Normally I write about economics over on my other blog, but this is more of a spiritual topic that is on my mind with the pressure that everyone is feeling from the economy.

It's about the higher purpose of money - what I think is actually the original purpose of money. It's hard to remember that there was a time before money, and when we think of that, we usually think of some awkward agricultural barter economy, trading chickens for hogs. But go back even further than that - humans have had culture for thousands of years. For all that time, there have been artists and shamans. I would submit, although we have less proof, that there were also helpers for the elderly, coordinated child-care systems, and even therapists. Those roles are needed in all societies, in all times.

How did those people get compensated before there was money? I mean, how did they live if their time was spent helping the community with education or support tasks instead of producing directly consumable goods? Did people just bring them tons of chickens? Maybe the occasional chicken was donated, but the real method in small communities, families, and tribes is that the person is socially and emotionally supported for their work. They are allowed to share in the wealth (the food, the clothes, the shelter) of the communal social unit because everyone sees that their efforts are important to the integration and well-being of the community.

Think about it in your own extended family. Who is the family peacemaker, negotiator, or counselor? And does that person need to barter for a slice of the turkey at Thanksgiving, offering in exchange 10 minutes of emotional bonding? Of course not. Their contribution is important and non-quantifiable. They earn their place in the family, whether or not their paycheck supports the food or housing. In fact, that person is often not the highest-earner in the family, despite their importance.

Once society got big, we couldn't all sit at the same table, so we created a symbolic exchange unit called money. The idea was to acknowledge and reward efforts that help. I don't think the intent was for it to be counted so precisely - the idea that therapists, teachers, and yes, martial arts and meditation instructors, need to have an hourly rate is inherently flawed.

We have to do that, however, because the buildings we use for our efforts also have an hourly rate (paid monthly). So we live with that reality, and we have conventional business models in place.

But behind that... what if we remembered that money is a means of expressing support? What if it were normal, not greedy or creepy, to slide a friend a few dollars when they make you laugh? We can't do it with dollar bills, although we can buy them a beer, help them move, or maybe even give them a chicken. But what if there were an abstraction layer that allowed it in spite of our socially-induced schizophrenia about money?

I think it would be spiritually profound. A new economics, focused on encouragement and inspiration for those we love and those we admire, would be immune to breakdown due to policies in Washington, Ponzi schemes from billionaires, and complex investment instruments which wipe out life-savings from cascading credit failures. Ultimately, we are a bunch of humans trying to help and inspire each other to create great things. We can do that. We just need to remember that this is what we are trying to do.

This kind of transcendence of ordinary thinking is the essence of the spiritual warrior's path. We are stuck with the thinking that got us here - we are trapped in a desperation cycle of pursuit and defense. We can do better. It will take bravery, skill, intelligence, spirit and vision, but we can re-frame our experience and remember the original purpose of human living. And in doing so, we can re-invent and change the world.