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Thread: Making Money through Sharing of Spiritual Gifts

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    Moderator kidd's Avatar
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    Default Making Money through Sharing of Spiritual Gifts

    What do you think about argument? Do you agree or disagree with it?

    http://www.mindreality.com/making-mo...piritual-gifts

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    Making Money through Sharing of Spiritual Gifts
    Posted by Enoch Tan

    One of the greatest fallacies in this world about spirituality is the negative idea towards making money from it. There are people who think that those who provide spiritual value or service to others should do so for free. They associate money as a thing of the world, and shouldn’t be mixed by the higher things. This kind of mentality is exactly what causes the topsy turvy state of the world and humanity’s progress. Even those who claim enlightenment from materialism are actually unenlightened about the truth.

    If people weren’t allowed to receive money for spiritual healings and teachings then this would mean that they would need to get work doing something non-spiritual. This would mean that they spent a lot less time doing spiritual work and practice, which would mean that they may well know less about spiritual matters and would probably have less time to teach also. This would end up meaning that their overall spiritual contribution to the world could well be a whole lot less! How could this be a good thing?

    It is an irony that those who provide the lowest form of value in this world get to make the most amount of money, while those who provide the highest form of value get to make the least amount of money. The steel magnate, the oil baron, the real estate tycoon reap the riches of society. But the mystic, the spiritual master, the teacher of enlightenment seems to forfeit attaining the wealth that they so deserve. In this plane, many things are bottom up. It is no wonder that humanity’s progress has been slow.

    The most valuable thing should be given in exchange for the highest price. Enlightenment is the most valuable thing of all. But the problem is that most spiritual masters are not charging for what they’re worth. That is why they don’t gain the power and influence that material wealth can bring them. It is those dealing with the lowest value items in the universe such as natural resources that gain the greatest power and influence through attainment of huge material wealth. Enlightenment is offered for nothing.

    Since spirituality is not commonly sold, most people do not go for it. People perceive that when something doesn’t cost much money, it doesn’t have much value. They would often spend their money on frivolous items that are sold for high prices and marketed intensely to them. All the while they’re not realizing that the greatest thing to buy is truth and wisdom. The best things in life are usually offered for little or for free. The trouble is people often walk by those very things in pursuit of other useless stuff.

    Natural resources are the least valuable things on earth because they are provided by nature in abundance. Intelligence and spirituality are the most valuable things that humanity can have. The more intelligent and spiritual humans become, the more efficiently and effectively they can extract and utilize natural resources. When humans lack intelligence and spirituality, they waste resources or use them unwisely and therefore create conditions of scarcity. This makes it even harder to progress spirituality.

    When humans suffer from lack in the lower hierarchy of needs, they tend to focus more on fulfilling those needs and neglect higher ones. The very irony is that it is the fulfilling of higher needs that take care of all other needs. The highest need of all is spiritual intelligence. It is the only true need there is. When you have wisdom, insight and awareness, you can create conditions of abundance, fulfillment and happiness. When you lack spiritual intelligence, you can never truly solve all your lower problems.

    All it takes is a single shift in mindset to move from a position of powerlessness to a position of true power. The line that separates the elite from the suffering masses is very sharp. On one side, you are forever undergoing endless cycles of trying to break free from debt, making the life you desire and finding the happiness that never seems to come. On the other side, you attain instant fulfillment of your true purpose and attain everything you truly desire very quickly. Yet that shift is most difficult for so many.

    Those who presume enlightenment from materialism by having a negative idea towards making money from spiritual work are still very much unenlightened actually. The more enlightened ones realize that money is only a tool in this world, and is meant to be used to the fullest in the work of spirituality. When they market spiritual products and services intensely and charge premium prices for them, they increase people’s perception of such things, and obtain great financial rewards from providing such value.

    These wiser spiritual masters are then able to use their great spiritual and financial wealth to do even greater good in this world than all other spiritual masters and wealthy businessmen put together. Those who provide the best of their spiritual gifts and charge the best prices for them are the ones we should seek to learn and benefit from the most. It is because they have the higher consciousness to do what most people are not doing. They have the ultimate combination of higher and lower things in this world.

    The most unlimited ones have the greatest power, freedom and wealth in this world. The more unlimited you want to be, the more unlimited your mind must become. The more unlimited you are in paying for spiritual things, the more of such things you can attain. The more unlimited you are in charging for your spiritual work, the more you will be able to give of those very same works. The ultimate enlightenment is to overcome all limitations that get in the way of being, doing and having all that we truly want.
    什麼是朋友?朋友永遠是在你犯下不可原諒錯誤的時候,仍舊站在你那邊的笨蛋。~ 王亞瑟

    和諧唔係一百個人講同一番話,係一百個人有一百句唔同嘅說話,而又互相尊重 ~ - 葉梓恩

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    Moderator kidd's Avatar
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    The writer give a good argument. It is just like you having talent in art or have a great voice or have a genius mind. You will use those ability to make a living for yourself. So, if God give you a psychic gift or heighten spirituality, I guess you can use it to make a living.

    But, even with this understanding, I'm still not comfortable with making money through spirituality. I'm ok with people charging a fee for a healing session or a fortune telling/card reading/channeling session. They are human, they got to eat too.

    But, I don't agree if enlightened gurus and spiritual gurus charge exhorbitant fee for their workshop, teaching and readings. It will become something only the rich can obtain. Spirituality shouldn't be about money. It should be open to all, the poor and the rich. That's why everyone can go to the temple/church/mosque to listen to the sermons and religious teaching and these religious establishments earn the upkeep money through donations.

    How spiritual can you be if you are earning big money and enjoying a luxurious life by selling a pricey spiritual service to desperate people?

    Also, there are self-help gurus and metaphysics teachers who published 18602857 books and counting even though they already have nothing new to write after the first 2 books.
    Last edited by kidd; 08-04-10 at 09:54 PM.
    什麼是朋友?朋友永遠是在你犯下不可原諒錯誤的時候,仍舊站在你那邊的笨蛋。~ 王亞瑟

    和諧唔係一百個人講同一番話,係一百個人有一百句唔同嘅說話,而又互相尊重 ~ - 葉梓恩

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    Moderator kidd's Avatar
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    So, no one has any take on this?
    什麼是朋友?朋友永遠是在你犯下不可原諒錯誤的時候,仍舊站在你那邊的笨蛋。~ 王亞瑟

    和諧唔係一百個人講同一番話,係一百個人有一百句唔同嘅說話,而又互相尊重 ~ - 葉梓恩

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    Huh, isn't Selling spiritual guidance one of the fundamental business strategy for, well, pretty much every organized religion out there.

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    I did not read the article that you linked to. But I’ll share my thoughts anyway, although I might be off.

    I don’t know about other religion, at least not well enough, but concerning Christianity the man Jesus said ‘you get free you give free.’ So there shouldn’t be any fee for service or sermon, talk, discourse and so forth Meeting in a building to discuss spiritual things will incur some costs, such as for lighting, air conditioning, utility, etc. It’s only fair that all members pitch in to cover the cost, or as you worded it, donation for upkeep. But other than that I don’t think there should be a fee for dispensing spiritual knowledge.

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    Moderator kidd's Avatar
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    Yes, that has always been how I see donations to church and temples. I know that there are keepers of these holy places that misuse the fund for enjoyment. But, I have always thought that donations to these places are for maintenance's sake. It is also ok for temple/church staff to get salary for their work since money is needed for survival.

    But, now I see a lot of people are selling spirituality to get filthy rich, living a lavish lifestyle and justifying it with statement such as this

    The most unlimited ones have the greatest power, freedom and wealth in this world. The more unlimited you want to be, the more unlimited your mind must become. The more unlimited you are in paying for spiritual things, the more of such things you can attain. The more unlimited you are in charging for your spiritual work, the more you will be able to give of those very same works. The ultimate enlightenment is to overcome all limitations that get in the way of being, doing and having all that we truly want.
    什麼是朋友?朋友永遠是在你犯下不可原諒錯誤的時候,仍舊站在你那邊的笨蛋。~ 王亞瑟

    和諧唔係一百個人講同一番話,係一百個人有一百句唔同嘅說話,而又互相尊重 ~ - 葉梓恩

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    Senior Member fridaythe13th's Avatar
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    I agree with Dictionary here about the fact that Christianity is based on the fact that grace is free. But the donations and gifts comes from not to make money out of it, but donating so that more funds can be put into the work of the Church. In order so that more people can be saved, we need people to do the work that we cannot do.
    “我停在原处也许就是为了让大家在累的时候,有个可以回头休息的地方。”

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    Senior Member Lucre's Avatar
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    You may sell the powers of a devil for a fee (since he'd probably encourage you for doing so) but you may never sell God's gift, that are given to all freely.

    Simply because, God's gift to mankind belongs to God, who is the true giver. what right do we have to charge others for the 'gift'?

    However, one may request for payments in the sense of maintenance, very much like paying for shipment fees to couriers for delivering the 'stuff' ~ $$$ collected should not be for the 'spiritual gifts' but that from the efforts of running the workshop etc etc.
    o wilku mowa...♪

    The only thing I need to know is that I don't know anything.

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    Moderator kidd's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lucre View Post
    You may sell the powers of a devil for a fee (since he'd probably encourage you for doing so) but you may never sell God's gift, that are given to all freely.

    Simply because, God's gift to mankind belongs to God, who is the true giver. what right do we have to charge others for the 'gift'?

    However, one may request for payments in the sense of maintenance, very much like paying for shipment fees to couriers for delivering the 'stuff' ~ $$$ collected should not be for the 'spiritual gifts' but that from the efforts of running the workshop etc etc.
    What do you think of the following arguments presented by the writer?

    If people weren’t allowed to receive money for spiritual healings and teachings then this would mean that they would need to get work doing something non-spiritual. This would mean that they spent a lot less time doing spiritual work and practice, which would mean that they may well know less about spiritual matters and would probably have less time to teach also.
    The most valuable thing should be given in exchange for the highest price. Enlightenment is the most valuable thing of all.
    Since spirituality is not commonly sold, most people do not go for it. People perceive that when something doesn’t cost much money, it doesn’t have much value. They would often spend their money on frivolous items that are sold for high prices and marketed intensely to them. All the while they’re not realizing that the greatest thing to buy is truth and wisdom. The best things in life are usually offered for little or for free. The trouble is people often walk by those very things in pursuit of other useless stuff.
    Those who presume enlightenment from materialism by having a negative idea towards making money from spiritual work are still very much unenlightened actually. The more enlightened ones realize that money is only a tool in this world, and is meant to be used to the fullest in the work of spirituality. When they market spiritual products and services intensely and charge premium prices for them, they increase people’s perception of such things, and obtain great financial rewards from providing such value.
    These wiser spiritual masters are then able to use their great spiritual and financial wealth to do even greater good in this world than all other spiritual masters and wealthy businessmen put together. Those who provide the best of their spiritual gifts and charge the best prices for them are the ones we should seek to learn and benefit from the most.
    什麼是朋友?朋友永遠是在你犯下不可原諒錯誤的時候,仍舊站在你那邊的笨蛋。~ 王亞瑟

    和諧唔係一百個人講同一番話,係一百個人有一百句唔同嘅說話,而又互相尊重 ~ - 葉梓恩

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    Senior Member Lucre's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kidd View Post
    What do you think of the following arguments presented by the writer?
    if you insist (asking a feeble-brained cactus to present an argument is quite an ardous task) but i'll try~

    If people weren’t allowed to receive money for spiritual healings and teachings then this would mean that they would need to get work doing something non-spiritual. This would mean that they spent a lot less time doing spiritual work and practice, which would mean that they may well know less about spiritual matters and would probably have less time to teach also.
    well, those who goes into full-time spiritual work (e.g. the clergy and the religious people) the 'church' feeds them in a sense, but not really like extravagantly. in fact a typical parish priest in singapore gets a monthly allowance of $500 each month, for personal expenses, whilst the religious brothers & sisters took the vow of poverty and isn't allow to have a single cent to their name. the order whom they are with will collectively take care of their living expenses. in some places these people are barely making ends meet actually.

    teaching isnt neccessarily 'selling spiritual-ness' (but putting a pricetag on a 'blessed item' is) there are academies with scholars dedicated to researching into theological issues, and present them to people whereby a nominal fee might be involved so as to continuously fund their efforts.

    The most valuable thing should be given in exchange for the highest price. Enlightenment is the most valuable thing of all.
    A truly enlightened person would have realised money cannot buy everything. =p

    Since spirituality is not commonly sold, most people do not go for it. People perceive that when something doesn’t cost much money, it doesn’t have much value. They would often spend their money on frivolous items that are sold for high prices and marketed intensely to them. All the while they’re not realizing that the greatest thing to buy is truth and wisdom. The best things in life are usually offered for little or for free. The trouble is people often walk by those very things in pursuit of other useless stuff.
    that is a problem of the society ~ cos spirituality is not on the same plain as materialism; and you can't 'buy' truth & wisdom. Once a wise man said to me, a true wise man is one who had been through alot of crap, survived it, and learn from his experiences. As for truth, it's there all along, and free. It's a matter of whether you can see it, or too blind to see it.

    Can a blind mind gain his sight back just by pumping in alot of money? Maybe, maybe not. Doctors cannot guarantee that. Same with the 'truth'. Money doesnt neccessarily gain that ~ and more often than not, money blinded one from truth.

    Those who presume enlightenment from materialism by having a negative idea towards making money from spiritual work are still very much unenlightened actually. The more enlightened ones realize that money is only a tool in this world, and is meant to be used to the fullest in the work of spirituality. When they market spiritual products and services intensely and charge premium prices for them, they increase people’s perception of such things, and obtain great financial rewards from providing such value.
    The key word is presumption. Presume would have meant not being truly enlightened, but thought one is so. That usually breeds arrogance, and hence, one cannot be truly enlightened when one holds such deep pride (1 of the 7 deadly sin!) in looking at things. We have to be constantly aware whether our views are stemmed from love, or other less noble intentions. As for charging a premium for 'such things' thats absolute nonsense, because this will continuously encouraged the 'importance' of money, because people see it as the key-way to gain these 'spiritualness'. Thus the focus goes back to money, and not enlightenment, or truth, or spirituality, as the 'salesman' suggests.

    truth encouraged us to be detached from materialism, but imagine the irony that one start placing a pricetag on it....so if you're poor, you cannot obtain truth anymore? so in the end, we still lose out to the rich. so what is it telling us, when we start to 'sell spiritualism', that these days, money is the biggest thing on earth. it can even buy God. =p and where would that led us, if we start buying into such beliefs? It's dangerous when people charged extorbidantly for 'spiritualism'. it's not the same as having some cash to fund the efforst.
    Last edited by Lucre; 08-27-10 at 02:00 PM.
    o wilku mowa...♪

    The only thing I need to know is that I don't know anything.

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    Senior Member Lucre's Avatar
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    [pls delete]
    Last edited by Lucre; 08-27-10 at 02:01 PM. Reason: double post
    o wilku mowa...♪

    The only thing I need to know is that I don't know anything.

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