Last year I had the joy of exploring and practicing the new concepts of Somatic Finance:  the trilogy of head, heart, and belly, or the ways of the Academic, the Philanthropist, and the Capitalist, and all the practices and developmental stages that evolve from these concepts. Over seventy-five willing pioneers in various settings engaged in direct experiences. Beginning with the stages of development, the teaching evolved to the Virtuous Flow of Somatic Finance. Using the wisdom of the body, each of us brought our “money issue” into the conversation and allowed our bodies to guide the way. The strategic mind supported our discoveries. Through exploration and direct experience focused on specific concepts, nuances of the new frontiers in money integration came to light. Somatic Finance brings a visceral experience of life to money.

From those experiences, and deeper reflection, the powerful gateway I intend to devote much of my writing to this year is: sufficiency. I will share my understanding about the true essence of Sufficiency. Embodying Sufficiency as a state of being transforms much of the confusion and fear around money and wealth into clarity, well-being, and generosity.

Sufficiency is the potent gateway to financial freedom, liberation and profound joy. Reading this, please pause, reflect, sense your body, and get curious. Only from a place of sufficiency, a visceral felt sense and pure knowing that “I am OK” – can we see what else is possible and take action toward a life that matters most to us. Sufficiency embodied is a subtle, pristine, impeccable way of being that requires minimal energy to abide in life. When we embody sufficiency we do not waste energy; in fact, we are able to skillfully generate energy for ourselves and others.

A related force, Motivation, provides a direction for our sufficiency to flourish. Motivation drives our every thought, movement, and breath. Motivation, similar yet different from intention, is the operating system of our lives. When we embody a state of sufficiency more than 50% of the time, the positive expression of our deepest motivation moves through our actions with ease. We don’t have to think about it.

Mother Teresa’s motivation to heal the sick outcasts of Calcutta, India amplified compassion for the world. Her living legacy of love and compassion ripples to others lives, through daily expressions of kindness.  Mother Teresa embodied Sufficiency which then easily flowed to generosity; she motivated others to experience their life with safety, connection and dignity.

However, in some situations, sufficiency is inaccessible, and the negative expression of motivation takes hold from the pits of human existence. When we are stuck in fear, or even worse, greed, our motivation begins to sour – our body contracts and the invisible places of fear, hopelessness, and confusion create a loss of connection to our humanity. A recent newscast of the riots in Brazilian prisons graphically illustrates my point. In a recent prison riot, other inmates decapitated fifty-two inmates. This kind of human hatred is horrific. The motivation of these inmates, who have no hope and little to live for, is hate. Hate (aggression) is the driver of someone who decapitates another human. I am simplifying a human condition that is complex, but the thread of motivation is simple.

Charlie Chaplin produced, wrote, directed and starred in the 1936 movie “Modern Times,” about the modern world of his day. He decried that man was shifting from an embodied being – with the natural ability to sense surroundings, like our indigenous ancestors – to becoming more like machines. With the industrial revolution, our bodies were required to move like machines, faster, mechanical and robot-like. Instead of our bodies informing us of life, our brains began to take over without the guidance of body wisdom. One character in Modern Times loses his mind and goes crazy, having lost his body connection and ability to function in the disembodied modern world. See YouTube clip of Charlie Chaplin here 

Dependence on the strategic linear mind has cut off the availability of wisdom from our felt senses, alienating our connection to life and humanity. The prisoners in Brazil became completely disembodied from their own human life and that of others, and were motivated by hate to cut the head off another human. If one is able to access any space of sufficiency, of feeling “OK,” of being in the body, I don’t think it is possible to commit this horrific act.

Can we find our way back to our body? Yes. We must.

What is the way back?

The way back to our body is a two-fold process. First, we require an understanding of the concept of sufficiency and why it is important. The second phase, is practice.

Practice:

We explore what it feels like to be living as sufficient. We FEEL in our body. The truth of the experience of sufficiency is told by our body wisdom – always present, always right here. Then, we have the evolution of our beautiful meta-cognition that allows us to be aware of what we are experiencing.

My epigraph “… remember in every moment I have all that I need” is the essence of our precious human birth, one of the Four Reminders in Buddhist teachings. In every moment, we have the opportunity to spontaneously recognize that we have everything we need. It is the power of now, of being fully present. We let go of the past and we refrain from projecting into the future.

Here, in this moment, recognize that you have all you need. This is the opening to sufficiency. This is the way we build our sufficiency muscle.

Over the next few weeks, reflect on your relationship to sufficiency. Ask yourself, perhaps even write in your journal, the following questions:

1. How am I relating to sufficiency?
2. What are the ways that I feel sufficient?
3. What does sufficiency feel like in my body?
4. Where do I go when I feel lack?

When you arrive at your new insights, play with being in sufficiency. Some easy ways to practice are with your breath (see this month’s 5 Minute-Try-It), food consumption, and sound. With food consumption, experiment with eating too much (your stomach aches from over eating), too little (your body feels weak or longs for more) and sufficient amounts that satisfy but leave no residue of too much or too little. I have found soup or stew to be a favorable prop! With sound, experiment with too loud (your ears are overwhelmed), too soft (you struggle to hear), and when sufficient your ability to stay bright and awake is effortless.
Savoring sufficiency,