Connecting to God through your business
In new-age spirituality paradigm, God/Spirit/Universe is used as a way to manifest business success. The act of manifestation is exciting at first, to see endless miracles that God can do, but soon enough you may find yourself back into the hamster wheel of manifesting for more and more, only to find that no amount of things that God provides for you can ultimately fulfill your soul…
Recently I have been shaken to the core of this truth myself, to find out that what my heart truly desires is beyond the gifts that are provided, but to love the provider, God/the Infinite Creator Himself. And that until my heart is filled with Him in the process of building my business, no amount of seeking and attainment of material success can fulfill this eternal longing.
This eternal longing for God is the reason why no matter how much we seek, we always come back to the state of not knowing/being/having enough. This is not a bad thing, dissatisfaction with where we are can be a propelling force that allows us to grow as human beings. However, I have also found that the root of the problems that we try to fix does not get fully resolved because we haven’t sought what is always eternal, unchanging– i.e., the infinite unconditional love of God.
In essence, God is the source of all our desires and aspirations. When we are drawn to a person/object, it is actually because we saw the magnificence of God within them. And just like that, when we are seeking for solutions and spiritual answers, what we are actually seeking for is God to speak to us..
Our minds are restless when God hasn’t spoken to us. Only when He speaks to us, does it bring clarity to mind and peace of the heart.
My love, if you have a strong aversion to using the word God, please feel free to refer to the Infinite as Source or Unconditional Lover. You are also welcomed to use feminine or plural form if that calls you. For me, I refer to God as “Him” while I refer to my soul as “Her” as their divine union is what returns the soul to the paradise with her lover.
To me, using my business as a spiritual tool to connect to God has been way more meaningful and peaceful than using business simply to meet my own needs and desires. Even if there may be times when I get wrapped up by the circumstances of the world (e.g., logistics of running a business), making my business be about loving/finding/connecting to God makes it feel way more possible than ever because you move with more undeniable certainty of knowing that whatever is God’s Will will be yours. The act of purifying my soul as I search for God, not only refines me as an entrepreneur, but also as a human. I become more patient, more kind, more compassionate to others within my business actions, which increases my inner capacity to serve clients on a deeper level while also exploring the depths of my own soul.
So I wanted to share with you 4 ways of how I use my business as a spiritual practice for connecting to God. My prayer is that with these tips, you experience more of God’s infinite love within the deepest crevices of your heart too…
1# See obstacles as ways to get closer to God
In a world that preaches hyper-speed business results, we are programmed to resist failures (such as having a failed launch, low-visibility, low-cash months etc.). Getting what you want as soon as possible is hyper-glorified, especially in places like social media that is rife with instant gratification, which can make you distrust your own path and internal guidance in times of turbulence. Instead we easily succumb to the mind’s mental chatter of how we are not progressing/producing what we want. This can make us caught up in chasing external metrics that we lose sight of the higher divine plan that God has for you.
This is something that I got to see even more clearly recently as I walked away from the hype of what’s celebrated from social media. Over there, I would get hung up on the highly-curated, perfect-looking life of other coaches as they celebrate their success, which made me feel “left behind” in my career. Over there, it always felt like the “highs” and the wins are only laudable, and that to experience failure was a total shame.
It was only when I encountered an “obstacle” — or let’s say a pause, where I took time off from my business to focus on finishing my phd that I got to reflect what God actually wants me from me: which includes building this blog. Not only that, I got to deepen my connection to God which was nothing short of life-changing. Had I only been busy chasing for what everyone was chasing, I would never dropped the ‘noise’ and instead surrender to peace as I let my life be led by Him.
The truth is, God sometimes places trials and tribulations within our lives/business, so that we find refuge in Him. It is in times of great peril where we learn to listen to Him and trust Him fully with our hearts. This doesn’t mean we have to give up all trying and let our business be ransacked by bankruptcy. What I mean instead is to surrender trying on our own, and instead turning our ears to God.
In fact, “obstacles” within our business can apply even for just how to do certain tasks and strategies. For example, when I know that I have hundreds of blog articles screaming to be expressed through me as part of my business, I would humbly ask God to give me the strength for writing them without being tempted by distractions. I would ask God that He gives me wisdom directly through intuition and/or indirectly through books or situations that would guide me on what to write about. And as long as I am persistent, He never fails to provide me with all answers I need.
Experiencing “stuckness” in our business does not have to mean disappointment. In fact, it can carve a path for us to listen even more deeply to God. It teaches us to fully surrender, so we can be moved, by the One who unconditionally loves us...
2# Serve others by seeing God in them
If our business is to be truly led by God, then the no. #1 purpose that needs to be any above any other intentions in our business is– service. By service, I mean using your business as a medium to benefit and bring value to others, more than just getting your own desires met.
The reverse is especially common when one gets so deep into New-Age teachings, where we only care about manifesting our own (ego) desires that we forget about the desires of our hearts which is to be One with Others. Serving others whole-heartedly and passionately is the only way of how we purify ourselves. It is when we purify our hearts, that God enters the waters of our spirit, as we experience presence and love of Him.
This is the reason why in my recent business pivot, the highest value in my business has evolved from being able to earn as much as I can/as fast as I can to instead, being able to provide SO MUCH service that there is no doubt in receiving it back. This is what inspires me to build a library of writings that people would normally charge thousands of dollars for.
To me, I ultimately believe that when we make serving others a priority, the fruits of our labor return in even more ways than we can comprehend. If it is true service from within our hearts, it does not have to feel like self-sacrifice. (Read on: how to be in service without sacrificing yourself). Instead, it feels like you gain even more than what you give. It is through our hearts being devoted to service, that God heals and provides miracles through us.
3# speak your highest truth
Especially if you are a content creator yourself (whether through blog, youtube, or social media) you may ponder from time to time about how to call in your people through content. There are plenty of content copywriting tips and tricks on how to do that on the internet, however, if your intention is to find God within your business, simply creating content just for the purpose of making money is not enough. Our souls have to seek for more, that is, to seek Truth, for truth is a nature of God.
However, what I find with most outcome-oriented business paradigms is that we modify our truths to appeal to the market.
For example, at one point a business coach told me to not speak about God/Source/intuition as a headline, but instead to emphasize on outcomes that my audience want (e.g., having more money) for marketing my spiritual gifts. Although this method allowed me to hit the biggest launch income numbers, it felt icky to my soul because I wasn’t speaking the highest truth in my marketing with what I’m actually excited to be in service for. I also noticed that I was also attracting clients who weren’t a match to my gifts because the messages I was speaking did not come from my real, authentic heart. I felt more disconnected to God because I was diluting my truth just for the sake of reaching a monetary goal.
To you, speaking your truth doesn’t have to mean speaking about God/Source in your content. Speaking your highest truth simply means being real and authentic to who you are and what you stand for, even if you may not receive validation from others in the short-term.
However, in the long run, your soul-aligned customers will thank you because you spoke what resonates most to their hearts – which is a way for finding God (the source of all knowledge) within themselves too. And when you speak your truth, you will feel internally abundant, even before the creations materialize into monetary income because once you access a truth, more truths arrive (thus having a limitless pool of ideas to talk about in your content).
4# cry out your desires for God
Whether God reveals Himself to you within your inner experience depends on His Grace. Most of the time, the encounters we have of God will be unexpected and irregular because His presence is so great beyond what our minds can logically and experientially handle. I’ve heard of an analogy that says that as humans being in a close encounter with God, it is like a mouse being in a close encounter with a cat. Yet, when one has experienced such an encounter, one cannot help but long for more, for it is the most powerful experience of all.
Despite this insurmountable path toward seeking God, however, I believe we can develop a relationship with Him, even before we directly experience Him. When we truly desire to experience the all-infinite Divine, our hearts have to earnestly long for our Heavenly Father, just like how a child begs to return to the arms of her beloved parent. Just like how Jesus said “seek and you shall find” in Mathew 7:7, I believe that God will show Himself to us if we so fervently wish for Him.
To that note, nothing can please God as much as our devotion to God in everything we do. One of the ways of showing our devotion is through the act of worship, by focusing solely on His greatness with the intent of communing with the Divine in everything you do in our day to day lives– from the lifting of a finger to a mere entertainment of a thought.
To me, I like to anchor into the Divine love in everyday actions by filling my mind with thoughts about God’s greatness (e.g., “this is how God loves to create” when I am immersed in a creative flow myself). You can even take the act of devotion to the next level by showing your desires for the Divine in sincere affection. For example, when I write down a business goal, I would say “If this act of growing x,y,z aspect of my business allows me to be closer to God, please do. Otherwise I do not want that.” That takes a lot of bravery and courage to love. And God loves that.
All in all, desiring to experience God through your business requires great humility and stewardship, even more so than using God to simply get our earthly desires met. Yet when you dig deep enough in your soul, you will find that what you ultimately desire is being close to God, not even because of an outcome you but just for the sake of the desire itself. I tried my best to describe my own experience of connecting to God, yet I may fail to describe the fullness of Him and would never be able to, for God is infinite beyond words. With that, I leave it to you, to explore your own intimate relationship with God, for God is the lover who is closest, nearest, and dearest to you, and will reveal more to you when you follow your heart more than you figure out with your mind…
