Metaphysical Tithing
by Jackie Woods

Tithing is a word that makes church flags come up in ones mind. However, it also carries a metaphysical meaning. In metaphysics such words as expression, flow, expansion, and abundance are believed to carry great value when they represent the spiritual at work in the physical. All those words apply to tithing.

Our expression in the world is exchanged for money, or things equal to money. That money, or energy, is then exchanged for what is important to us. In the physical that exchange is usually about housing, food, and clothing. In the emotional we usually spend money on "toys," vanity, comfort, and entertainment. Mentally we spend on stimulation, which might be things like trips or books.  Spiritually we should give to whatever or whoever feeds us spiritually. The church has valued the spiritual flow at 10%, but metaphysically it would be more correct for it to be 25% since we have four bodies: spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical.

Most people feel out of control, or victimized, as to how their money is spent. Spending to them is a have-to, a demand from the outside world. It is almost inconceivable for people with victim beliefs around money to see spending as a spiritual heart creation. Yet it is a powerful tool for creating flow when the focus is on the expression of the heart rather than the outside need. How can a God-being be a victim if every exchange is placed on a sacred altar for the purpose of tithing?

Traditionally tithing has been in recognition for what a generous God outside of you has granted you the right to have. Metaphysicians believe that God is within each of us and we create from the inside out. Therefore, tithing takes on a different meaning. Yes, it most definitely can and should carry gratitude as it flows from your God self to become a sacred tithing gift in the world, but instead of it being about homage, it becomes about flow. Flow of your energy into the world that flows back to you in abundance.

As your heart expression flows through you into the form of money, that money provides you with a vehicle for further flow. You can choose to let it flow into small spaces or big ones, sacred spaces or non-sacred ones. If you choose expanded sacred spaces then energy will come back to you in expanded sacred ways. These forms will not only enhance your physical world, but your spiritual as well.  It is this tithing cycle that expands your life, and turns it into a sacred growing experience.

Some people have no direct income, but they do survive with most of their four-body needs taken care of. The dollar value of what comes to them is their income, even if it comes to them indirectly. For example, you may stay home and care for the children while your partner goes to a job. Your income would come indirectly to you but it is still your flow, your creation. You are part of your partner’s flow just as he/she co-creates flow with the people at his/her job. You tithe together. If one of you steps out of that cycle, the flow is broken. This does not mean you have to be the victim of the non-flow person. If you truly believe that God is within you, thus making you a creator, then you have a choice as to where and how your energy is cycling.

Abundance is not how much money you make. It is how much expansion happens when you express any of your heart gifts into a physical form and they flow back to you bigger and more sacred than before. This beautiful cycle that creates abundance is called tithing. For sacred energy to return, it must be sent out as a sacred gift. That means each of the bodies you tithe for must let the heart define. You can’t spend money on junk food and consider it a tithe. You can’t do emotional buying of clothes or toys and see it as a sacred flow of energy. You can’t buy books that stimulate only your mind and call them heart food. Every area of your life must be honored and then all expenditures become a tithe.

Copyright 2002 by Jackie Woods

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