This live conversation follows our joint collaborative article, The Day My Financial Identity Died. If you haven’t read it yet, that’s okay. But you should 🩵
This Saturday, when we pressed “Go Live,” we also pressed on a bruise.
Money.
Those prickly stories we carry.
The ways money can cause us to flinch from our aliveness in an instant, and the simple practices that thaw it. We gave ourselves a 28-minute time box and then promptly spilled over 🙃, because the room was honest and warm and curious. It felt right. It felt like community.
For those who joined us live, thank you. It was so wonderful to have you with us.
For those of you joining us after the live in this replay. Thank you. It is still so wonderful to have you with us.
Here is a recap of what we covered (and it isn’t everything, so you are going to have to watch 🩵):
The script and the crack.
She grew up feeling like the poor kid in a rich ZIP code and wore work harder like armor, until it cracked under 16-hour days and bankruptcy. The wisdom that replaced it: receive what’s offered, let “psychic income” count, and move with joy; abundance follows motion, not martyrdom.
Origin stories matter.
A season of homelessness at 17 taught me most of what I know about money, and the imprint remains. An empty fridge or pantry still startles my system. When I treat myself, I so often choose used because some old part whispers that I don’t “deserve new.” Keeps me from overspending, sure. And it’s environmentally great, sure. But that narrative persists and pervades my system. The body keeps its own ledger, even when the dates have changed.
Receiving as a practice.
The most actionable shift from our conversation was tiny and seismic: “Yes, thank you.” Teri started saying those exact words to every offer and watched her life change. She also named “psychic income,” the non-monetary wealth we give and receive (energy, joy, meaning). Naming it dissolved shame and multiplied gratitude.
The trap of hyper-independence.
We laughed (and winced) at the “Bank of Dad” shirt and the spreadsheet of every borrowed dollar. Proof of integrity, yes, and also proof of a reflex to refuse help unless it’s perfectly justified. Many of us don’t lack access; we lack permission to ask. Hyper-independence keeps us safe and sometimes starving.
Money is a relationship.
Relationships thrive on clarity, boundaries, and co-created priorities. When we treat money like a partner (not a villain or hero), we stop deflecting its gifts and start collaborating with it. Community helps us catch the old moves we can’t see alone; someone else’s honest question will surface the pattern our journals keep missing.
Manifesting, de-mystified.
We framed it as joyful action: hands to the work, spirit at the party. You name the desire, then take the next brave step in alignment. Sherry’s “audacious dreaming” and fellowship acceptance were a live case study: declare it, apply, and then take the next action to resource it. Joy + motion = momentum.
Try this (micro-practices from the live):
Catch one deflection. When someone offers help, pause and say, “Yes, thank you.” Notice the body buzz. That’s a belief loosening.
Name your psychic income. Make a short list of the non-monetary wealth you create/receive this week. Let it count.
Trace the origin. Pick one money belief (“I have to suffer to earn,” “I don’t deserve new”) and write its origin story. What protected you then, and what serves you now?
Co-prioritize. Sit down with “money” like a partner and choose one shared priority for the next 30 days. Boundaries included.
Ask in community. Post one concrete ask. Let people love you out loud.
Join the Conversation
This project grows in community. If you’d like to bring your perspective to Life As We See It, maybe an essay, conversation, or experiment, send me a quick note ⬇️
A Note From Teri
Abundant Money Mindset
Today, I shared that applications for the Abundant Money Mindset program are open. This program is a 9-week journey that blends spiritual work in healing inherited money patterns with practical efforts to build real financial stability. If you're interested, you can find out more about that program here:
About Teri
TeriLeigh is a grounded mystic who helps sensitive souls embrace their spiritual gifts without losing their real-world footing. With over 30 years of experience, she's taught 200,000+ students and worked one-on-one with 2,000+ clients as a spiritual mentor, chakra expert, and creator of the MindfulSense method.
Known for her rebellious approach to wellness, TeriLeigh challenges conventional spiritual teaching by making mystical concepts accessible through plain language and embodied practices. She believes your sensitivity is spiritual intelligence, not something to fix. Her synesthetic gifts allow her to translate complex energetic experiences into practical tools for nervous system regulation and emotional healing.
From bankruptcy to abundance, divorce to deep love, TeriLeigh writes with vulnerable authority about the messy, beautiful journey of spiritual awakening in midlife. She lives in Minnesota with her husband "Hobbit" and their wonder corgi, Tosha, turning everyday moments into mindful magic.
About Alex
I’m Alex Lovell — political psychologist, yoga therapist, and writer.
Lived homeless. Been divorced. Survived a seven-car pileup with a semi. Fell in love with questions that don’t have easy answers. I’ve met a lot of thresholds. Even the one before death.
These days, I split my time between research, writing, and holding space for people figuring out who they are after everything shifted.
This Substack is where I make sense of things out loud.
I write for people in transition — between roles, beliefs, relationships, selves.
The ones quietly wondering, “What now?” but allergic to one-size-fits-all answers.
Sometimes I quote research. Sometimes I quote my own nervous system.
One speaks in data, the other in sensation. I’ve stopped choosing sides.
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