Hi all
This seems to me to be the immediate Zeitgeist, coupled obviously with the environmental crisis. Perhaps systems like permaculture, sustainability and sustainable economics are more relevant areas of study for this. However as the world around us is created by consciousness, and both our world and consciousness are in change, surely we have something to consider and offer. If for no other reason than lots of us are kept active in this area because it is our work, and that seems set to change.
In Ireland at the moment the news is consistently reporting serious worsening of the economic situation here, and its evident all around in redundancies, bank’s struggling, repossession, very limited credit offered which kills small businesses etc. Serious stuff. It seems that the world economy, as well as the rest of it, is in a major transition. I vary between at least two minds about this.
At times I get a bit depressed about it. Anglo Irish Bank was nationalised recently, resulting in everyone who had invested shares in the bank losing out completely. At the shareholders meeting, an old woman cried asking what happened to the money someone had invested as a pension for her disabled son. She couldn’t understand or comprehend. I’m sure there are countless thousands more examples of people suffering and struggling.
I don’t know if I will have future work? I really know what that means?? I want to build a house but don’t know if I can get a mortgage, and if I do will I be able to pay it next year?
One of my fears is not being able to travel to see my family, as there may be no fuel available, or money to buy it with. This may not be likely for some time, if ever, and could be just catastrophic thinking; however I do think the current system is set to dissolve. If the economy collapses there are any number of scenarios that could be imagined, most of them affecting our lives as we’ve known them, dramatically.
So far I’m still on dry ground, though I don’t know what the future for my work is. My current work as a psychotherapist and trainer is very enriching. When I picture a year down the line, with so many more unemployed, I don’t know how many will be able to pay for my services or to train either. Within the year I think it unlikely we will have an abundance of clients paying €60 a week for therapy. This bothers me for two reasons. I don’t want to not have this kind of work. If it is still available, it really bothers me that it may only be availed of, by a diminishing elite who can afford it. I want it to be relevant and useful to everyday people, and to the issues of our times. Maybe this profession will continue in some altered form. I like to think that the reflective, contemplative, creative and hopefully transformative space we work with can have something to offer humanity in metamorphosis.
Talking with some friends, there are a number of positive potentials from this transition. One being that the whole of the current economic system was flawed and corrupt to begin with. Our money is created by creating dept. This keeps us playing a corrupt game that we can never win to make “enough”. We are kept continually going, doing work we often don’t want to do, and that often hurts others, because we owe the system. Often this work is so divorced from our energetic exchanges with the earth (where we get our food, deal with our waste etc) that we feel disconnected and clinical about the life we are part of. Also our money is generally invested very unethically. As this game is kept going by creation of further dept, it is fate bound to end very badly. It is probably good if the pie in the sky collapses while there are still potentially enough resources left to create something more sustainable.
As happened in Cuba, after the oil embargo, everything came back to our most basic needs-Food. Most people became farmers in essence. I think of the young unemployed men, whose identity has been made up from their work and the depression that can happen when they become idle. The need for food and to be active may mean many people turn to growing veg. This has the effect of really grounding and helping us to feel our connection to the earth and the web of life, and also giving a better chance to any future systems we create becoming compassionate ones. We will probably have to live and work more locally and form stronger community’s to survive and thrive. As we have to be more mindful of our resources, we will hopefully contribute less to the environmental crises.
The modern abundance has created a cultural consuming need for more everything! This is called afluenza by a recent author. While this is a recent creation, and most of history has lived well enough without our luxury’s,(and most still do) in the same way I’ve only had a mobile phone for less than 10 years and now can’t imagine living without it, I now can’t imagine a world without an economic system.
I expect a lot of our learning will come from those studying systems like permaculture, sustainability and sustainable economics. I’m sure there will be lots of positive as well as painful results of the current crises. Still though I wonder what Psychotherapy or a transpersonal vision has to offer to humanity during this particular crisis.
At the last Eurotas it was said to Victor that it seemed most of the people living near to the conference couldn’t afford to go to such an event and what has this vision to offer in times of poverty. Victor said something along the lines of- we may lose all our material possessions, but we can still keep our happiness and spirit alive. This reminds me of Eckhart Tolle saying “do not confuse your life with your life situation”. This is clearly very important wisdom, as what is threatened here is not the essence of our beings, but the way of life that we have become accustomed to.
There is also a collective panic that we can get involved in (which has happened to me a bit, and probably still is). Recognizing this, we have the opportunity to draw back from this field and connect to our own individual feelings and values. In one sense our identity is threatened by the current crises. In the other sense we are suffering from mistaken identity, and need to wake up from this.
At times in crisis, people remember what is more important and connect to their spiritual roots. Religion (I’m not sure about transformative spirituality...) thrives in poverty and hardship. At other times in crisis, we can’t think, about what seem like the luxuries of the higher chakras, as our lower chakras feel threatened, as happens if someone comes to repossess our house, or we struggle to provide for our family. I have often found it hard to maintain my meditation practice during times of strong stress. Often those who maintain a strong spiritual practice during such times have either seen beyond or bypassed the trappings of the material and societal existence. It is hard to hold the tension of heaven and earth; being both committed to realisation of our true nature, as well as working with our day to day family living, and staying engaged at the coalface of our changing material existence.
I see those involved in Eurotas as part of a wise community who have had the luxury and determination to develop some insight into what it means to be alive. So I hope from this community to get some sense of how what we do is relevant to the issues of our time. What have we to offer to ourselves, each other and the world as it undergoes this transition? Theoretically, ideally or practically.
There will continue to be people whose emotional and mental suffering is so severe that they need therapy. So something will have to emerge to finance or support this. After this need, there is the usual neurotic masses, of which I am one, who engages with this for growth. Perhaps we may be offer low cost\ free\ or some other exchange- groups where people can support each other during the crises, with some meditation and perhaps some ritual. I guess answers and support will emerge from communities. There may be no particular answer, but moments of support and insight that sustain us.
Perhaps it is simple, that we deal with the changes as they unfold, using the best of our ability’s to grow from the turmoil. It may be just that our work comes to a change, such as the weekly therapy space not being viable, or perhaps we will accept carrots as payment?
Part of me would really like to retreat into a cave or into nature and live an isolated life of contemplation. Another part just wants to work and earn money, buy loads of stuff and “succeed”! The more balanced part both fears and feels excited by this acceleration of change and consciousness in the world. I welcome hearing any reflections on this.
...my God this turned into a big post, fair play to anyone who's reached this point ;)
Thank you
Patrick
