The Monk and the Entrepreneur - Part 2
In part 1 I talked about increasing nervous system capacity to achieve inner peace and conscious awakening while also making money, having a family - doing things in the world. Some traditions call this the householder path, as opposed to the monastic path.
There’s another challenge: the difference in speed.
Spiritual growth pulls you toward slowness. Silence the mind. Focus on depth, subtlety, direct experience of the moment.
Wealth creation pulls you toward speed. The mind is active and busy - optimizing, prioritizing, maximizing output.
Switching contexts is hard.
When I get on a video call with one of my spiritual teachers, things move slowly. The call might open with a meditation or a breathing practice. We feel into each other’s hearts. We let things unfold. Now imagine squeezing that call between a packed day of meetings with founders, investors, business partners. That’s what the path feels like much of the time.
Speed vs. depth. You have to get good at stretching in both directions.
To play the game of wealth creation you can’t get complacent. You can’t get too satisfied with the inherent perfection of the present moment. You need to keep moving. And yet you can’t let the hectic nature of the game wind your mind so tight that you can’t let go in the next moment.
It’s difficult. You’ll be forced to confront how much you really need money. How much wealth do you actually need to create? Because the pursuit brings suffering and makes awakening harder.
But so does struggling with the lower levels of Maslow’s hierarchy. You can be happy and peaceful and awakened with nowhere to live and nothing to eat, but it’s harder.
What matters most: make a conscious choice. Find the right balance of speed and depth for your life, and accept the consequences.