In my last column (“Examining Our Beliefs About Money,” January/February 2016, page 30), I asked you to think about the history of money in your life and what you learned about money from your family as a child. Did you think about it? Did you do any journaling? Did you pick up on any beliefs you are carrying about money that may be holding you back?
Before you read any further, I encourage you to take some time to do this inquiry. It may not be fun, or comfortable, but trust me, identifying limiting beliefs and learning how to flip them is one of the most crucial things you can do to increase your abundance.
I have been doing this exercise for a few years now and continue to be astounded at the beliefs I unconsciously carry around and how deep they go. My limiting beliefs go something like this: Wanting money does not fit into the life of a healer. Money is dirty and taints things. Money is difficult to get. There is no path to financial success in my career. Being what I truly am, a massage therapist, means I am doomed to be poor my whole life. Valuing money more would make me unsympathetic or lose my touch. If I were to charge enough for my work to make the income I want to make, people would think I am greedy and elitist.
Obviously, I have some work to do here. There is no way more money will be attracted into my life while I am holding these beliefs. There’s a saying that no problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it. The good part about identifying these painful beliefs I carry is that once I know they are there, I can work at raising my level of consciousness so the problem may be solved.

Let’s Shine the Light
I was talking to one of my best friends, also a massage therapist. She told me she learned from her family that “success is unattainable” and “life is a struggle.” She also identified the belief that “it’s not OK to charge money for healing.”
A colleague in California identified his limiting beliefs that “our work is an indulgent luxury, or unimportant, and nobody will pay a therapeutic professional’s rate for it.” That “work we love is reward enough, and high pay is only for jobs that people hate.” That “if we charge more than the middle of the pack, we can’t compete and won’t get any takers.” And that “it’s morally wrong if we don’t make our work accessible to everybody.”
Ouch! Owie! Ow! These beliefs feel worse than someone sticking their thumb into my psoas too fast. Where do these beliefs come from? What kind of world do we live in if success is unattainable? Why must life be a struggle? Why would we teach these things to each other and hand them down over generations? Maybe it’s that these thoughts were necessary at one point and we’ve now outgrown their usefulness, but we continue to use them as a matter of habit. Perhaps if we were to shine the light of consciousness on them, we would recognize them for the false ideas they are. Then, we could be free of them and the pull they have on our subconscious that guides our every decision and action.

Change Your Mind
I started to flip my thoughts around, and this is what I came up with: What if money is a form of healing energy, a symbol of reciprocity, love, and support? What if money is not dirty or clean, but only imbued with the intention in the exchange? What if money is as easy to get as water, or what if I trusted that to be the case? What if there were trailblazers in my field learning how to make massage and bodywork a sustainable career, and what if they showed me the way? What if having more money meant all I had to do is value myself more? What if valuing myself more and letting that ripple out into the world is the most healing thing I could ever do for another person?
As I have traveled the road of business training and wealth consciousness, I’ve learned that bodyworkers are a unique tribe of people. We are extremely sensitive. This is what makes us good at what we do. It also makes identifying and extracting limiting beliefs quite painful at times.
Every time I take a big step in my growth and raise my level of consciousness, I feel growing pains. It is inevitable. Moving from the known to the unknown is scary, and precisely what is called for to evolve into something greater. I know from my own experience that massage and bodywork is incredibly valuable, even life-saving. I believe we should be able to give our truest gifts to the world and be prosperous. I believe our prosperity will only make us better and more effective at what we do. I want to have more money. I want you to have more money, so you can take care of yourself in the best way possible. Thank you for your bravery in embarking on this journey with me.

Jennie Hastings, LMT, BCTMB, has studied money in the therapeutic process from every angle: as a client, patient, and practitioner. From the very beginning of her bodywork career, she received business training and coaching. Now she helps other massage therapists break through limiting beliefs about money with private and group coaching. She can be reached at jennie@massageblossom.com.