Nineteenth century author Kin Hubbard held a surprisingly 21st century view of the emo-tional impact of money: "It is pretty hard to tell what does bring happiness," he wrote, "poverty & wealth have both failed."

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Having advised both haves and have-nots on how to get it together monetarily speaking, most contemporary financial counselors would agree that it's not so much the amount of money that we have or lack that matters, it's how satisfied we are with the work we do and the personal lives we lead while living on what we have - or haven't - got.

Money, says "heart-centered" financial planner David Brownstein, is about "finding your path to freedom" by discovering and following your "heart's desire."  Brownstein says his clients range "from people who are completely in debt to people who have a lot of money and are afraid to spend it."

Yet they all have something in common: "People who call me, in general, want to bring some consciousness to their money situation," he says.  "For some people, [taking their finances in hand] is an opportunity to really look deeper into themselves, to find what their passion and purpose is."

Although Brownstein starts each client relationship with basic financial counseling - gathering information on each client's assets, liabilities, budget, and cash flow, and "getting them to see their financial reality" - he is careful to point out that he is not "just here to tell you how you should invest your money - if people come and say, hey, could you help me with my investments, I pretty much tell them I'm not the right person for them."  Instead, Brownstein takes a more spiritual approach to the subject of money.  "I'm here to give you a picture of your life and how you want to live your life," he says.  "I try to help people clarify and connect to their purpose."

In two to three hour-long sessions, usually scheduled two weeks apart, Brownstein says he helps each client "understand their reality and clean up their foundation, and make sure their financial foundation is as solid as it could be."  This requires small to large steps in putting financial affairs in order, from keeping consistently detailed track of expenses to refinancing a home or opening a college savings fund.  But getting clients on a path to where they want to go financially is only the beginning.

"The fundamental basis for this work is that the universe is infinitely abundant and that everybody can have what they want in life," Brownstein explains.  "Of course, you have to be careful when you make a statement like that because it makes people think, 'Oh, you mean I can just have a billion dollars if that's what I want?'  It doesn't mean that.  It means if you're clear about your purpose and you're doing what you love in the world, the universe will provide.  I really believe that."

Sometimes people get stuck working at a career that doesn't make them happy, says Brownstein, but they don't realize it until their money situation becomes extremely difficult.  "When they're not really fulfilling their purpose in life, sometimes money stops coming and it becomes tough," he says.  "In a way, the money issue is nudging them and telling them, 'This is not working for you.'  The universe will nudge you over and over, politely, and then tell you, 'Hey, wake up!'  and then it'll push you harder and harder until you listen."

Financial difficulties open a door to spiritual growth, says Brownstein, speaking from experience.  Although he was afraid there was no other job he could do, and that he would be homeless if he quit, Brownstein finally left a successful career on Wall Street after 15 years because "it felt like a prison sentence" and began working with a counselor on the "fears, defenses, and limiting beliefs" that had held him back.  Today he works with clients to open their lives up to the kinds of changes, both subtle and great, that money problems bring.

While one client searches for a path out of an unsuccessful business venture involving manual labor, another client, who works in health services, has vastly improved his business after losing his fear of "speaking his truth" in recommending patients' treatment plans; a third, very gregarious client is contemplating leaving his studio work to fulfill a lifelong desire to teach.  "The work we try to do is figure out how to step confidently and responsibly on a new path, not just jump," Brownstein says.  "Change might be in order, but that doesn't mean it's easy."  While financial considerations lead Brownstein's clients to reconsider their career paths, people seek out career counselor Caren Fairweather when they stumble in their careers, but inevitably they end up working on their beliefs about money.

"The universe is infinitely abundant and everybody can have what they want in life."

"The other piece of my work is about prosperity - it's about a feeling of 'There is enough' or 'There is never enough' and 'I am enough,' or 'I'm not enough,'" she says.  In fact, two of her current clients illustrate both ends of the prosperity-scarcity spectrum.  Both earn approximately the same, live in similar circumstances, and are thinking of changing careers.  "One loves the work and is managing the amount of money she makes by making lifestyle changes, but she could move on and do better; and the other person dislikes the work but is fearful he cannot replace that amount of money if he leaves, and is very uncomfortable about it," she explains.  "Neither of their beliefs are scientifically proven - in both the positive and the negative case, it's about what the person feels and believes about their relationship to work and money that determines whether they move on or stay stuck."

Recently, Fairweather has begun offering workshops called "How to Overcome Money Anxiety" with certified financial planner Robin Vaccai-Yess, as the result of a casual conversation they had.  "We were talking about the kind of things our clients faced, and Robin mentioned that people sometimes don't know how to manage their money, and will come back five times without following her suggestions," says Fairweather.  "I said the reason they haven't is because their beliefs about money and success are in the way, and she said 'Yes!'"

While Fairweather takes workshop participants through looking at their beliefs and how they affect their actions, utilizing mind-body exercises and "reframing" beliefs, Vaccai-Yess offers "the nuts and bolts of what you need to know about money - financial literacy, if you will - how you relate to your money, what you need to put in order, what management skills you need," Fairweather explains.  All in all, she says, the key is to view money as a form of energy, or a resource like your time.  "Very often we have fears about not having enough or about being successful and too much in the public eye that are rooted in childhood," she says.  "So let's walk through those feelings, try them on, kind of fake it till you make it, as you find out whether you can be comfortable with the idea that money can be fun as well as a struggle."