SPIRITUAL TRANSACTIONS
A Soulful Economy

Nadiria was founded on the ideals and philosophy of the Church of Spiritual Commerce, created by Samuel and Constance Brundt. It was a thriving economy of goods, services, and ideas. It was Samuel's original concept that the Colony should have a lively economy, where every member owned their own company, and owned interest in many other companies, including artists and poets. The Church's ideals of "spiritual transactions" dictated that commerce ruled their everyday life: the commerce of art, services, trades, writing, and philosophy.

At first Samuel Brundt was concerned that such a small group of colonists would not be capable of a diverse economy. But his concerns were proved false as the small but energetic colony threw itself into the task of creating an entirely new society. In a culture that valued art above all, the collective imaginations of all the artists, poets, musicians, and philosophers soared to new heights. In Nadiria, poets created a company for a new poem, and carpenters bought stock in it at the Antarctica Stock Exchange. Musicians bought interest in a printer's shop, while school teachers bought shares in a philosopher's new book. Everyone was interconnected in the exchange of art,

ideas, and services. The Brundt's concept of "an economy of body, mind, and spirit" took shape.

How did this economy actually function? When a couple joined the Church and decided to be colonists in Nadiria (only married couples could be colonists), they had to "buy in" to the corporation of Nadiria. This served several functions. First, it provided a vast supply of capital to build both the colony and Constonia, the staging camp in Venezuela. Also, it set up the structure of the functioning economy. Instead of a system where everybody shared the work and the fruits of labor, as in a communist community, the Brundt's set up a system where everyone was a shareholder in the colony. This way, instead of drawing a wage for your work, you set up a business that the colony needed, and received payment for your services. Most importantly, your shareholder status entitled you to a certain amount of supplies and goods each year from Constonia, which you could use or resell. This was the primary means of income and sustenance for most colonists. The external influx of economic stimulus from Constonia was essential, since a small, closed system could easily stagnate. The other essential economic factor was that Nadiria was a "spiritual corporation", not just a civil government. Everyone had a stake in its success, everyone believed in the morals and ideals of the corporation, and everyone's success helped the community at large.

Etiquette was also very important. It was socially expected that you buy interest in a lot of other's companies. Share certificates were exchanged as gifts and with the frequency of business cards today. Hoarding your wealth was considered selfish and antisocial. If your company prospered, it was expected that you reinvest in the colony. Where we would value a free concert, Nadirians would see that as an insult to the hard work of the composer and the musicians. 'Work should be rewarded' was the credo of the colony.

Finally, the act of the transaction was seen as an essentially spiritual event. "As Christ purchased our souls with His blood," Samuel Brundt said, "so also must we purchase our very minds and bodies with our work." The governing body of Nadiria was the Church of Spiritual Commerce, with Samuel and Constance Brundt as the spiritual leaders of the colony. Very much like the Shaker colonies in America, Nadirians saw work as part of their faith, and the exchange of the fruits of their work as a knitting together of the community. To work was to serve God, and to purchase another's work was to praise God. As the community was God's body, to conduct commerce was to function as one body. Money was the blood that flowed through that body, as each company was a different organ within the body. Interconnectedness was everything.