Spirituality is not generally associated with abundance, and spiritual practices are considered antithetical to wealth.

Spirituality conjures visions of monks, nuns, and yogis taking vows of poverty and living in caves or on mountaintops.

Puritanical values espouse poverty as a sacred virtue. It is believed that spiritual people must be humble, meek, and poor, rather than powerful and successful.

Is it God's will for spiritual people to suffer privation?

Is there something holy about hardship?

Susan Shumsky believes possession of wealth or the lack thereof does not determine your measure of virtue or your level of consciousness. Your lot in life is determined solely by your life choices—choices that lead to wealth, to poverty, or something in between.