I posted this on another tribe in response to a member's question, and it seems like a good conversation to have here as well.

"...is it only to me, or, today even spirituality depends on money?

Even teachers have to eat, pay rent and take care of other physical needs.

It can be difficult at first to exchange something that you can measure-and-compare (money) for something which is invisible and hard to describe. But to free oneself of the burdens of mind, to find oneself basking in the glow of unconditional love, to see through the illusion of death, to suddenly know everything without knowing how or why.... these are priceless. To suddenly be free of mental programming and discover true choice, to fall into the deepest of ocean of love and recognise one's place in the cosmos, well, money does not begin to properly exchange for such experience.

We exchange with our teachers so that they will be able to offer the same grace and enlightenment to others. It isn't really an exchange for-what-we-want, or for what we receive. It is simply a way to ensure that our teachers can continue their work. It is also an expression of gratitude, which communicates as much to ourselves as to our teacher.

When we exchange something valuable, that-which-we-have-received becomes more valuable to us. We will cherish and honor it. But when we receive some non-thing for "free", it is easier for mind (ego) to set it aside, hold it in contempt, make it worng, or even for us to feel "unworthy" to have received it.

It is truly to our advantage to make valuable exchanges for our spiritual training, as it ensures that our minds will allow us to keep our gains. I know for myself, there have been times when I lacked gratitude, and soon lost what I had gained. Likewise, when I have assisted others for "free", they lacked gratitude and I watched them return to their old ways and perceptions.

In years long-past, we could exchange our time for our training... but that doesn't work too well anymore (unless you are living at an ashram). Money just happens to be the easiest form of exchange today.

I wonder if on some primitive island somewhere, there isn't some young aspirant complaining that a powerful shaman wants too many cowrie shells for his services... should this student be stubborn and try to find another cheaper shaman, or should he go to the beach and collect more shells? It is a dilema that has slowed spiritual progress for millenia.

However, when we truly know what we desire and where to find it, no "cost" is too large. What we receive is timeless and priceless, while what we give is fleeting and, in the long run, worthless. So perhaps this dilema is the universe's method of ensuring that only the "ready" will advance? That's the question I have. But I do not expect an answer, I just expect to keep observing it.