “You are given all that you desire, so that you desire one thing – God.” Translate that last word into anything you like, but truth is, we have as Maslow pointed to in his “Hierarchy of Needs” the ability to pursue the highest spiritual path when our survival needs are met. That doesn’t mean that all people do pursue the Self Actualization path that Maslow speaks of. Many people get off course because it’s easy to become seduced by an endless sea of desire. So, how does one strive for wealth abundance and not become a hedonist and or a glutton?

It’s true that the rich man and poor man can both become a slave to money. The poor man is focused on making it, and the rich man is focused on keeping it. It’s also about uncovering and accepting need versus want even if you have the means to have everything you desire.

One of the things that I’m finally getting is this: If I didn’t buy another pair of shoes for the next decade, I wouldn’t need any, and so much of my life appears to be this way. The pendulum swings and lands in harmony and balance no matter what, and when it’s too far to the right or left, it will always return to center. So does life itself bring the opportunities to return to balance—and it’s so much nicer to choose consciously than to wait for a slap upside the head! (Believe me, I’ve had my share of those!)

Discipline is a good thing whether you have abundance or not. Having a cap on my desires feels good; it feels more peaceful. There is less energy spent in the search and gather process that consumed so much of my time while raising a family and making sure everyone had everything they needed and more. While I would love to completely dedicate the task to someone else, part of my evolution as a widow has been to own that I am the best fiduciary to my own finances. This is requiring me to become aware and educated and ask some valuable questions. And, also to take a hard look at how much money I spend. As I’ve been red-slashing and tightening the hatch on my spending and closing up what I’ve realized are money leaks due to lack of awareness, bizarrely rather than feel like I’m on any kind of diet with spending, I’ve become even more conscious of all that I have. As I “money cleanse” I am receiving more joy in how I choose to spend money. The more I ask the question, “Does this bring me joy or does this give me anxiety and stress because it’s waste and access?” I feel more peaceful and even more prosperous. True abundance happens when we want what we have, and we notice all that we have with a feeling of gratitude versus wanting more with a lack of appreciation other than the short term gratification of accumulation.

The big question I’ve been asking lately: Is my lifestyle sustainable? I had a powerful conversation in our April Don’t Sweat Sisterhood call with financial analyst Manisha Thakor from MoneyZEN. Click here to purchase.

There’s a way to have peace and prosperity and receive the maximum joy from the energy that brings freedom, lifestyle and opportunity to enjoy life with ease. Money matters. There is no need to fear admitting that you want some or you’d like to preserve what you have. If you’d like to read a new e-book on how to be PEACEFUL and PROSPEROUS by Richard Carlson, click here.