IS IT POSSIBLE TO HAVE PEACE OF MIND IN THE MIDST OF OUR ECONOMIC CRISIS?

Is it possible to maintain spiritual balance and even peace of mind in the midst of the current economic recession regardless of your circumstances? Peace comes from within. Your security does not lie in how much money you have in the bank, as plenty of people have learned the hard way, including some very wealthy people. Your stocks and bonds won't protect you either, as we all know all too well now. What can a person hold onto as the tides of misfortune cut paths all around him and into his own home if he still has one?

Remember the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount to those worried, "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin. And yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these."

Sometimes all you can do is surrender to your fate. Yes, the bank is going to foreclose on your home. Yes, the plant is going to close and you won't have a job. Yes, you have to file bankruptcy. These are difficult vicissitudes to encounter in one's life. Watching your children go without is heartbreaking without a doubt. But what if there is really nothing you can do except surrender?

Most of us grew up in a country that propagated the idea that anyone who was willing to work hard could be a success. Unfortunately, this dream fell apart and no longer holds. Plenty of very hard-working people and now down and out. Who's to blame? The greedy bankers and mortgage lenders? The rich CEO's who suck their companies clean? The employers who send their work to other countries while workers here lose their jobs? It's all very complex and it's not going to be fixed anytime soon.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama, speaking at the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies in Sarnath, India in January of 2009, gave other reasons for the recession:

"Lack of spirituality and culture is the main cause behind the rampant corruption in the world. People have become selfish and materialistic, which has led to the economic slowdown."

What can a suffering person do for now? The most comforting thing a person can do is to remember that this planet and all its material possessions is just a way station on the way to our true home. This life isn't the end-all and be-all of our existence. We are much more than our physical bodies. God is the source of all demand.

Meditation is an ancient practice that has brought peace and balance to man throughout the ages. By uniting the conscious mind with the subconscious we get in touch with our higher self. We can again hear that little voice within that assures us that all will be well. The ego and all its fears about not having enough security, prestige and possessions speaks loudly and wants to do its hysterical dance of fear, but the higher self, the soul we can get in touch with, knows such trivial pursuits are not important in the grand scheme of things.

Learn to be still and focus on your breathing and just be. Let it all go--the worry, the vexations of the spirit and the resentments. Why carry around such burdens when there's nothing that can be done anyhow?

The answer is always living a life based on love and not on fear. A fear-driven life is lost without money and material possessions, a love-driven life is at spiritual peace with the universe.

The following is from an article by Deepak Chopra, MD, in the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper, Nov. 19, 2008:

"But as the economy contracts, we must resist our natural reflex to contract with it. Instead, we need to do the opposite. Expansion is the best way to survive any crisis. ... Fear deprives people of choice. Fear shrinks the world into isolated, defensive enclaves. Fear spirals out of control. Fear makes everyday life seem clouded over with danger.

"We all know this, yet as we are 'in the world', we must make the choice again and again between fear and Love and let that choice guide our thoughts, words, and actions. That's practice."

Spiritual balance is what motivates a person who has practically nothing to reach out and give away what little there is left to someone who has less, and to do it with joy and gratitude in his heart. These are the rich people in our society.

Now is the time to reach out not just to loved ones but to anyone you see who is, like you, in pain. Take comfort in your faith. Gain strength from your spiritual beliefs, and if you can't have self-confidence have God-confidence. He hasn't brought you this far just to drop you on your head now.

Perhaps there really is a reason for everything. Perhaps this period of suffering will lead to more joy and peace than you've ever known, or to some new direction in your life or career you never imagined. These are the times men find out what they are made of.

Some people turn away from their rational, analytical left-brained thinking that didn't do much to prevent their problems and rely more on their intuitive right brain to guide them with hunches, gut feelings and the development of psychic abilities. People who have less seem to find more. This predilection comes from a spiritual belief that we are all one. Where one is suffering, all are suffering. In developing more compassion and empathy, new psychic powers are also increased. We know what someone else is feeling because our ego doesn't get in the way. We are guided by the spirit of love.

Love will see us through this crisis. People will learn to reach out and help one another or they will suffer long and needlessly alone.