SACRED MONEY | Kirkus Reviews

In this debut inspirational work, Mitchell challenges readers to incorporate spiritual beliefs into their economic decisions.

Most people probably wouldn’t use the adjective “sacred” when talking about money; for the author, that’s a problem. “Our society separates the inner, spiritual self and the outward world of money, economics, and finances,” laments Mitchell in her introduction. “Using our money, our resources, and our commitment to the Earth, we can bring this spiritual connection to our finances, and to our choices to help create a new world…” Raised to believe that women had little value outside of their traditional duties, the author came, as an adult, to see herself as an engine of community development. She and her CPA husband, Paul, began making small loans to friends and neighbors who could not get them elsewhere, learning as they did the power of money—and the power of people. Mitchell sees the dominant economic model—for people, corporations, and countries—as “Me, More, Mine.” She asserts that everyone should adopt a more collaborative and moral model, which the author calls “Us, We, and the Earth.” Using affirmations, exercises, and anecdotes from her personal life, Mitchell demonstrates how financial thinking can become an extension of one’s spiritual practice, to the benefit of one’s mind, soul, and pocketbook. The author’s prose is always encouraging, and the language she uses is unlike anything you are likely to hear in an econ class: “Release what no longer serves you and set an intention to plant new seeds in your money garden. Now is a powerful time to die to the old to make room for the new. Winter is a wonderful time to ponder what you want to sow in your money and in life for the coming year.” This is more a book about holistic spiritual living than economics per se, and Mitchell’s brand of spirituality (there are a lot of candles and incense and invocations of the Goddess) may turn off some readers. For the right kind of free spirit, however, the author’s message will ring true.

A New Age–tinged work urging a more mindful financial practice.