Our Spiritual Economy

Today Citigroup placed 53,000 jobs on the chopping block in an attempt to keep breathing among the rubble of massive losses tied to bad mortgage debt.

Other layoffs in the pipeline include Sun Microsystems that could eliminate as many as 6,000 employees; Coca Cola is planning cuts in its IT department, which currently has about 1,100 employees; Sony Ericsson will lay off 450 employees at the company’s R&D department and AMD has terminated 500 jobs worldwide in an effort to cut costs and achieve a $1.5 billion “break-even.”

Yahoo has cut its workforce by 10 percent or about 1,400 to 1,500 in October.

Imagine the number of people who woke up this morning and were told that they no longer have a job, their 401k is gone and they won’t be able to pay their mortgage?

These are the same people who thought they had job security - which we have come to know does not exist. These are the same people who graduated at the top of their class and were on the fast track to a distinguished career. These are the same people who have worked hard all their lives only to have what they have worked for get ripped right out from under them.

There has been so much talk about the economy - falling stock markets, housing market slumps, bankruptcies, job losses and companies going belly up that it’s enough to make us feel uneasy about our future.

Our spiritual economy - how we handle stress and loss - is just as vital as our world economy. This current state of economy can be quite devastating to our state of mind. If we can’t keep our inner world on track, then certainly our outer world will be off track.

Charles Dickens hints at our spiritual economy in the opening of
A Tale Of Two Cities.


"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way."


Though Dickens tale was set in London and describes the period before and during the French Revolution, he lucidly particularized the vacillation of our spiritual economy.

There is a pattern embedded into our consciousness that prepares us for polarity - light and darkness - good and evil - hills and valleys - yin and yang.

Even when the most despoiling particulars happen to us, our Soul is unharmed. Our Soul is a catalyst. Our Soul is an invincible player in the game of life. It can crawl through the mud, jump over hurdles, go through fire, leap from tall buildings and do whatever it takes to survive. It is our ally. Our companion. Our guidance. Our Soul survival is our raison d'être.

Saint John of the Cross was a Spanish poet, Roman Catholic mystic and Carmelite priest in the 16th century who wrote a treatise called, Dark Night of the Soul (La noche oscura de la alma.)




Dark Night of the Soul is the name of a poem that depicts his mystical development on his journey to God. It was written while he was imprisoned by his Carmelite brothers, who opposed his reformations to the Order.

Throughout history there have been dark periods - dark nights of Souls all over the world. It’s a natural part of development; an expected test.

We have to realize that whatever happens to us is not going to kill our Soul. It is only temporary. A state in which we can recover our connection to our source of power and love - our connection with our only source - the source within.

We are wired to a higher power and we have to fortify our lives with connections - all kinds of connections. The longer we stay connected, the longer we can survive. When we stay connected with ourselves, we can stay connected to others.

So how do we do it? Think of every person we meet as a connection. Even if it is a bridge connection to connect to a main source, every person is a bridge to our future. This dos not mean to use others for our personal gain, it just means keeping our communication open.

For instance, if we work at a company, we must keep our ears, eyes and options open. Make good contacts, associations and friendships. Treat everyone with respect - everyone from the CEO’s to the LOWEO’s (a term that I once heard someone use for anyone under a CEO.)

Forge relationships with everyone - everyone. Build a fortress of good and reliable people. Having a personal army of people in our corner aids in our spiritual economy and helps us avoid needing a spiritual bailout.

How do you handle stress?
What would you do if you woke up and didn’t have a job?
Do you have a plan B?


Painting Title: Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bumblebee around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening,
1944 by Salvador Dali.