As the economic crisis deepens, with every media coverage graphically displaying the roller coast ride played out on the global stock market, with businesses starting to be impacted, risks of unemployment and the very real burden starting to fall on homeowners with growing risks of missing mortgage payments, worse still, repossessions to mention but a few of the growing number of stresses on individuals.
The politicians, who deregulated the banking system, the banking executives chasing their huge bonuses and the investors always seeking greater wealth, have brought on the current crisis. Yet, it’s the taxpayer, people like you who are now paying for their bailout and simultaneously being placed under increasing financial pressures.
The first signs of psychological stresses have started to appear, disbelief, shock and denial during September is gradually being replaced by anger and fear; anger at those who were elected by you and created this mess, and fear, as we begin to realise the real impact of these crisis on our lives and the prospect of a total meltdown, followed by trying to “bargain” against the impending personal impact, combined with feelings of resentment as those who have brought on this crisis us who struggle to meet daily cost, while those responsible enjoy their bonuses.
Individual emotions of fear and anger have the very real possibility of becoming a communal or collective sense felt by us all, resulting in panic and aggression as we realise our apparent powerlessness. Apparent, because we BELIEVE that we have no power and the power resides with those we elected, a myth that is perpetuated by the media who too are owned, controlled and regulated by the same individuals or groups. Yet, once we learn to snap out of the collective trance we have been conditioned into through our filtered media, very soon we will begin to realise our own power to change. We have elected, we have the power to de-select.
Meditation is a crucial practice that enables us not only to see through the conditioning of how we think, but more importantly, enable us to deal with the fear, anger and other negative and destructive emotions in a productive way.
EXERCISE
Mindfulness (by Dav Panesar)
Symran (by Dav Panesar)
Body mindfulness (by Dav Panesar)
