EmBodied INvesting

The Creator & Consumer culture WE operate withIN and perpetuate has DESACRALIZED INVESTING.

Note: I use the words Creator and Consumer for conceptualization and clarity purposes. I AM IN no way reducing our participation with Life to the roles of “Creators” and “Consumers.” I AM also IN no way suggesting that there IS a separation BEtween Creator and Consumer  or BEtween that which IS Created and that which IS consumed.

It IS our RESPONSIBILITY as EMBODIED LEADERS to RESACRALIZE INVESTING.

To resurrect the SACRED ART that IS INvesting.

To remember the CEREMONY IN INvesting.

To revive the Heart of INvesting.

To represent the INtegrity of INvesting.

To re-establish the INtimacy of INvesting.

WE, as both Creators & Consumers are CO-CREATING THIS CULTURE, this reality and this Lived experience. 

WE, as both Creators and Consumers are BEINg called INto deeper PRESENCE, emBodiment and emPowerment when it comes to how & WHY WE INvest, and also, how WE INvite others to INvest IN our He(ART).

DisemBodied INvesting IS so Highly encouraged IN the Creator & Consumer culture WE operate withIN and perpetuate.

Cue trigger words like: LIMITED TIME ONLY, FLASH SALE, EARLY BIRD, FAST ACTION BONUS, LIMITED AVAILABILITY.

All of these trigger words denote exclusivity, scarcity and urgency.

Exclusivity, scarcity and urgency are All used as mechanisms to INfluence people to act prematurely and without practicing True discernment. Exclusivity, scarcity and urgency are All used as mechanisms to INfluence people to act without BEINg fully IN BODY (emBodied) … and therefore fully IN Power (emPowered). 

DisemBodied INvesting IS often driven by manufactured Desires and appetitive Will … and emBodied INvesting IS often driven by Organic Desires and rational Will.

When you are not emBodied and therefore emPowered, you are not FULLY CHOOSING / practicing your Free (rational) Will.

When (disemBodied) people INteract with these trigger words it typically triggers a transactional frame ~ a (pre-programmed and pre-determined) story about a very TYPICAL event … where a Consumer (without thought or hesitation) gives money to receive a good and / or service IN exchange (from a Creator). 

DisemBodied INvesting has BEcome and IS normalized, and IS even valorized (people are “REWARDED” for INvesting from a disemBodied place).

DisemBodied INvesting IS a by-product of capitalism and IS rooted IN the culture of MORE, MORE, MORE, MORE … yet NEVER enough.

DisemBodied INvesting often looks like binge-INvesting IN things that just collect dust and end up cluttering your physical, energetic, emoceanal, and spiritual space BEcause you did it for the dopamine hit / rush / High of clicking the purchase button.

When you Live IN the distorted and INverted paradigm of “time IS money” … waiting IS also perceived and experienced as costly and expensive … as a waste of money, as a waste of time … hence the need to ACT quickly so as to not waste money / time (they are synonymous IN the collective culture).

IN a Creator-consumer world … FREE time (time and space Devoted to BEINg, over DOING) gets hijacked and converted INto CONSUMPTION time because time “spent” neither Creating (producing) nor consuming IS viewed as WASTED.

The INcrease IN the value of time (its increasing scarcity IN a heavily time poor World) IS felt subjectively as an INcrease IN tempo or pace. WE are always IN danger of BEINg slow on the production (Creation) line, or late to the purchasing party; and IN our leisure /BEINgness WE are always IN danger of “wasting time.” Hence the overAll external pressure and expectation to ACT AND MOVE AND CONSUME QUICKLY as WELL.

INvesting has BEcome more of a fast food experience … WE Live IN a World that VALUES SPEED. 

The evaluation FAST IS GOOD works with the language system since ‘fast’ IS the unmarked term (IN a neutral context WE ask ‘how fast IS this car?’ rather than ‘how slow IS this car?’). FAST IS GOOD IS hazardous when it comes to the positive image it gives of fast food, fast cars, fast profits, or other areas where speed takes priority and precedence over everything else.

This IS Perfectly depicted IN the reward / punishment systems IN place withIN consumer culture: 

Early birds, fast action bonuses, sales ~ caters to the culture of F A S T E R (rewarding RUSHED (disemBodied and disemPowered) Choices). 

PAY IN FULL ~ caters to the culture of BIGGER = BETTER. Pay IN fulls usually get some sort of discount (rewarding BIGGER). You get 10% off if you pay IN full, however if you pay a monthly fee there’s an INterest fee. So the culture IS designed to punish people for making more responsible / SLOWER INvestment Choices. 

Here are some ways that you can INtentionally SACRALIZE and bring more emBodiment, INtimacy, INTEGRITY and PRESENCE back INto INvesting. 

LOVING INQUIRY

Bring more Presence the next few days as you buy something / INvest IN something …. how, what & why you buy IN the next few days. This Will show you a lot about yourSelf and Will INvite IN more INtimacy IN your INvesting style and approach and orientation.

Are you always the person who waits until the last minute? Are you always the person who waits for something to BE discounted? Or to go on sale? Do you sign up for a thousand free things and then you never show up? Do you buy courses and then they collect dust? Do you buy under pressure / when urgency IS INvolved (the early bird, the discount) .. what IS that about?). What IS that saying? What IS that translating as IN your Lived experience? 

Bring more Presence INto moments of buying / INvesting. 

Your INvestment Will ALWAYS illuminate the Truth about the NATURE OF YOUR INVESTMENT (and whether it was / IS rooted IN INtegrity or not). 

Ask yourSelf ~ 

How do I INjoy buying / INvesting?

What kind of buyer / INvestor AM I? 

What kind of buying / INvesting experience do I INjoy?

Think about the speed. The pace. The texture of the experience. What are the energetics that are Present when I Choose to act on INvesting IN something?

Why do I INvest IN things? Contemplate the recent purchases you made (food, clothing, a course, travel) ~~~ why did I INvest IN these things / experiences / goods / Services? What IS the Purpose? What IS the INspiration BEhind my INvesting? What IS the INtention BEhind my INvesting? 

Questions to ask yourSelf to determine whether or not an INvestment adds TRUE value to your Life.

IS it IN accordance and congruence with my financial INtentions? 

IS it IN accordance and congruence with my values, moral code and ethical code?

Do I need it? IS it NECESSARY? Or IS it excessive?

What IS the purpose of this INvestment?

What IS the functionality of this INvestment?

What IS the utility of this INvestment?

What IS the value of this INvestment?

What IS driving this INvestment? (need, manufactured Desire or Organic Desire, appetitive Will or rational Will?) What drives both my Desire and my Will?

What does this INvestment feel like IN my Body? (Does it feel safe? Does it feel grounded? Does it feel unsettling? Does it feel chaotic?)

How long AM I going to make use of this INvestment?

Can I borrow this, or can I buy it used?

Will making this INvestment lead to a more qualitative Life for me IN the short term? IN the long term? 

Will making this INvestment lead to a less qualitative Life for someone else IN the short term? IN the long term?

PLAN TO SHOP

IN this ALL to convenient World, where almost everything IS available to us at our fingertips ... for many of us shopping IS something that IS done on a whim .. that IS spontaneous, that IS IMPULSIVE (often when WE are bored (and need stimulation), or when WE are stressed (and need distraction)). When you get the impulse of “OU I DESIRE THIS!” … INSTEAD OF BUYING IT RIGHT AWAY, write it down (Create a list). From there, take time & space to marinate IN this Desire, and to sift through it … so that the TRUE NATURE, INTENTIONALITY and INTEGRITY (or lack thereof) of the Desire and potential INvestment can BE revealed to you.

Oftentimes, I have personally found that after a day or two, the Desire has fully dissipated / dissolved, and I realize that the impulse (Desire) was triggered or manufactured by an external source. On the occasions when the DESIRE IS still there and reveals itSelf as ORGANIC, as Pure, as TRUE .. this process has allowed me to feel more emBodied and emPowered IN my INvestment Choices. I do research (INternally and externally), I INvest IN Higher quality items, Higher utility items, and Higher value items … and have iMMENSELY reduced the number of regrettable / remorseful / impulsive / disemBodied INvestments. It has encouraged me to BUY less things of less substance, and more things of more substance.

CARRY CASH

IN this monetary system which RELIES on debt and INDEBTED people and where people are encouraged and enabled to spend WELL BEYOND THEIR MEANS (via credit cards) for many of us buying things feels very INCONSEQUENTIAL. Not to mention how simplified and automated purchasing something has BEcome (All of which caters to the culture of convenience the Western World especially has grown accustomed to). A purchase IS but a button, click, or tap away. Disconnecting you from the sanctity of the transaction. From the INTIMACY of the exchange. 

When you go shopping, carry cash and leave your credit cards at home. It makes the purchasing process a lot more PERSONAL, experiential and HANDS-ON. A cash transaction INvites IN more Presence. It also prevents you from purchasing something you didn’t PLAN to INvest IN.

DELETE CREDIT CARD INFORMATION

One of the most effective ways to rewire a habit that IS not Serving you IS to make it more difficult to do that thing. This can BE accomplished by Creating more STEPS to achieve that outcome. 

By deleting your credit card INformation from your computer, it makes it less convenient for you to make disemBodied INvestments online BEcause everytime you Will BE required to physically GET UP from what you are doing, retrieve your credit card and plug IN the INformation INto your computer BEfore BEINg able to complete your purchasing process. 

The simple, yet profound act of STANDING UP to get your credit card shifts your somatic awareness and processing, and makes you less likely to buy something that doesn’t have TRUE (and long-term) value.  

DETOX FROM SOCIALS

Like everything and anything, social media IS a double edged sword. What matters IS what side you lead with, and what side you sharpen. 

IN order to not BE controlled BY the algorithm, by analytics and by metrics, one must BE INTENTIONAL about how and WHY they use social media. 

It’s no secret that our brain’s are not designed to register the INFORMATION OVERLOAD that IS readily available to us at ALL times on social media. It IS not Natural. It IS not Organic. These apps and these websites have BEen optimized for years, and Will continue to BE, by BEHAVIORAL SCIENTISTS AND PSYCHOLOGISTS hired by Powerful tech conglomerates to keep you engaged with and INvested IN their application and website (and whatever projection of reality IS BEINg upheld withIN that matrix). INvesting IN something goes BEyond / transcends MONEY. Your / OUR  MOST ACCESSIBLE FORM OF CURRENCY IS OUR ENERGY AND OUR EMOCEAN. WE can INvest IN things financially / monetarily / tangibly if you Will .. and WE can INvest IN things energetically / emoceanally / INTANGIBLY.

Social media IS not real Life, it IS but a fragment, or perhaps, figment, of it. As much seeming INfluence as it has … it IS Highly curated, and displays a selective sample of what IS real and TRUE. Despite the fact that it IS not real Life .. it greatly IMPACTS and shapes real Life / our INdividual and collective Lived reality’s. It shifts how WE make-meaning. It shifts what MATTERS to us, for BEtter or for worse.

It IS a Powerful practice to detox your Body from the persuasive pull of social media, to gain more clarity and discernment on where your center IS and what pulls you away from that place. 

UNSUBSCRIBE FROM EMAIL LISTS 

Do this on a seasonal basis. You Know can rely on at least one “holiday” per season to prompt you to do so (lol). 

You’ll notice there are times IN the year when your INbox gets FLOODED with sales and marketing emails and when you are bombarded with an influx of ideas for how to spend your money IN some not so meaningful ways.

A very ripe time to have an unsubscribing party IS Black Friday for example!

FIND ALTERNATIVES 

Many of us have BEen taught “money can buy happiness’ and furthermore that money IS the only path to WELLBEINg and happiness. 

WE have BEen taught that the more WE spend, the happier WE Will BE.

WE have BEen taught that the Higher the price tag, the Higher the ROI (IN terms of utility).

Many of us have BEen led to BElieve that price = value … however that IS not True. So what often drives people’s disemBodied INvesting IS their misperception that A HIGH PRICE ON SOMETHING WILL BE OF HIGH VALUE.

Economists use the term “utility” to refer to the BEnefit and / or satisfaction WE get from consumption.

This downplays All of the ways people do and CAN find WELLth and WELLBEINg without spending a lot of money … or spending money AT ALL.

One must recognize that there are many non-material access points to WELLth and WELLBEINg. WELLth and WELLBEINg do not have to BE bought, they are an INTRINSIC element of your existence.

There's a biological function and reason for impulse shopping or “retail therapy”. The function and reason BEINg ~ feeling good. 

Sometimes the BEst remedy for disemBodied INvesting IS to address the underlying issue: not feeling good. 

Ask yourSelf, what IS something (BEsides shopping) that you can do, or BE to feel good? What makes you feel at ease, relaxed, and receptive to Life’s INnate embrace, provision and Blessings? What makes you feel nourished?

I Trust this has Served as a Powerful practise to reveal to you where you as a Creator and / or a consumer have BEen / are participating IN and perpetuating the culture of disemBodied INvesting.  

I Trust this has Served as a gentle, yet palpable reminder of how you Desire to BE the change IN this culture … of slow, meaningful, EMBODIED circulation, collaboration and Creation.

And so it IS.

For a deeper dive INto EmBodied INvesting, rational Will vs appetitive Will, and Organic Desire vs manufactured Desire check out Your Mirror’s transmission from the REORIENTED Mastermuse Series called EmBodied INvesting! 

With Love,