SPEAKER IDENTIFICATION
Speaker 1 — Program Narrator / Recorded Introduction and Closing: The scripted opening and ending voice. It may be Theresa, but the transcript alone does not confirm this.
Speaker 2 — Theresa (Host): Identified by her on-air introduction and the first-person hosting narration.

[Speaker 1 — Program Narrator / Recorded Introduction]
Welcome to All Learning Reimagined, the podcast that defies convention and redefines the purpose and practice of education. Here we venture beyond institutional boundaries. Whether you're a parent, educator, or curious mind devoted to lifelong growth, this is your space to challenge assumptions and co-create a more humane and intuitive approach to education. Let's reimagine what education can be.

[Speaker 2 — Theresa, Host]
G'day, and welcome to All Learning Reimagined. I'm your host, Theresa, bringing you a little ray of sunshine as, together, we're reimagining the future of education, one inspired story at a time.

Welcome back, everybody. Thank you to my beautiful listeners for all of your well wishes and emails, and whether you're contacting me and giving me feedback on a lot of the articles and activities that I share each week, keep it coming. I just really love to hear how this is affecting so many people across the world.

I know BBS Radio, beautiful BBS Radio, broadcasts to 48, 49 countries. It's really heartening to know that there's so much amazing learning going on out there. People are living their life and learning within or outside of institutions, I guess you could say.

I have a really interesting topic for you today, and this came from an experience that I had. Actually, it was a couple of months ago, and I was pondering on it. I can't seem to forget it. I went through a drive-through. As you know, regular listeners, I am in Australia, and I drove through a drive-through because I was going to buy a chicken—hot chicken—and, oh, actually, a half chicken.

I gave cash to the young lady who was at the teller, and she did not know how to give me change. She was completely stumped. She couldn't work it out. In the end, it was quite frustrating. In the end, she had to get her phone and use it as a calculator and try to work out how to calculate the change, but she didn't even really comprehend what to take away, and I had to talk her through what she needed to do.

Then that made me stop and feel. A lot of people tap and go, which is essentially like a digital currency today. What's money all about? How is it shifting and changing? What is value versus also an energetic exchange? I really felt that abundance, prosperity, money, wealth—all of these words are thrown around—but I'm not quite sure if we stop and pause enough, particularly in the learning and education space, to really sit with the fact that it is all changing. It is just shifting and changing.

With that experience with this young girl, she was so flustered. I really, really felt for her, but I also, at the time, remember feeling a little bit annoyed—not with her, but with the whole situation—of the fact that, what has the world come to that I cannot give cash and you cannot, in your head, count forward? Because that's the easiest way to work out the change. Where has our society gotten to, and where is it heading in this space?

I'm quite sure that many of you have probably had similar experiences or been pondering on these sorts of questions. Some people think that money is a complete conspiracy and is something that has been embedded into society and community to control humanity. There are a whole lot of social media clips out there that talk about this as a complete agenda, and then there are others who talk about the fact that money—let's go to a reflection question: What actually gives something value? Why do we choose to use money today, and does it need to continue to be this way?

I mean, we are assigning a value to essentially a piece of paper that's a promissory note. A piece of paper is not aligned or linked to any sort of tangible asset. It's literally a piece of paper. Why is that? Why do we do that? Is it going to change?

I know, in the world of XRP and XLM and a lot of the digital currencies coming out, a lot of people are talking about the fact that there will be new currencies coming, and that fiat is either really dead behind the scenes or is a dying currency, and it is changing and shifting. I'm not really here to get into that conversation today because I actually don't have tangible evidence that that's happening. I can see circumstantial evidence. I can see a lot of people talking about it and a lot of podcasting, but I don't have conclusive evidence where it's something that I could go into a school setting and physically teach it yet. It's possibly coming, possibly not coming; I'm not quite sure.

But regardless, it's a matter of: Have we confused currency—the money that we're using today, particularly in Western societies—for true wealth? Because those of us who are old enough know you don't need money to be wealthy. We can be rich and abundant and prosperous in so many different ways, and money certainly doesn't buy everything.

So this episode is not about fear, and it's not about rejection of money, but it's about inquiry. Once again, discernment—one of my regular words that I talk about all the time—really sitting with it in your body and going: How do I feel about this? What belief systems is this triggering for me right now? Because there's a lot of programming that we have from this lifetime. And how can we expand our awareness around exchange, the use of resources, contribution—of course, community contribution being something that I'm very passionate about—and value?

Now, you'll notice that I said exchange, resources, contribution and value. I did not use the word money, because you can have a society that has an exchange in many different ways. You don't necessarily need a piece of paper, and it really goes back to the history of exchange.

Before money, food, tools, labour, animals—all of these sorts of things were exchanged. You might have been able to exchange for protection, or craftsmanship, or knowledge, or land access, or possibly medicine or healing, or storytelling, or even seeds. You might have swapped seeds. There are so many different things that were used in the history of exchange.

And though it's not always as smooth as that—if I grow avocados, I can't go and buy a house with avocados; I can't go and buy a car with avocados—there has to be a realistic exchange. Bartering is not the only way of being able to have resources. However, we do need to consider that value was relational and community-based in our history, and a person's contribution—a man or a woman's contribution—mattered, whether they were able to make shoes, or build, or cook, or entertain, or play music and tell stories, or even just offer leadership.

So when you think about movies like Avatar, it really does bring that community and that village back. I mean, they didn't have money as exchange, but I'm sure that everyone did their part and helped each other out and worked in that way.

Now, I feel like our society today has gone so far beyond that, and that would be a huge shock to the system, to be able to move back towards that type of exchange. And I don't believe that that's the way that it's going to go.

There are some people talking about digital currency being very dangerous, because you can have governments or big corporations that can then hijack that and withdraw or withhold things from you if you do not comply. Yes, I've seen a lot of evidence to suggest that this is actually happening in countries around the world. It's a matter of: What's a balance of digital currencies versus something tangible as a resource that we're sharing with bartering, versus actual cash that has real value—not a piece of paper that's a promissory note?

So, I mean, for much of human history, wealth was measured in relationships, and land fertility, and food, and craftsmanship, and wisdom, and community trust. How far have we fallen from that? I mean, just when you have a look around today, particularly at anything that I'm seeing in Australia, we've come so far from that way of living: tangible, relational, localised, skill-based sharing.

And yes, there is a huge rise and a movement globally, because I do talk to many different men and women across the world. There's a huge shift moving back towards community and bartering exchange, and: What can we do for each other regardless of how much cash someone has? And it's a really beautiful thing to see, but, as we know, it can be difficult to scale. It's hard to standardise a value, and it's really inconvenient across larger societies. If you've got a smaller society, then it certainly works, those symbolic exchange systems.

So then that's where the emergence of money came from. Now, whether it was hijacked or not is actually beside the point. The reality is, it's what we've got right now. I mean, humans might have used salt, shells, beads, spices, gold, silver—those sorts of things with value—because they were scarce or durable, and they were also difficult to counterfeit, and they were widely desired. There were also things with intrinsic value or assigned value, or trust systems, and definitely social agreements.

And then paper currency really came in. So paper currency originally, before we got fiat currency, did have gold and silver reserves that were assigned to the note. The paper represented something that was a stored value.

Popular opinion out there—well, it might not be popular, but popular opinion in the circles that I work with and people that I talk to—is this is what's coming back. It is returning. And over time, many nations shifted away from asset-backed currency for the fiat system, and it's quite clear there's a lot of evidence to see that the central banks are in trouble, particularly with, you know, Basel III, Basel IV compliance of the new banking system, and a lot of the digital currencies that seem to be coming in, and assets coming in. There's a huge shift that's going to go back towards asset-backed currency.

Now, why are we not having these conversations in schools right now with children? They're still being taught the very old-fashioned systems that we've been teaching 20, 30, even 40 years ago. Some of the textbooks and things that we're teaching are so outdated. It actually makes me quite cranky. It makes me quite cranky that we are teaching in such an outdated way when there's so much exciting change happening globally in many different countries.

I mean, you've got Africa; have a look at what's going on with their currency system, and the change in exchange, and the shift is happening very, very rapidly, and there's so much rich conversation to be had.

So, if you're a homeschooling parent out there, really investigate this and ponder on having these conversations, because our beautiful offspring—our children—are going to be growing up in a world that has a very, very different way of operating when it comes to exchange.

And, you know, fiat currency—fiat actually means by decree. I mean, modern money largely holds value because people collectively agree that it does. And I am seeing lots of communities popping up that are creating their own version of a currency. Some of them are digital, and some of them are not. It's popping up in lots of different societies, lots of different communities, and not just in Australia—in many different countries. And some of these countries are now starting to internationally coordinate and organise so that these currencies will have value across the oceans when you travel.

It's a really exciting change, and a lot of opportunity to be had in this space when we're talking about money and value, let alone energetic exchange, which I am going to get to. I'm just starting with the practical and the history conversation right now.

You know, what creates trust in a currency, and the value that's also psychological around money? I mean, after COVID, a lot of businesses collapsed; a lot of people walked away from their jobs. They saw no point. There was a really huge shift and self-realisation that people had around: What am I doing? Why am I slaving in this rat race for a piece of paper that really has no tangible value other than what the community assigns to it?

And so these conversations, particularly for the last five, six, possibly even seven years, have really shifted and shaken the ants in the ant jar. Like, if you had a jar of ants and you shook it, they're running around right now going, “What is going on?” And it's biting up against a lot of the belief systems, and people are starting to talk about what wealth actually is compared to the value of money.

I mean, social, energetic—not to mention government-based—and fiat currency, in my opinion, because there's definitely enough evidence of this, is nowhere near worth today what it was when it first came out, and with inflation, it has been completely manipulated. And I know that, with the money that I can use today in the shops, it goes nowhere. It buys very, very little compared to what it did 10, 20, 30 years ago. And I believe it's been done by design because the fiat dollar is meant to be replaced with a different type of currency.

Things are not going to happen forever, and the cycle is closing. We live in seasons, we live in cycles, and this cycle is ending and we're shifting into a new cycle. And once again, why are we not having these conversations with our children and our offspring? Why are we not having these rich discussions with them? Because this is the world that they are going to live in as well. Shouldn't they have a say, and shouldn't they have this information so that they can really sit with it and see the evidence for themselves?

Because, as we know, with our basal ganglia in our brains, our RAS, our reticular activating system, when you focus on something and it becomes important to you, your brain will scan and filter out everything that's not important, and you'll start to see evidence and piece things together so that it makes meaning. And that definitely helps with discernment and making wiser decisions, rather than, by default, just believing whatever it is you've been told to say.

The inflation debt systems are really linked to central banking, and then, of course, the digital economies that are coming out. And I'm not driving fear here at all, but the change is happening. We cannot put our head in the sand and not have these conversations.

I mean, I'd love to have a whole conversation just on the wording that we use in the banking system today, because a lot of it, of course, links to maritime law and has a lot of words around water and, of course, shipping. So, currency—talking about the currents in the ocean—and we have currency. You've got cash flow, liquidity, banks, as in the banks on the sides of a river; you've got streams of income.

There are just so many different words, when you actually have a look and dig down into the words that we use today around money and banking, and you can see how it ties into maritime law. It's just—it's a whole can of worms that you can really open and explore and investigate, and it's a really fun one to investigate with teenagers to see what they think. What do they think about this?

Because, really, you know, the water and maritime language, it could possibly be metaphorical, or it could be literal history. And it's really interesting how many financial terms mirror the language of water and flow, because water and flow also fit into energetics and elementals. So that energetic exchange is also there as well. It's not necessarily just talking about jurisdictions with the law, liquidity and liquid assets and all of these different words. You know, even things like, “We have frozen your account,” and freezing something, of course, is once again talking about water.

There are just so many different levels that you can explore in this. And if you are a homeschooler, or if it's in your sphere of influence to be able to have these conversations—if you're a grandparent or a next-door neighbour—bring it up. Have a conversation with people around you. Next time you go to a barbecue or a dinner, ask people for their opinions and see where everyone's at. Just plant that seed and have the conversation, because this is really important.

You know, a lot of people say it's rude to talk about money; it's not appropriate to talk about money. Well, why not? It's in our life. It's there. It's tangible. It's viable. It affects us. And where our energy goes, attention flows, and we know that it's changing. So why not have the conversation? It doesn't have to be fear-based. It doesn't even have to be judgement-based.

But when you're discussing it, I would really invite you to sit back and settle and soften into your body, and take notice of where in your body you feel it. How do you feel when you talk about money as an exchange? Because, for many of us, there are a lot of traumas and beliefs and triggers that are still yet to come and clear before they could possibly, potentially be blocking our energetic flow to abundance.

You know, and this really segues into the fact that wealth is not just money. You know, wealth is definitely health. This is my opinion: if you don't have health, it doesn't matter how much money you've got. Health is wealth. Having freedom of time to do what you love and explore and follow your highest excitement—that is wealth. It doesn't matter how much money you have sitting in a bank account, because if you're hoarding your money in a bank account, that's not energetic flow. It's the give and the exchange, the giving and the receiving; it's the masculine and the feminine; it's the balance of the giving and the taking.

And so we are so out of balance with masculine and feminine, and giving and receiving. That is also another huge conversation that we could possibly come back to, to have this rich discussion.

I mean, wealth—you know—vitality, strong relationships, having relationships and that intimacy. And it doesn't just have to be intimacy between you and a partner. It's intimacy with your family, with your friends, being able to show them who you truly are, authentically, not on a superficial level, which is where that's the biggest downfall with technology today. We've lost that intimacy and that connection.

There are so many things, particularly in social media, that have that superficiality. It feels greasy and slimy to me. It feels coated. It just doesn't feel real, and it's heartening to know that there are so many people turning away. They're no longer seeking this. It's not a connection anymore; they're seeking real, authentic, energetic connections and relationships with people.

I look at some of my friends, and I've got friends that are so talented. You know, they can cook and sew and do craft, and some people go, “Well, that's not important.” Actually, yes, it is. If they can take a scrap piece of material and design and create something that is beautiful, or wearable, or usable—if it's a bag or, you know, a sleeping bag or a blanket—that's amazing. If you can take any sort of ingredients and then create a nourishing meal that makes people happy and come together, that's a gift. That's a skill. If you've got someone who can take pieces of wood or clay and build something with this and create something with this, this is a skill.

This is wealth. There are people out there who may not have a lot of money in the bank, but their knowledge, their wisdom and their skill sets make them extremely wealthy. And this is not just my opinion—well, it is my opinion—but, you know, there's a lot of evidence out there and a lot of people talking about this. Creativity—people who are creative are wealthy because you can create anything. Those who cannot think for themselves—this is the warning for AI, of having it control you rather than you using it as a tool—is the possibility of losing your creativity. You know, there's so much wealth in creativity.

And then, of course, you know, time and freedom. Yes, there's land wealth, with land that you might own. That's really another whole other conversation. You've got tangible assets, but, you know, food security—that's a point in owning land. If you can't grow anything on it, if it's barren, or you can't do anything because the powers that think that they're in charge overtax you and overregulate you, and there's rules and rules and rules, and all of these laws that are legal but not lawful, when you think about jurisdictions, land jurisdictions with law, maritime law—don't even get me started on that conversation. There's just so much there to discuss and dig into with what's really going on in our society today.

And then there's, of course, the wealth of emotional well-being. I have friends who have a lot of money and, emotionally, they are quite deficit. And there are people that I know who are quite spiritually deficit. They're spiritually bankrupt, quite frankly. And I don't mean that in a disrespectful way. That's just fact; it's what I'm observing.

And when I'm talking spirituality, I am in no way referring to religion. Religion has nothing to do with spirituality. It's a completely separate control system and a completely separate belief or faith system. There are so many across the world, and there are common threads across many of them and differences across many of them. That has got nothing to do with spirituality. I'm talking about the spirit within, connecting with nature, connecting with the unified field.

Spirituality is not all love and light: let's turn the other cheek and just have that fake happiness. That's not spirituality. Spirituality is knowing who you are, what you are, being able to be your authentic self and put your boundaries in, and not being a walkover and a pushover. That is also being spiritual: telling your truth, speaking your truth.

So all of these things are different measures of wealth. If you are lucky enough, blessed enough, wise enough to live in a community that actually genuinely supports each other, then you are wealthy. If you have people in your life that share wisdom with you, that's wealth. If you have inner peace and you can sleep at night with peace of mind, that is wealth. And then, of course, if you have a sense of purpose—if you bounce out of bed every morning because you can't wait to do whatever it is you choose to do that day—that is wealth. All of these things are reimagining wealth. It has nothing to do with money.

So I'm going to start to wrap that up today, because I'm going to do a part two. Next week, we're going to talk about scarcity programming and abundance. I really want to dig into energetic exchange, and a couple of the belief systems, and some micro-practices you can do to help reprogram any belief systems that you may have that could possibly be interrupting the flow of abundance in your life.

So thank you, everybody—of course, beautiful, beautiful listeners, solution seekers—for joining me today on All Learning Reimagined. Until next week: explore, experience, express. Go out and live learning. Thank you, everybody.

[Speaker 1 — Program Narrator / Recorded Closing]
Thank you for joining us on All Learning Reimagined, where passion illuminates the path forward. Remember this: the future of learning doesn't arrive from above. It begins within. You are the spark, the shift, the living answer to education's silent call for transformation.

So stay curious, stay awake. Let inspiration be your compass, because how we learn today is not just personal; it is profoundly generative. It shapes the very architecture of tomorrow's world. We are not separate from the system. [We are evolution — wording uncertain.]

Until next time, trust the wisdom of your own unfolding, and let your life be the lessons that light the way for others.