Evolving Financial Consciousness & ICN

by Luke Healy

Our Approach to Funding

Spirituality and money usually have a tenuous relationship. And our own personal feelings around finances and spirituality are often complex, unconscious, separated, or even conflicted with our spiritual outlook.

As with all that we do at ICN, we seek to approach finances from the consciousness that we are striving toward. That means that we are always working to become more conscious in all our perspectives, relationships, and endeavors. This implies that evolving spiritually includes all facets of our lives, including finances.

As an organization, that means that we don’t want to just fall back on the modus operandi and default modes of financial viability for churches, spiritual organizations, or businesses. So far, this has come to focus for us in a few specific areas.

• Evolution over growth

• Community over content

• Faith over the bottom line

• Transmission over transaction

Evolution over “Growth”—What do we value?

ICN does not exist solely to grow larger. For many institutions, this is an unstated and unconscious default goal. But more is not always better.

The desire for growth can come from a number of factors. If we want to be “larger” because it boosts our individual or collective ego, then we’re operating from an unhealthy drive. If we want to grow in size because we need more people to be able to bring in more money, we’re operating with the wrong motivation. Perhaps the best impetus for growth is that we strongly believe that what we have to offer is transformational and can really make a difference in people’s lives—and we want to share that with as many people who may be ready and interested in engaging.

We hope in the ongoing development and potential growth of this organism/organization, that this will be a conscious process that holistically considers the values, needs, and core principles of ICN to support the loving evolution of Christianity and the world.

How do we measure success? Is it more people in the seats (or in the zoom box)? More groups? We believe that success for us is measured by transformation—how are we evolving into people who are more loving, less self-serving, more integrated, and more holistic. Or, to put it another way, people who are becoming more Christ-like. Dwelling more in Christ consciousness. And collective transformation—how we are participating in the loving evolution in our lives, with our neighbors, and in the world.

Community over Content — How do we approach our mission?

While many online spiritual organizations focus on content production, education courses, and events, we are first and foremost a spiritual community.

We believe that this is a vital and necessary need in the spiritual landscape today. We are so flooded with content that sometimes it seems overwhelming—or at least it does to me. There are no shortages of places to go to read, learn, watch, and study. And while there is still a need to learn about Integral Christian spirituality and practice, we believe that the much bigger need is to have generative and healthy communities in which to practice and support one another together.

And so we place our primary emphasis, work, and efforts on gathering community. We believe this is what is most transformational. And what is most necessary for loving evolution to unfold forward.

The rub, at least economically, is that community is not something we are used to directly paying for, and in many ways for good reasons. Community is not a commodity, though it is extremely valuable and precious. We are much more likely to pay for content without too much resistance. Unintentionally, this reinforces the content-production machine, because it is what brings in the money—even if it isn’t what’s most important or valuable spiritually.  

We want our primary efforts and intentions to be dedicated toward nurturing a vibrant, healthy mystical community. We believe it is the most important offering we can bring forth—not because it is the most “economically viable” or the “most lucrative business model.” Certainly, we want to be mindful of models for sustainability, but not at the expense of serving the needs of our community and our mission.

Faith over the Bottom Line — Where do we place our trust?

The organization does not exist to serve the organization. The organization exists to serve the organism—the community of living people and spirit within and among us. As such, we will always hold the value of whatever work we do and offer to be based on what it brings to the community and how it serves the life of the community.

Financial impact will always be a factor when considering events and offerings, but it will never be the primary motivating factor. If additional resources are necessary, we will turn to our community for support rather than creating any event or product for the primary purpose of financial gain.

Budgeting will be done with care and conscious awareness to steward our resources responsibly. Salaries, expenses, and costs will always be modest and reasonable. We will make quarterly financial reports available and will be transparent with all of our finances.  

As well, long-term planning will be held in faith, open to the movements of spirit and where God is breathing life. This is our attempt to dwell in mystical consciousness, not just mental consciousness, when considering where ICN is and where it may be going.

We want to do all we can to operate from the heart of awareness that seeks to offer that which is most life-giving and most needed in our community and for the evolution of Christianity and the world—not just what pays the bills.

Transmission over Transaction – Why are we contributing?

But there are still bills, aren’t there? While we seek to be a spiritual community much more than a business, how can we operate with responsibility, honor, and respect to the very real and tangible needs of an organization while not letting those needs dictate what we do and how we do it?

Rather than operating from a purely mechanical perspective on finances—a transactional exchange of goods and services—perhaps we can bring more awareness to the energetic exchange and transmission that is enacted when we participate in that flow.

Rather than withholding until something is put forth to pull open the purse strings—the extraction method of exchange—what if we trusted ourselves and one another to consciously consider our place and role in the energetic flow of what is needed and what is possible?

Many online communities are membership-based, which means that everyone pays a monthly amount for access and participation in the community. Everyone has different financial situations, demands, and needs that complicate straightforward “pricing” or set amounts. While we do charge for education courses, primarily to compensate the teachers, we usually offer tiered pricing and scholarships are always available. We prioritize accessibility, and finances will never be a final barrier to participation for anyone in our community.

Additionally, charging for membership can set an energetic threshold, a “barrier of entry” of sorts. Yes, we pay for what we value, and that can be a motivator for participation and commitment. However, we want people to engage not because they’ve paid for it, but because of what it brings forth in our lives. In this sense, the financial contribution comes in response to what is moving and alive, rather than just as a means of access.

If we are open, sometimes we just want to be told what to pay/contribute. While understandable, what if we approach this question in our embodied consciousness and see what arises? What if we approach these questions trusting ourselves and our ability to sense into the flow of spirit and what might be asked of us? How we might participate in this way? Could this be an opportunity and invitation for a growth in consciousness even?

Is it possible to have an organization be not only sustainable, but even thrive following these (perhaps somewhat idealistic) values and approach? I honestly don’t know.

If so, it will only be possible through conscious, open participation in the flow of life in this community. Engaging in a certain quality of our larger ICN WeSpace with others who believe in the value and importance of spiritual community, of the necessity of evolution, of the ground of faith, and in the flow of transmission—and how all of that intersects with money.