Culture Convo | Spirituality & Financial Alignment: Money as Energy | Simone Griffin Taylor

For too long, we’ve been told that money and spirituality live in two separate worlds—one about survival, the other about higher purpose. In this enlightening episode of Culture Raises Us, Simone Griffin Taylor bridges that divide, showing us how aligning finances with spiritual values creates wholeness, not conflict.

She shares her own journey of blending spiritual awakening with financial growth, revealing how money can act as energy that amplifies purpose when used with integrity. From saying yes to opportunities like international travel to practicing daily financial discernment, Simone offers a blueprint for seeing money as both tool and teacher.

This episode is about courage—the courage to rewrite inherited money stories, embrace abundance without guilt, and view wealth as an ally in walking out your purpose.

Book your free consultation with Simone using the link below now!
https://www.affluencereimagined.com/work-with-me

#CultureRaisesUs #SimoneGriffinTaylor #SpiritualityAndMoney #FinancialAlignment #MoneyAsEnergy #FaithAndFinances #PurposeDrivenWealth #AbundanceMindset #SpiritualGrowth

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
For too long, society has told us that spirituality and
money exists in two separate worlds. You know, on one side,
we're told, hey, pursue wealth, success, material security, and then
on the other side, we're told that true spirituality requires
detection it for money, or that money is somehow less pure.
But here's the truth. Money is energy. It is simply

(00:23):
a tool that reflects who we are and what we value.
Today's conversation with Samon Griffin Taylor, our in house financial
coach and counselor, we're going to go into reuniting the
two of these forces with an understanding that aligning your
money with your spirituality isn't about greed, It's about wholeness.

(00:44):
So why do you think so many people separate their
spirituality from their financial life? And when did you realize
that money and spirituality were actually mutually you know, weren't
mutually exclusive.

Speaker 2 (00:56):
Honestly, I think it was God that I figured that out.
Because I was working on developing I was working on
getting out of debt while I was also discovering a
new spiritual focus, and I was doing them separately. I
wasn't thinking about combining the two. But it wasn't until
I'd done all these things to fix my finance this

(01:18):
quote unquote, but something skill wasn't quite working. It wasn't
the tactical stuff it was. It was something else that
I couldn't figure out. So then what I ended up
doing is starting to blend all the things I learned
through my new spiritual awakening with the money staff. So

(01:38):
suppose I apply integrity. Suppose I apply that to my money.
I suppose I apply something that you and I talked
about before. How were spiritual beings having a human experience?
So for spiritual beings having a human experience, what does
that show up like with my money? And it wasn't
until then that I started to see the real growth

(01:58):
that I started the wholeness within myself and my money
when I started treating them separately. But I cannot sit
here and act as if that was a conscious thought.
That it was timing and I could not have planned
it that better. So I learned that over time, as
I was embodying spiritual element in a new way, it

(02:19):
had to be part of all of me, not separate.
And then it also included how I treat everybody, from
my parents to the unhouse person I walk past every
day to those I agree with the most, which is
again a part of my spiritual book, right, I am
to see them and treat them as I would want
to be treated. And if my money is an extension

(02:40):
of me, how is it to be treated then? And
how I use that to do good and be part
of good in the world.

Speaker 1 (02:50):
You know, let's go into that, because I think, as
we talk about being these spiritual beings having a human experience,
how should that truth then influence the way we view
and manage our money? Because I think you just talked
about a great correlation to that with even how the
people you interact with. But let's go a little deeper
into that.

Speaker 2 (03:05):
I love that, Yes, yes, So what I've taken away
from spiritual beings having a human experience is that it
starts with the understanding that we are bigger than any circumstance.
We have far far more power than me give ourselves credit.
And I think one reason we don't give ourselves credit
for that is because society consistently devalues us into man.

Speaker 1 (03:30):
You could repeat this over and over again so many times.

Speaker 2 (03:33):
Exactly exactly so, if we are told and we believe,
and you know, in fairness, how could we not If
we don't believe that we have power, that we are
bigger than anyone circumstance, well, then how are we going
to exact that. We're going to feel like we are
victims and we just have to go along to get
along and all that. So for me to start with
the understanding we're bigger than any circumstance. If I'm a

(03:55):
spiritual being, that means an ethereal, I have powers that
I don't even know. I have something bigger than me
is working towards my highest and best good, which is
something I.

Speaker 1 (04:04):
Say a lot.

Speaker 2 (04:06):
And the human part of us co creates with that
spiritual being, as we're the ones implementing the work. So
if we're not waiting on God, but yet we're co
creating with the divine with spirit, that makes us just
as responsible for bringing our dreams to fruition. And it
used to bother me as for so much when I

(04:27):
would hear people say, well, I'm just waiting on the Lord.
I'm just waiting on God. God gonna provide we work together.
I believe we work together. I know that there's some
things that I have no capacity. I don't have the
capability of doing. I know that, but I do know
that if I do not align myself to be ready
to take advantage of the opportunities that come my way

(04:51):
that spirit provides, then I'm the one at fault there.

Speaker 1 (04:56):
I have to do that.

Speaker 2 (04:56):
So this is where we're spiritual beings having a human
exce beers come together, and where our money is concerned.
I tell you, we get an opportunity. Kirk and I
are going Kirk as my husband. We have an opportunity
to go to Africa in November, right and I'm so
very excited about it. It is we get some kind
of connection to some people within the government and Ghana

(05:19):
and all of that, and they want to take us
on some official visit. I don't know the details, but
I do know that we get a super great opportunity
to explore Ghana. Well, if I didn't know about this
opportunity three weeks ago, okay. My job is to make
sure that I have the savings in place for when
opportunities come up like this Because I love to travel.

(05:40):
I am a big traveler. Traveler is traveling is my thing.
So I don't have to know that Ghana is going
to come up. I couldn't even say no to Ghana
if it didn't align. But if I do the work
to say to make sure that I'm not spending recklessly
on a bunch of different things, and I'm really aligning
my money with my values, then when an opportunity like

(06:04):
taking a really big tour of Ghana comes to up,
I can say absolutely without a question. But I can't
do that if throughout the year, throughout the month, I'm
just spending on any little thing that comes up. Because
and this is where they say things like you know
that ten dollars purchase here can be valued there. Here's
where I change that. I changed that to say, does

(06:26):
this purchase bring me fulfillment? Does it bring me ultimate joy?
And if it does, I'm gonna go off and do it.
But they're not that many things in life that bring
me that ultimate joy?

Speaker 1 (06:37):
And traveling is your love language, and I think that
ja leads to a thing of you know, how can
money be seen not just as a tool for survival
because a lot of the instances you're talking about are survival,
but more as an energy that amplifies our purpose and
are calling yes yes?

Speaker 2 (06:57):
And I think you just use that key word in
an because it is a tool to start with. That
tool is the keyword here that comes through us to
execute however we wish. We make the choice to do that.
We make the choice to do however we want to treat.
Money is how we make the choice, and we make

(07:17):
those choices, often unconsciously. So people believe that they have
to do certain things. But I challenge that. I get
to do certain things to pay a mortgage, to own
a home in a city that I love and I
want to see thrive. I get to travel with my husband.

(07:39):
I get to even have electricity on in the house,
have veric for my level of comfort. All of these
things we're doing. And I hear stories every day, and
you don't have to live that life.

Speaker 1 (07:54):
That's the way I chose.

Speaker 2 (07:55):
Okay, that's not my husband chosen. I hear stories every
day of people who choose to live with no lifestyle
or in another country. I'd say more power to them.
I even know. Somebody asked her, who is actively choosing
homelessness right now? My choice, not my choice, But that
is her choice, and that is an active choice. She
is making a decision about the life she wants, and

(08:17):
if and when the time comes, she'll make a different choice.
So the important part of this is to be clear
on how you want to contribute to the world and
then use the energy you possess to make that happen.
Just be sure you're doing that from a space of strength,
and I will give you all a clue. We know

(08:37):
we're doing things from a space of strength in our bodies.
When something is a full throateated yes, when it's a
hell yes, we know that with every fire of our beings.
So that's how I've used it, and I will say
we also have to know our shadow side, the things
where we could fall into a bit of disarray. For mine,

(08:58):
I've had to work on living in lack and not
remembering that I'm a spiritual being. We just talked about that.
That's why spiritual being having a human experience is so
important for me, because I have to remember on a
regular basis that I'm a spiritual being. I can create
far more than what I see right in front of me.
So my way is to look for evidence that something
bigger than me is working towards my highest and best

(09:21):
good and going far beyond what only what my humanness
can do. So I'll give me a quick example. My
house I talked about how much I love my house.
My house showed up without any prompting from me. The
only thing that I did was say yes to that.
To the end, my father suggested buying a house. This
was it was like twenty three okay, So I didn't

(09:41):
care about home ownership.

Speaker 1 (09:43):
I don't care about any of that.

Speaker 2 (09:44):
What I cared about is moving out from my parents'
house because I graduated from college, so I wanted to
be on my own. That's all I cared about. And
so my father was like, why don't you buy a house? Sure,
no problem. If that means I can get off from
under you, fine. My only other requirement was I live
in DC, so anybody from DC knows this. I had
to be below Michigan Avenue. That is literally the two

(10:07):
things that I can ask for. I could care less
about anything else. So I worked with a realtor, but
that didn't mean move the needle. My dad found the
house through an acquaintance of his. I just kept saying
yes everything he suggested. Sure, no problem to it. So
twenty three years later, single best financial investment I have

(10:28):
ever made. The second best financial advice was to say
yes to my father again. When he told me not
to take out a car note in college. I have
still not taken out a car note. And he was
I've evolved this from energy to really focusing on you
choose the light that you want and again, if you hope,

(10:48):
if you say yes and you're willing to surrender. But
you're also listening to what is smart. To be clear,
my father is at the time especially, he was the
smartest financial person I knew, the only the person with
my grandfather. So I listened to people who actually knew
what they were talking about. I did not just listen.

Speaker 1 (11:08):
So you gave such great advice, such great nuggets there.
And if somebody's listening and feels this confliction between their
spiritual values and their financial goals, what's the first step
you would advise them to take? Because there was so
many great instances that you gave in your journey, like
what's a first step? Like that small thing they can do? Yeah,

(11:29):
So I have.

Speaker 2 (11:30):
First of all, curious about what the conflict is, Like
what is the conflict? And why do you feel misaligned? Right?
Go deeper than journal, meditate, ask yourself what do I
need to know about this conflict? Get curious about where
the conflict is create some space around it and see
why that conflict is coming up. This is also when

(11:52):
i'd possibly work with a mental health practitioner on the conflict.
I'm hesitant to say work with a spiritual person or
a financial coach, because both could lean so heavily into
their side that they may not hear that conflict. So
a therapist, somebody who's really trained to listen and discern
could be a really good help. Conflict, I feel is

(12:13):
designed for growth. It is designed to teach you something
about yourself, to learn more what is that for you?
And just the more you get curious about yourself, the
more you start to understand, huh, why do I make
these decisions? The more you learn about yourself and grow.

Speaker 1 (12:29):
I love that. And as we move forward, I think
we need to recognize that shifting culture starts with shifting perspective. Right, Yes,
And the old belief that money is separate from spirit,
I think it's kept way too many people from stepping
into their full power. And you know, true progress comes
when we no longer see wealth as a contradiction to
our spiritual walk, but it's more of a reflection of it. Right,

(12:52):
And this I think this shift requires courage, Courage to
rewrite the money stories we inherited, Courage to lead with
values rather than fear. Courage to see money as an
ally in living out our purpose. And when our finance
is aligned with our higher being, success stops being about
just accumulation. This comes about elevation.

Speaker 2 (13:16):
Yes, And let me add to that, which is, we're
not all designed to get wealthy. We're not all designed
that abays those money, okay, and that doesn't even necessarily
bring you happiness. Quite frankly, you could do so much
good in the world and live according to your spiritual
beliefs as a server at a rent or as a driver.

(13:39):
So what is not important. What is important is how
were you showing up to life?

Speaker 1 (13:45):
Man Simon that right there, I thank you, and I
hope anyone listening thanks you if they really heard that,
because that is the power be all happy, opportunity to
live out our purpose, regardless of the wealth status and level.
With that, I thank you, Thank you,