An Interview with Sara Vetter & Lynne Twist

Part I: The Soul of Money Institute & the Women Who Lead It

By: Torie White

Torie: In your own words how would you define your roles in the Soul of Money Institute?

Lynne: In addition to being the founder, I’m the carrier of the message of the soul of money, developer of the message, and spokesperson for the message. I’m ultimately responsible for the health and well being of the institute, the people that work there, and the people that we serve.

Sara: My role is to carry forward the message of the Soul of Money Institute and also to develop business in a way that our work with individuals and the soul of money is balanced with our social profit work. I share in the workload of Lynne so it frees her up to be an even bigger global spokesperson and go beyond where she could go on her own.

Torie: What really works about the way you two work together?

Lynne: There’s a mutual respect and admiration we have for one another, and a more comprehensive word is love. The format it takes is dedication to our mission and alignment in the heart of who we are in service of that mission. We enjoy each other and have a lot of painful moments as well as fun. We have the capacity to laugh at ourselves and to use the playfulness, joy and love we have for each other to move the work forward. The humor is really healthy humor. It’s healthier all the time.

There’s a drive that I have always had since I was a child, that I still have at 73, and I’ll probably have until the end of my life. That drive is something that I harness for this work. Sara has and harnesses an incredible drive as well. We’re like two meteors who could be going all over the place, but we’ve found each other and now we’re headed in the same direction in partnership. These meteors have tremendous energy, power, and light, and our shared direction amplifies the power of each of our individual drives.

Sara Vetter & Lynne Twist at the American India Foundation Gala 2018

When I’m lagging, Sara can fire me up. When she’s having a day that’s a little blue or down, I can open the way forward and create possibility for her. We rely on each other in this way. There’s a rhythm in every life: some days are bright, shiny, wonderful, powerful and everything’s easy. Other days, you wake up with resistance, reluctance, and tenderness. So we have a wonderful capacity to keep each other on track.

Sara has a pace that’s incredibly powerful when it’s directed towards the intention of this institute. She’s the accelerator for the Soul of Money Institute. While my drive is pure, it doesn’t have the same velocity as Sara’s. Maybe it’s because I’m 15 years older, but I think it might also be that my natural pace simply has less speed.

Sara: What works about our partnership is everything that Lynne said. But what I can add is this: Lynne brings her vast, unspeakable experience and wisdom to her teaching, and when I’m in the room with her, I can somehow see what else might need to be said or presenced for the group. When we’re together at an event, a talk, a meeting, or whatever it may be, there’s something that I can tap into, that I don’t really understand, to be honest. But I can add subtle pieces that allow people to enter an even deeper level of feeling seen and heard, which is essential for their transformation. Lynne has an enormous capacity to light up a room. And as we’ve built our relationship over the years, with each call, conversation, and meeting, I feel like we’ve expanded our capability of holding space for the tsunami of opportunity and love that comes from her presence and voice.

Lynne: Often, Sara will tell a story that actually demonstrates the point I’m making. Either she’ll share from her own heart and life experience, or she’ll draw forth an example from the group.

Torie: The Soul of Money Institute logo is a lotus flower. Where does that image come from, and how do you feel like it reflects what the institute is about?

Lynne: The lotus flower is a very powerful symbol in many faiths but particularly buddhism, shintoism, and in the Bhagavad Gita. The lotus flower grows out of the swamp or mud. It’s a symbol of transformation, like the process of the butterfly emerging from the caterpillar. For me, the muck and the mud are mirrors of the suffering and darkness around money that’s in our world. Greed, domination and control are symptoms of an inaccurate and inauthentic relationship with money, and this creates havoc and destruction. But out of that mud can come absolute beauty and transformation. That’s what the Soul of Money Institute is all about: taking the suffering around money and transforming it into freedom and a relationship of beauty and love for the world.   ♦

This interview is the first part of a three part series.  Read Part 2 and Part 3 

Torie White served as the Archivist and Digital Marketing Manager for the Soul of Money Institute from 2016-2018. She lives in and works in Oakland, CA.