| Almost every spiritual and religious teaching | | | | the amount you have settled on as an |
| exhorts its followers to donate a portion of their | | | | appropriate tithe based on your beliefs and your |
| income to the support of the community and the | | | | income. This account is sacred - do not touch it |
| common good, both as a way of ensuring (and | | | | for your own use under any but the direst |
| insuring) the community's ability to care for its | | | | circumstances (anything less than an immediate |
| own and as a way to allow the tither to realize | | | | and life-threatening situation falls below this bar). |
| the extent of and to express gratitude for their | | | | Carry the associated checkbook with you always. |
| own success. Although each religion and sect has | | | | Whenever you see a "good cause" or a way in |
| its own idea of what constitutes a proper tithe | | | | which you can help, you can easily and quickly |
| (usually around 10% of the participant's earnings), | | | | respond to do your part to support your |
| the concept of tithing is a wise and long-standing | | | | community and those in need. (If you feel that |
| tradition - one that each of us should be | | | | anonymity is vital to such gifts, have your checks |
| encouraged to add to our lives. | | | | printed up with only your initials.) |
| Giving "cleans out the pipes" of energy flow so | | | | So what are appropriate ways to use this |
| that more can flow through, and it helps us realize | | | | account? Essentially, when you see a need that |
| our own abundance in the midst of our fears of | | | | you can help with, go for it. Buy a gift certificate |
| scarcity - through giving to others we realize the | | | | to the local tire center for the young mother in |
| true nature and scope of our own blessings by | | | | accounting who is riding on dangerously bald tires - |
| recognizing that we had that amount to give, | | | | with her baby in the back seat. Drop a check into |
| over and above what we required for ourselves. | | | | the local firehouse fundraiser to buy a new truck. |
| But what about those who consider themselves | | | | Donate to all those charities you "never had |
| "spiritual" but belong to no particular religion, or | | | | money for" before. Commit a string of random |
| those who do subscribe to a particular religious | | | | acts of kindness and senseless beauty. Play the |
| tenet but, for whatever reason, attend no church | | | | free-ranging and anonymous crusader for good, |
| or temple? How can they reap the benefits of | | | | wielding your pen and checkbook like a staff of |
| tithing? One possibility is the creation of a tithe | | | | kindness and charity. |
| account. | | | | Go on, it's fun - and don't be surprised if you find |
| The concept is simple. Set up a checking account, | | | | yourself paying closer attention to your |
| separate from any you may already have, and | | | | community, looking for ways to give where once |
| into this account regularly and promptly deposit | | | | you might have simply looked for ways to ignore. |