A brief history of money- Part 1: These coins are a good idea ...

We used to make, grow or find everything we needed. What was around us was all that there was and if we couldn't find it, grow it, gather it or hunt it we didn't have it. Then one day it occurred to someone that they could exchange what they had too much of with someone who had something that they needed and who wanted what they had. Barter or exchange was the first form of transaction or trade.

The next step in the development of money was the realisation that transactions did not have to be between the two parties who needed the goods. For example three people A, B and C : A has what B wants but B doesn't have what A wants. However C does. A can trade with B and then trade B’s goods with C. This was all very fine, but then the problem became carting around bulky goods as they were cumbersome and it was dangerous – you could be easily identified as having something valuable and then robbed. Having a medium of exchange would make life so much easier. And the concept of money was born. Easily transportable, valuable objects.

The choice of currency has changed over time and between communities. According to the archaeological and historic evidence, money in the form of coins began between 560-546 B.C.E in Lydia. The Lydians made standardised gold and silver coins which they use for trade, creating the first retail markets and giving people much greater access to goods. People were now able to buy not only what they needed but also what they wanted.

For centuries money continued to be made out of precious metals and therefore had intrinsic value. Unlike barter, which relied on established connections and mutual survival, money broke down these social relationships. People also became more divorce from the labour required to produce the goods they needed. As a result their view of the world and their values changed. For example whether you had food was no longer solely dependent on forces beyond your understanding such as weather patterns and the will of the gods. Whether you ate now also depended on if you had money to purchase what you needed from the merchants who were able to bring goods from much further afield.

As wealth grew people began to have more leisure time to pursue activities other than those required for basic survival, such as artistic and intellectual activities. Having more time to contemplate had a profound influence on our creative potential. Money had provided a fertile soil for the seeds of these new intellectual, artistic and spiritual thought patterns to flourish and grow.

Unfortunately, as money spread across the ancient world, so did greed, overconsumption and overindulgence. The dominant power in the Western world at the time was the Romans. The Roman Empire is noted for its decadence and hedonism. The Roman fighting machine was able to add considerable wealth to the ruling class and so rather than become producers themselves the Roman Empire relied heavily on the outside world for almost all its goods.

Caught in a cycle of war and extravagant living, the Roman Empire imploded in the 4th century C.E. Money was seen as the cause and as a result the world turned its back on money. During a period known as the Dark Ages, few if any trade was conducted using money for almost 1000 years. This was the beginning of our mistrust of money in the collective human memory. Our mistrust of money was further reinforced by its continuing rocky history following its reintroduction at the time of the Crusades and still haunts us today. Part 2 to follow.

Money rapport

If you are finding it difficult to attract sufficient money into your life it could be as a result of having poor or no money rapport. Rapport is a word used in psychology, therapy and coaching. It means "intense harmonious accord". It is characterised by harmony, conformity, accord or affinity. It refers to a relationship of mutual trust or emotional affinity. Having a harmonious relationship with money and your finances is an important element of living a balanced and healthy life. Healing your money relationship enables you to build a consciousness of abundance which can become a self-fulfilling prophecy in the same way as having a consciousness of lack, scarcity and grasping can.

Your relationship with money is as much spiritual as it is physical and emotional. Healing your relationship with money is a journey of self-discovery as you explore the dynamics of your values and beliefs about money that impact on your life. The ultimate goal is to recognise that your authentic self is not defined by what money can buy or give you because you already possess the power to manifest whatever you desire.

What does having money really mean to you?

If you were to win the lottery tomorrow, in what way would the quality of your life be affected?

Please share your thoughts I look forward to reading them.