STO or STS

[ada]

Hello,
Something has been bugging me for quite a while.
It has to do with metaphysical people who offer service in exchange for money.
They present themselves as spiritual guides, those who have sacrificed their entire life learning and teaching the ways of whatever it is that you seek.
But on the other hand they ask for a lot in exchange, way too much to say it's only for their living. I know you might say "but they offer free content on youtube", that's the same as a drug dealer gives you a little something in the club that makes you happy. But if you want more then you have to pay. A commercial if you may.
The youtube content that they provide often leads to a book they wish to publish, again. A commercial to make money.
Aren't these kind of actions indicate that those entities are STS rather than STO as they proclaim?
I mean, even if you had a major crisis and you needed just an advice from a channeler, he wouldn't help you one bit unless you paid. This seems really off.

[AnthroHeart]

It's all about energy exchange. If people receive something for free, they tend not to value it.
A QHHT hypnosis session can last 5 hours and cost $300. But it gets to the root of the problem
and allows a lot of questions to be answered by the higher self.

[Night Owl]

It is a pretty legit question but personally I would use my intuition and talk with that someone first. I'd try to see what kind of balance wisdom/love has that person found first.

[ada]

It is a pretty legit question but personally I would use my intuition and talk with that someone first. I'd try to see what kind of balance wisdom/love has that person found first.

So basically you're saying there's no telling. They can be either of both

[Night Owl]

Since you have already communicated an incomfort regarding a connection between money and spirituality I suggest maybe your heart wants you to find a free solution. I'd be happy to help you however I can even though I don't consider myself anything. I'm sure there are lots of people here also ready to serve for free. That's not to say there are no good spiritual guide that charge money but maybe it is not what you are looking for.

[ada]

Since you have already communicated an incomfort regarding a connection between money and spirituality I suggest maybe your heart wants you to find a free solution. I'd be happy to help you however I can even though I don't consider myself anything. I'm sure there are lots of people here also ready to serve for free. That's not to say there are no good spiritual guide that charge money but maybe it is not what you are looking for.

That's not the case at this moment, but I appreciate your kindness!

[Minyatur]

I think each is unique and has to deal with catalysts in their own way. I personally would rather work for money and offer spiritual service as something unrelated to money, but then am nowhere near ready to offer services and do get why one could want to make it their full work effort.

Also unless money is nothing to worry about for a living, asking for something in return is a nice way to make the service bi-directionnal and has an impact as GW said of the person valuing it more.

Self needs to allow healing to take place for example, having to pay for a service can very well help the person requesting a healing to find the right mindset by working more with the idea beforehand than just testing something that is free. Maybe money in this case would test faith and determination.

Everyone in this world is most likely of mixed polarity, so this isn't an easy question.

[APeacefulWarrior]

Honestly, except maybe in the most extreme of cases, you can't say with any certainty what polarity someone is just based on a couple behaviors. People's internal motivations are simply too complex to analyse quickly, at least not with any accuracy.

And also, keep in mind that being harvestably polarized as positive only requires 50% positivity. That leaves a lot of room for self-centered behavior in an entity which is still on an STO path, because mere existence on Earth requires a certain level of self-interest. Basically, STO doesn't necessarily mean being an eternally self-sacrificing Jesus type or stoic Zen monk. That's more the far extreme, which few can actually pull off.

In our niche of spacetime, someone can legitimately want to be of service to other people and make some money on the side, and it's not contradictory as long as they don't let a desire for money become their focus.

[pumpkinsurf]

This is an interesting thread with a lot of implications.

If you are STO, will you not be happy to give/donate/exchange something for the services of an other-self? Therefore, does it matter whether they are truly STO or STS? If you are benefiting from their help then they have been of service to you, at least.

Also they do have to protect themselves from potential STS clients who may walk all over them. Likely they have no idea whether the client is STS or STO and can be relied upon to donate a fair amount. Should they be expected to live well below their means, uncomfortably, and would they really be able to provide optimum STO if they chose that lifestyle?

I think the fact that they have dedicated their life to metaphysical studies and healing is telling enough- it's not exactly a field that people get rich from. Even if they do, profiting from helping others is far above, say, being an oil tycoon.

[Aion]

Well, as someone who does such services I prefer to go the route of accepting donations but not charging. When I first started doing such work I was quite against the involvement of money at all but through a couple experiences where individuals really wanted to offer something in exchange I realized that it is good and positive for others to be able to give and it isn't 'better' of me to deny that offering of gratitude and the other the opportunity to feel the balance of equality.

I don't want the end of my interactions with individuals whom seek my assistance to be one of being seen as debt or owing, but rather I want it to be a sense of equilibrium. I am happy to receive nothing physical or even emotional, sometimes the experience is the reward, but then there are other times where individuals have it in them to give and desire to do so. It makes sense to me that in 'STO' there is a mutual transfer rather than one way, so I also perhaps shouldn't think so highly of myself to think that I don't benefit from the kindness of others. Accepting genuine love from others (rather than say obsession) is a whole other kind of humility.

Often I considerate it that the gifts I am given are not in exchange for the services but rather are a gift to myself and in that way I can approach it every time that the service is the gift I offer, free of charge.

[Jade]

The Confederation teaches that it is often the life-path of a wanderer to learn the lessons of accepting love from others. A healer could be martyr STO and just refuse to charge (as did Aion) but, in the end, that creates a blockage in the reciprocal of energy transfer. I think most of the healers here do it donation based, which I think probably the best way to do it - yeah, you will do some workings for free, but some others will compensate you more than you expect for a simpler working.

But you are right, there are youtube gurus who are trying to sell "something" nebulous. But, there are customers who want to buy something nebulous, too. So that's why personal discernment in these matters is important - we must recognize who we resonate with and seek them out.

[Stranger]

I recall the message somewhere in Ra or Quo that the STO approach to offering service is to "offer it without regard for the recipient's ability to pay." So receiving payment is not necessarily STS, nor is doing something for free STO (as an example, witness the many "donation"-based cults which implicitly coerce payment from followers). One can perform a service for a fee and still do it with a pure desire to serve its recipient, and vice versa.