Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin
“Count, count, weigh, divide” (Aramaic/Babylonian)
Count, count, weigh, divide was the proverbial “writing on the wall” in ancient Babylon*, early in the Second Epoch.
*King Belshazzar and his minions were enjoying a drunken feast during the twilight years of their mighty civilization—relishing their treasures, guzzling wine from sacred gold chalices—when a hand suddenly materialized and etched those ominous words on the wall: Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin. Apparently an early example of ITC (technical spirit communication) before the advent of modern technology.
If we overlook its cryptic double meanings, it was probably a warning, translated in the modern vernacular as:
“A little obsessed with the spoils, are we?”
In which case the lesson was a simple one: Wealth obsessions wouldn’t bode well for the new epoch. Today, thousands of years later, as we approach the end of that Second Epoch, our money issues still cause problems.
That’s the subject of this article: What money is, how it reflects and escalates our behavior, why we’re sometimes preoccupied by it, and how we can free ourselves from its magnetic pull—for greater peace of mind—regardless of how rich or poor we are.
What Money Is… Really?
Money is an artificial life-energy that we use here on Terra to create and nourish our social systems and our lives. The real stuff—life-energy from the source—creates and nourishes everything.
There are lots of differences between life-energy (real) and money (artificial), especially in the way they’re distributed and in the way they work:
- Life-energy is simple in its distribution, emitted constantly and freely by the source, and it belongs to everyone and everything everywhere, since we’re all part of the source.
- Money is complicated in its distribution, provided by governments and their banks here on Terra and managed according to bristly economic and political principles—democratic, autocratic, capitalistic, socialistic, communistic, Islamic….
At the same time…
- Life-energy is complicated in the way it works (there’s an understatement!)—spreading boundless vitality, love, and knowledge to everything throughout the cosmos.
- Money is simple in the way it works; it just represents the relative value of everything associated with people and their social systems.
As far as money is concerned, some governments in recent history have tried to be more “God-like,” ensuring that wealth (enough for everyone’s basic needs) is available to everyone. For example, communist, socialist, and Islamic governments (with their emphasis on charity and generosity), and special government programs like welfare and “basic income,” all try to keep people from “falling between the cracks” into poverty. But these noble efforts sometimes don’t work very well because of our messy symbiosis* here on Earth, where compassion and good-will struggle endlessly with competitive, parasitic, and predatory forces in society and in ourselves.
*Science has debated the precise meaning of “symbiosis” since the late 19th Century. The current consensus is that competitive and predatory behavior aren’t “symbiotic,” but just ecological or biological relationships. Also, science only looks at symbiotic relationships between different species of plants or animals. I take a broader view that 1) mutualist (win-win), 2) commensalist (live-and-let-live), 3) parasitic, 4) predatory, and 5) competitive relationships occur all the time among living things on Earth, whether or not they are of the same species, or even of the same clan or community. I think of them all as “symbiotic relationships” of our world, even it it’s not technically correct.
Some governments, especially those operating in a capitalist economy, tolerate (sometimes encourage) the more stressful symbiotic relationships—especially competition, but to a lesser degree even some parasitic and predatory practices as well. That puts a heavy weight on their legal and ethical systems, which have to decide what behaviors are acceptable or unacceptable when it comes to people and groups handling money.
So while life-energy is always clean and noble everywhere, money on Earth can get messy.
Money and Basic Human Behavior
A good way to understand basic human behavior is to watch kids play—see how they treat each other before they’ve gone through the socialization process of adolescence and adulthood—and then compare “child’s play” to Earth’s symbiotic relationships (that is, how living things on Earth treat each other). That might offer some insights into how our basic human nature contends with forces of this world… especially money.
Here’s a list of five symbiotic relationships, along with five associated childhood behaviors that show up during playtime:
Taking a moment to reflect on the table while recalling our own childhood experiences can be illuminating. It can tell us about “what kind of person we are”—how we, personally, fit into Terra’s strange symbiosis.
(That stress column in the table is just based on my observations, not on any sort of clinical testing. And if you’re interested in child’s play, here’s a list of 11 playtime behaviors that I find fascinating….)
Then, thinking about how we all grow up and use our money in some of these five ways can give us a pretty good feel for money and its influences.
Preoccupied by Money?
Me?
As I sit here, writing on my laptop, I also have a couple of browser windows open to watch the market and play with some of our investments. It’s become a habit of mine lately—pondering reality while playing with our money.
What a dichotomy!
- Writing about life and afterlife gives me peace of mind and gratification.
- Playing with money is stimulating but stressful and, frankly, a little obsessive.
So… starting this week, writing will get most of my attention, and our investments will only get a little. I’ll watch the market for a half-hour when it opens, maybe 15 minutes at mid-day, then another half-hour before it closes. The rest of the time, I’ll turn my back on the drama and focus on my writing.
If that doesn’t work, I might have to take additional steps (maybe 12 steps, if you know what I mean 🙂 ) to detach from the money drama altogether.
How about you? Do you sometimes stress about money? If so, there are several practical tips to get a handle on things:
- Save an emergency fund,
- Budget,
- Avoid debt….
(additional suggestions here… and here….)
But there’s a far more effective practice that can wash away most of our money stress rather well, regardless of how committed or clever we are with those practical steps:
Prioritize life-energy over money.
That’ll start to neutralize much of the stress from obsessing about money.
Be “Obsessed” with Life-Energy, Not Money
At first glance, the vast cosmos seems like a parasitic place—everything and everyone sucking life-energy from the source.
But it’s not really parasitic (which involves taking something that doesn’t belong to you), since life-energy belongs to everything and everyone. That’s the nature of the cosmos: We’re all part of the source. The source belongs to us, and we belong to the source.
Likewise, people who meditate and pray a lot to make conscious contact with the source may seem like they’re obsessed with the source and its life-energy (especially if they’re shirking their down-to-earth responsibilities), but it’s not really an obsession. Frequent meditation or prayer is not an obsession because life-energy is the most natural part of us, filling us with vitality, knowledge, and good motivations. Nothing can get “addicted” to life-energy, just as no one on Earth can get addicted to water. It’s pure and vital.
So, regardless of whether or not you have an obsessive personality (like mine), direct your attention to the source—the inner light that rests at the center of your being.
Then, regardless of whether you’re rich or poor, your worldly concerns (including money) will gradually get resolved as finer spiritual forces can take a more active role in choreographing your life in a most positive way.
# # #
Macy Afterlife: The Beacon 
Hi Mark, i invested my money and been scammed, it saddened me but later i realized that it’s my spiritual life is most important and not to worry about money being wasted. I can still live simple way of life with my little pension until the day of my crossing over to spirit world.
Hi Nestor, very sorry to hear about the investment scam.
I just got an email this morning (in my SPAM folder, of course) from “Robert Brown, head of Homeland Security.” He told me a package for me had been received at Los Angeles International Airport worth more than $1 million, and I had to click a link to retrieve it.
Yesterday I looked into a special telephone service and got charged $45 before I’d even decided to buy it. I had to send four emails to the company before they finally cancelled the payment… for a fee of $14.
I guess if you and I started a club for scam victims, it would soon be a pretty big club!
Scams seem to be getting more prevalent lately.
I love your approach: “I can still live in a simple way…until the day of my crossing over….”
That seems to be the key. Live a simple, honest life, forgive people for their behavior, and enjoy peace of mind and afterlife rewards……
Warm wishes,
Mark
Hi Mark,
It’s so unfortunate that you too has been also a victim by these bad people. I learned a lesson to be extra careful to those people pretending to be good but with bad motive.Thank you for all your spiritual work, your site is my refuge.
Nestor
Thank you, Mark.
I have posted to Varanormal and will attempt to move more on the ITC subforum later this month.
https://www.varanormal.com/forums/topic/2089-terra-03-money-money-money-how-it-mimics-life-energy/#comment-6142
I want to know how you all are faring after the fire. I know from your writings publicly you say okay, but private and the public have many faces. I genuinely hope that you are all doing well.
I imagine that the smell of fire is triggering for some of you, but as someone who has had a house catch fire, believe me, it will fade but will take years in some cases.
It’s the momentary management of anxiety coming from that first smell that is unsettling, or it was in my case.
Thank you for your writing. I always enjoy them and look forward to putting the Macy Encyclopedia together on Varanormal.
Do you ever do any public talks? I am sure you would know of Victor and Wendy Zammit.
Wendy and I started a program of Zoom groups in which presenters run a group on their experience level. The aim is to further the Afterlife knowledge, but one can see it through many eyes.
In a month, we have quite a few groups going. The presenters do not charge if they are doing the group under the Zammit banner. We wish no barrier of cost to deciding attendance.
The groups are hugely popular, and Wendy and I run a Global Group, which happens in the USA on a Sunday afternoon/evening, but at 7 am on Monday for Wendy and myself.
That way, we try to get to as many people as possible to attend. We usually have a good speaker, but we do not pay.
Sadly, there is such a limited time for the whole world to get together, but we do have people from the UK in their winter. We have a lady from Vienna who does not miss a global meeting.
Most speakers want a significant fee which misses the point of things. If you get the Friday Afterlife Report, you will see all the groups there, and I will send out a newsletter on the Zoom groups only.
ITC is a large niche group, but evps and photographic anomalies are popular.
I wonder if you can help direct me to people who may talk on those subjects.
The problem often is that we have low numbers, most likely because of the niche factor. Still, Sonia Rinaldi’s talks are popular and where we do get big numbers. So I do think there is a largely untapped need there.
I would love someone to talk about the history of ITC/EVP, so if there is someone you think can help, it would be fantastic. Please do not feel you have to come up with some resources.
I am throwing it into an email where I am more concerned with thanking you for your work and checking your “welfare”.
Blessings
Karyn
Hi Karyn,
This comment is very thought-provoking and moving for me.
I want to digest it for a while before replying.
Meanwhile, thanks for all the great work that you, Victor, Wendy, et al are doing!
I suspect you’re all getting a lot of positive attention from finer spirit. 🙂
Mark
Hi Karyn,
Thanks for sharing my writing with the ITC community. Yes, I know Victor and Wendy; I also have a pretty good idea when he posts something about my website in his Friday Report. Suddenly I get a boost in daily readership from about 70 views a day to maybe 300 hits or more. 🙂 I really like the small readership. A bigger audience sometimes means more venting hard feelings in the comments, which I like to avoid on this site. But that hasn’t been a problem with the Victor-related bumps in readership, maybe because he has a more refined audience of people with a serious interest in afterlife matters?
Regina and I are doing remarkably well since the fire, which swept through the neighborhood and completely leveled most of the houses to piles of rubble. If our house would have been badly smoke-damaged, I’m sure that we’d be more smoke-sensitive now. Once our house started filling with smoke, we were out of there. Actually, Regina and I are both surprised that we’re not traumatized by the event, which was both a curse and a gift, but a little heavier on the gift side. Maybe because of our age. (70s)
Your idea of a “Macy Encyclopedia” on Varanormal was a surprise. Thanks for that too.
No, I don’t do any public speaking anymore. Looking back over my life (and being around Regina and her loquacious friends and glancing at her while she watches “The View” in TV), it’s become apparent to me that speaking in general has never been one of my strengths. 🙂 I guess that’s why I spend so much of my effort writing. (Not a great listener either… a non-auditory learner whose ears are starting to go south.)
If I think of anyone who’s a good speaker on ITC information, I’ll let you know. Meanwhile, the history is out there (on http://www.worlditc.org, for example), and it might not be difficult for someone with speaking skills to fashion it into a presentation. Maybe?
Nice hearing from you, Karyn, as always.
Mark
So sorry I have neglected my own blog, been busy spreading the word as much as possible. Mainly so others do not have to go through hell on earth as I did not having any grounds to understand the afterlife. I am indebted to wonderful people such as you who taught me so much, and I enjoy doing ITC and EVP related topics. Yes, Wendy and I work as a team with the zoom groups and I am always happy to sign anyone up to the Friday report and Zoom mailout. We do not charge anything at all for any of it. We all three believe that information has been held back for lots of reasons and money is one of them. I feel privileged to be able to share their life’s work and yours and a couple of others. I a also very keen on thanking people before it is too late. So by posting your work is a living thank you. We did it just in time for Marcello Bacchi. We co-=ordinated a thank you book which we gave to him just shortly before he transitioned. A very humble man I am told he was beyond words on receiving all the thank you messages. Again it was a privilege
.
In 1999 horrific events transpired and as a result I had to leave my home with two small babies, everything I’d worked for during my late teens and 20s left behind but that was just a smidgen of the true horror behind it all. Even-so, I had to start again from scratch, also in fear and looking over my shoulder constantly, My safety was at risk and the local authorities provided me with shelter and cameras. Cutting out lots of detail and moving on I rebuilt my life and possessions and apart from the other horrors that took years to overcome the loss of my possessions left a very raw pain which lasted years. Such regrets that I’d never be able to have my own home again, regrets of allowing myself to fall into the hands of a predator…deep in my gut I knew things weren’t right but didn’t have the faith or trust in myself, didn’t have the knowledge then to make better decisions. My children are now grown and I have two grandkids and one on the way. I did meet a wonderful man who died, the only man I felt was a soul mate. After he died and the children left home I found minimalism. I got rid of everything and loved the idea of only owning items I need or use, simplifying everything allowing more time to do other things. Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus and Marie Kondo were the first people I started to watch on youtube, thier stories were brilliant and inspired me to spend the last 7-8 years on this journey of owning less. I’ve found it is so freeing but ironic that all those years I grieved the loss of my possessions. I do have regrets trying to acquire everything I’d lost because it feels like such a waste of time, money and my energy but I didn’t know back then what I do now. It’s the best thing I ever did and would recommend. My home isn’t a stark minimalist place but it has things in it that truly do make me feel happy, I can now find things, do everything a lot faster which frees up my time. The visual noise is gone. Others have been inspired by my changes. My grandchildren come and spending time playing with them is priceless, they love it. I read somewhere once that children see their toys as an extension of themselves and I think adults do too (I know I certainly did and still do to a degree but if i had to quantify only 5-10% of the time).
I’ve sold a lot over the years and found that by coincidence when I thought about a certain item I’d have for sale the very next day it would sell. This became more and more frequent until it got to the point something else was going on (I might have anything from 30 to a hundred plus items at one time)….I do believe it’s all part of consciousness and energy manifestation but only seems to apply when the thoughts are kind of lucid. Anyhow, with each sale, regardless, I thank God.
I hope you don’t mind me sharing my experiences and I know my minimalist journey wouldn’t appeal to everyone. I in no way want to diminish the pain felt when we go through a crisis, it’s real grief and something to work through that takes time.
Best wishes, kate
Hi Kate,
Thanks for sharing the details of your harrowing escape with your little kids. Always amazes me the level of suffering that so many of us have to go through during these lifetimes. Being married to (or living with) a predator has to be among the worst. Being stuck like that for years.
I’ve become a minimalist too, since the fire. It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a while… detach from all the stuff. Fortunately, Regina’s been decorating our little condo beautifully in the past few months. We move in around October. And fortunately, there won’t be room in the little place for much more than is already there.
Sounds like you’ve got selling guides, the way Regina has had buying guides lately. Not just the new home furnishings, but gifts for friends pop out at here when she’s browsing through a store. I think good-hearted people get a lot of help from spirit for the activities that the people feel are important in their lives. (That’s probably oversimplifying things, since some money-magnet rich people don’t seem to be all that good-hearted. So maybe it also has to do with karma, as well as being good-hearted?)
Anyway, thanks again for letting us know a bit more about you!
Our spirit friends told us that as we approach the end of a lifetime…
“Do not make this time of your transit unnecessarily difficult for each other. Lighten your hearts and take off your masks in front of each other and you will be prepared on the day we take you home. Ishkumar”
Click to access c9601.pdf
Mark
Selling and buying guides, absolutely ;-D …(made me laugh).
Thanks for the link with a brilliant and appropriate message from Ishkumar,
So glad you’ve got a place to move to soon, best wishes to you both
kate