Often one asks what is the right attitude toward money and acquisition of earthly possessions for the person who seeks spiritual development.
The answer is twofold, and is clearly expressed in the high knowledge on which the Alma schools’ curriculum is based:
On the one hand, man should not set the accumulation of wealth and possessions as the main object of his life, since doing so would demand all of his time and energy, until finally, it would bind him, preventing him from fulfilling his life’s object, which is the highest spiritual development through experiences in the material world.
On the other hand, a person who is of the absurd view that whoever considers himself spiritual should have nothing to do with any earthly possessions, only causes serious harm to himself and others.
This wrong perspective caused important spiritual projects to fail from the very beginning, since they were not able to sustain themselves financially on their own but, rather, were dependent on donations and gifts like beggars.
Any spiritual enterprise that operates in the name of the Light and strives to influence mankind, still exists in the material world, and therefore must have sufficient resources at its disposal and a strong economic infrastructure.
Additionally, in order to offer a serious alternative to the enterprises of the Darkness, which hold tremendous earthly power, which it wields unscrupulously, we must ward off like with like, fight fire with fire, and therefore, he who strives for the Light must not despise money!
This distorted view led people to think, and, sometimes, even demand, that a person with spiritual abilities help them free of charge! This is because most people are materialistic, and thus, they value and are willing to pay only for things that are material.
They further think that such a spiritual person received his gifts for free from the Creator and therefore, not only is he obligated to share his abilities with others without asking for any return, but he must also be happy and jubilant at the very possibility bestowed upon him to give them those gifts.
However, a person who has been blessed with gifts from the Light, still must live and sustain himself in the material world like everyone else and has material needs: grocery shopping, paying rent, gas, utilities, childcare, clothing, medical and dental bills, etc.
In addition to this, he also needs much more time and energy in order to develop these gifts.
Much more time and energy than a lawyer needs to make the best defense argument, than a doctor needs to treat many patients, or than an artist needs to create. However, it would never occur to anyone to expect a lawyer, doctor, or an artist to do their work for free, even though their abilities, like any other talent, are nothing more than a gift from the Creator.
Therefore, he who has been blessed with gifts from the Light, must cast aside the beggar’s rags and don the garment that befits him.
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The Alma School for Humanity was established with the aim of creating a spiritual movement among humanity as a whole.
This is not a spiritual movement in the sense that many imagine. That is, a bunch of hippies sitting on the beach, drinking beers, smoking joints, playing guitar, and singing “love and light” songs.
It is a movement whose purpose is to magnetize to it men and women with spiritual and practical power, who create in their thoughts and through their joint work a powerful circle, which has the power to influence wider circles among humanity and thus, bring about the purification of the world.
This is similar to centrifugal force, in the center of which there is a small but very powerful movement that can create ripples, which gradually spread wider into the distance.
We are required to anchor this spiritual vision of our school in the material world, according to a combination of three principles that are aligned with the Laws of Creation:
The first principle: only by giving can you receive – this is a Law in Creation according to which only those who give something can truly appreciate what they receive.
In ancient times, when people respected much more the Laws of Creation, even a poor person would give a little something, even just a token for services he received, since all were aware that he who just wants to receive without giving anything in return, will end up a beggar.
The second principle: A garden needs both soil and seeds to flourish – similarly, even the noblest vision needs financial fuel to become reality. A robust financial foundation is essential for any organization, including spiritual ones, to provide quality service consistently and fulfill its mission.
The third principle: “The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” (Psalms 145:18) Every person has an innate right to the Truth, regardless of his financial situation.
In order to reconcile these three principles, the payment for studying at the schools is not uniform, and each person is given the opportunity to pay, according to his real financial ability and according to his integrity.
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Money, in its spiritual sense, is nothing more than a symbolic expression of the life energy that a person has invested in a certain thing; that is, the fruit of his labor.
May a new human being build a new world, in which we will all reap the fruits of our labor with joy and abundance.
May a new human being build a new world and remember that living according to the Laws of Creation is what will make this abundance possible – which is meant to make our spiritual development possible, in the way of blessing and not in the way of suffering.
May a new human being build a new world, in which whoever has more resources will see this as a blessing from the Creator, given to him in order to help others.
May a new human being build a new world, in which we will all have something to give.
Amen
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