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Originally Posted by Michelle  I know the outer world is representative of our inner world, but sometimes it is hard to view one's own problems objectively. So, how does financial debt on the outside relate to one's (my) inside state? |
First of all, I want to say that my opinion on this is just that, an opinion. It isn't right or wrong. It's just my own personal experience. So take from it what you will. Also, I should qualify my opinion by saying that I'm very deep in debt right now. It's not debt that is insurmountable, but it's still debt that I owe and will need to repay during my lifetime. I also want to say that I've been on the other side of the fence and totally debt-free with about a year's worth of income readily available in savings.
Regarding your question about the relationship between financial debt and inner state, I think it depends on your intentions and the context. Are you spending beyond your means because you need to surround youself with luxury items or need to take expensive vacations every six months? Or are you deep in debt because you are trying to build your own business and it's taking longer than you'd like to turn a profit. Or are you deep in debt because of medical bills or legal bills?
This is the best question I can think of to ask yourself: Do you believe you are taking from the universe without giving back? Or do you believe the universe has allowed you to take out a temporary I-O-U, where you will eventually pay everyone back, plus interest, when the time is right? Like a spiritual-student loan.
(BTW, I take the term "paying back plus interest" to mean paying back just with money. But for some people, like those with extremely high medical bills, I can definitely see how "paying back" doesn't necessarily have to be just with money.)
For me, and this was just my own experience, I was totally miserable when I was rich (at least rich for my age - 22 yrs old) and debt-free and with my retirement plan in place. And even worse, I didn't even consciously know how miserable I really was! And right now, I'm way more spiritual and much happier even though I'm flat broke and swimming in debt. But one doesn't necessarily equal the other. Like I said, it depends on the intention and context. The same person can choose to be a greedy selfish monk just as easily as he can choose to be a spiritual and selfless millionaire.
There was a time when I felt that "rich = miserable" and "broke = spiritual" (Actually, I'm still cleaning out that limiting belief, "that money is a trap", otherwise I wouldn't still be broke). And a few years before that, there was a time when I felt that "poor = miserable" and "rich = happy". And I say "happy" here and not "spiritual" because at that particular time in my life I honestly had no real concept of what "spiritual" was and I basically lived a very one-dimensional existence. I'm thinking of someone like Gordon Gekko from the movie Wall Street.
So in summary, if you feel that taking on debt is just part of your path of personal growth, then, at least in my opinion, that's totally fine. But if you are taking on debt as a way of taking without any intention of giving back, or as a way of escaping reality and responsibility, then, well, that's fine too.
At least in the grand scheme of things.
Bottom line is that anyone else's opinion is irrelant. It's whatever you currently feel in your heart about it and what you choose to do about it that matters. If being in debt and not paying it back right away serves you and your life path, great. But if being in debt feel's more like a heavy burden and is preventing you from moving forward in life, then maybe you should focus on clearing up that obstacle first before moving on to anything else.