“Embodying Sufficiency as a state of being transforms money confusion and fear into clarity, well-being, and generosity”

The sensation of discomfort can often be mistaken as a lack of safety. Our sensory tentacles maintain sensitive high alert for signs of unfamiliarity, and the visceral experiences of the unknown get reflexively labeled as a need for protection. Our habitual safety-making patterns emerge without consciousness and we “protect” ourselves from what is new or different.

The problem with this way of seeing and being is that not only are we limiting our ability to benefit from growth, change, adaptation and evolution, but our physical bodies consume a ton of energy (adrenaline) warding off that which is an invitation to heal a barrier in life fulfillment.

An easy example is found in the progression of building physical strength and skills in the body.  A runner, cyclist, bodybuilder, yogi, basketball player, skier, tennis champion, or Qui Gong master encounters frequent discomfort in the course of developing capacities in this specialized physical activity. But because the discomfort arises from the clear purpose of improvement, it is not accompanied by the need to protect, but rather it is experienced as purposeful tension. The recognition of discomfort as part of the journey allows more space and openness to improve and grow.

When money arises in conversation, discomfort immediately follows. This discomfort quickly turns to the need to feel safe. Then the contractions, coupled with stories and beliefs, emerge. I have never encountered anyone who is completely open and comfortable about money.

On the contrary, the need to feel safe regarding money is a visceral response – a quick hijack of emotions by an activated primitive brain. Typically our belly gets tight, queasy, and perhaps dense, and we unconsciously move to protect ourselves from uncertainty and the beliefs or stories made up about that uncertainty. Unexamined and unfelt, we reify the pattern that discomfort around money means lack of safety. A never-ending cycle that most of us can relate to.

Recently I was a part of a non-profit organization’s fundraising meeting. While discussing money, the discomfort in the room was palpable. A few minutes prior, the environment had been lively, engaged, and cheerful. When the topic of generating money became the focus, the air pressure in the room dropped, pervaded by anxiety. Some expressed their money fears via doubt, confusion, and uncertainty, but no one directly faced his or her discomfort. Rather, they confirmed their resistance to money matters.

Ideas for the fundraiser surfaced and the planning closed with a mood of relief. Later, the resulting fundraiser’s positive financial results and the direct, joyful experience of the event offered an opening to examine its preparation. How can the planning of the fundraiser be as fun and lighthearted as the actual event itself?

Which are the places in your body that feel uncomfortable when money issues arise? Would you like to investigate the discomfort and build new awareness and money muscles? What is a practice to support you in abiding discomfort, rather than contracting to safety?

Discomfort is a gateway to growth. Sufficiency is built through discomfort. Being able to embody sufficiency requires an open fierce connection to the reality of growth. Building new physical muscles can feel uncomfortable, but recall the fruition of that muscle building. How satisfying is your running, your cycling, your tennis serve or yoga practice, and your new muscular curves?

To embody the pristine clear equanimity of sufficiency, we engage discomfort. We learn our body’s signals of perceived threat/scarcity and the subtle moving balance of too much–too little. Embodied sufficiency is liberating. We can get there by attending to each moment with openness, and the commitment to engage whatever arises, with truth, and without hesitation.

In a money situation, discomfort might look like this:

I’m at dinner with a friend and the bill arrives. I intentionally did not order dessert or tea, to minimize my expense. My friend wants to split the bill, but his portion adds up to a few bucks more. My scarcity fear kicks in. I feel tightening in my belly from the threat to what I had determined I “could afford.” Subtle frustration rises in my neck and jaws; my face begins to flush. Noticing and experiencing these sensations I gain access to clarity. What is true? 

• I might see that I can afford the extra cost and that my relationship is more important to me than fretting over a few dollars.
• I might see that I need to express my financial intentions and that I do not want to split the bill but pay for my meal only.
• I might see that there is an opening to discuss real and perceived affordability.
• I might see a fear of being taken advantage of, and commit to exploring where that fear originated.

 The discomfort of feeling the sensations, and then following with action, provide nourishment for embodied sufficiency, gaining access to the visceral felt sense and pure knowing that “I am OK.”

The importance of embodied sufficiency cannot be emphasized enough. Engage in your subtle and not so subtle ways of protecting yourself when you feel discomfort. Allow discomfort to be your gateway to abide in the infinite, satisfying space of sufficiency.

Openly engaging discomfort,