I remember sitting in Michael Beckwith’s office about 8 years ago and saying that I thought Agape could benefit from having a Marketing Department. He said, “look how well we’re doing without one!”

To which I said, “right! And imagine how much better you could do if you had one!”

I get it. Most spiritual folks do not want to think about marketing or selling. We actually tend to have an aversion to it. I’ve talked with HUNDREDS of ministers, spiritual counselors, coaches, therapists, acupuncturists, homeopaths, chiropractors, spiritual teachers, and other people who help people, and I’ve yet to have one of them tell me that they love marketing.

It’s far more common to meet spiritual students who have money issues than to find ones who are very prosperous. There is definitely a fear of caring about money, and being successful, charging what you’re worth, and promoting what you’re offering, and especially “selling.”

I’ve had to work through my own issues. I had so many issues around money. I had a fear of caring about money and having it turn into a false idol. It felt like I’d had lifetimes of vows of poverty that were showing up to be healed and resolved in this lifetime.

We can no longer live as victims of the thought, “who am I to think I could …?” That thought isn’t humility, it’s pure ego. And we don’t need to live that way anymore.

Thanks to all of the self-forgiveness work I’ve done, and my studies of A Course in Miracles and the Science of Mind, I’ve been able to change my mind about money and have it become much more neutral. As I’ve healed my mind about money, I’ve been able to let go of many money issues I’ve had. This has brought a much deeper Peace and a sense of Freedom. I don’t have much more money in my life now, but I don’t have money worries. That’s a relief.

One of the challenges I see all around me is that talented people, with tremendous gifts and talents struggle to make a living and to have success in their businesses. They have wonderful things to share, but their consciousness gets in the way.

The unconscious guilt, the unworthiness, and the unforgiveness stands in the way of their success. They fear becoming money grubbing if they care about money, and so they struggle. It’s for this reason that I offer some of the programs I do.

For instance, my Stop Playing Small Retreat is all about shifting our consciousness so we can move out of making decisions from unworthiness. In Masterful Living we have a number of classes about changing our mind about money coming into neutrality about it. Those classes are DEEPLY healing and so rich, I love having them as part of the curriculum. At some point I’d love to do a series around shifting poverty consciousness because I feel that it’s a powerful healing we can offer to our larger community.

All spiritual counselors, ministers, coaches, teachers and other spiritual professionals are thought leaders, community leaders, and we can always feel when their unworthiness is holding them back, and when their own personal insecurities are driving their decisions.

As spiritual students, and Teachers of God, we’re supposed to be able to be a shining example. We’re to model and represent the teachings we’re studying. It can feel like a big responsibility, but only when ego is in charge of it. When Spirit is in charge “my yoke is easy, the burden is light.” I think of the burden as Light with a capital L. In other words, it doesn’t weigh anything.

We resist shining our Light because we don’t feel worthy of the Light that we are. It’s the same old, same old for all of us again and again. We’d rather play small than stand in our magnificence. And yet, our mission requires us to heal that so we can represent the one who sent us.

I’ve invested so many years of my life on this healing. It’s been worth it.

In that conversation with Michael Beckwith 18 years ago I said to him, “on a certain level, what ministers do is promote the efficacy of living in accord with spiritual principle. They’re promoting the value of spiritual principles and teachings. We’re in the marketing business.”

Now, I don’t like marketing, in the sense that I don’t like writing copy for web pages and sales emails. I don’t enjoy having marketing meetings and making marketing decisions, and looking at the colors and the fonts and the artwork and all of that. I don’t like it, I don’t dislike it, it’s just not interesting to me, but it’s part of my job. It’s a BIG part of my job. I can have the greatest program in the world, but if I can’t figure out how to let people know about it, I’m failing as the leader of the ministry.

I’ve put in a LOT of work to make it easier for the spiritual counselors and teachers in my programs, as well as my friends, so that they don’t have to go off and build their own ministries and platforms to teach and share their talents – unless they would like to. I know how hard it is to start your own business from scratch.

I’m really stepping things up this year with more programs to support the people who support the people. In 11 days we’re beginning a wonderful class about Heart Centered Marketing and it’s also about cultivating a prosperity consciousness. It’s designed for people who work with clients and who’d like to make the entire marketing process easier because it flows from their heart.

I feel Jesus was the greatest marketer of all time. The principle he taught that’s been the foundation of all my marketing success is “if I be lifted up, I draw all unto me.” I focus my attention on living ACIM. My life is my ministry and my ministry is my message. This makes my life and my work simple.  It’s easy to stay focused.

I place the majority of my attention on walking the talk and living the Love. Spirit does a lot of the work. People often tell me they have no idea how they found me, or that it was some random thing that led them to me – I know it was Spirit.

Living by spiritual principle and making every day a healing day is such a relief.

Every day I feel the ego yoke lessening and the ego burden lightening. I feel lifted up every day now. I’m excited about what is possible for everyone that I meet and for all humanity.  

I look at the world and instead of seeing the insanity, I see that healing is taking place. I think of pimple, an infected pore, sometimes things get worse, and ugly before they can heal. It doesn’t have to be that way, but sometimes that’s the way we choose to go.

This is the time of the new heaven and the new earth and it feels real to me. It’s so important to me to assist those who are willing to answer the call. And I do know that all are called. We’re all called to be loving, and kind and to forgive ourselves for the choices we made when our mind was lost and confused.

Okay, this email is long enough. I better quit now.

Sundays With Spirit is today!  This is our weekly Sunday inspirational service – you’re invited!  All you have to do is register and we’ll send you the link to join us.  It’s completely free and fun!  I hope to see you today.

Do you work with clients?  We’re offering a 4 week class on Heart Centered Marketing – Early Bird Special ends on Wednesday, April 26 – if you’d like to attract more clients and be more focused in the flow of heart centered abundance, this list he class for you!

LATEST PODCAST EPISODE!  The most recent episode of my podcast’s topic is The Prison of Body-Ego Identification. It’s so helpful and valuable to focus some attention on undoing the body (ego) identification directly.

CAMINO WALK in October – food, folks and fun! If you’re interested in joining me in Portugal and Spain on the Camino check out the details of our adventure and please sign up soon as we’ll sell out FAST! Click here now for more info.