Financial Crisis is Part of the Shift

Thanks, Judith, for your timely question about the current global financial crisis. This has been long expected, not only from a financial but also a spiritual perspective.

In fact, I wrote about it in the chapter called "Thrive in a New Economy" in the Spiritual Wisdom book. There I pointed out that a recession fueled by a major decline in housing prices, the related mortgage and credit crises, soaring oil prices, the huge trade deficit and the decline of the U.S. dollar against world currencies was already well underway and that the interconnected global economy was like a house of cards shaking in the winds of change.

Recently we have seen the diseased underbelly of the system exposed, and that's a positive thing. A system so badly out of balance, skewed in favor of the wealthy and powerful, needs to be replaced by one that works for all, not a favored few. This systemic breakdown feels to me like the fresh winds of Spirit blowing away what is old paradigm, making way for a higher consciousness, creative, equitable and sustainable approach to trade and commerce.

That's not to say that the transformation of the global economy will come without pain. Many are paying a high price--the loss of a living and a place to live--for the excess spending and consumption patterns of Americans and their counterparts in the developed world. We have wasted valuable resources meant to be shared by all, including other species.

Now is the time to take stock and shift to a simpler, more fulfilling, sustainable way of living.
I wrote about this at length in the book. Two quick examples of what that might look like are 1) creating an economy built around bartering and supporting local businesses and 2) sharing resources within a community that you create.

We'll explore these and other approaches more as we widen the conversation about the consciousness shift already underway. The positive side of the financial crisis is that it has hastened the shift!