The Economy and the World - A Spiritual Perspective

"No one can tell whether they may be richer or terrible by turning to their ledger. It is the heart that makes a person wealthy. One is rich according to what one is, not according to what one has." -- Henry Ward Beecher

Thousands of years ago, the Mayan country, a incredibly advanced civilization, predicted the arena as we are aware of it might end in 2012. Many nowadays are questioning, with eyes wide open, vigilant and quite terrified if this prediction is coming to pass.

Our monetary markets are crumbling, a lot of our companies and institutions are in grave jeopardy of failure, thousands and thousands of oldsters have visible their 401k retirement programs evaporate, job losses are mounting not in easy mathematical proportions however in geometric proportions, and we're drowning in debt - countries and people. In addition, international warming is increasing, our ecosystems are being destroyed and millions of parents around the globe are ravenous to demise day by day.

Economically, many are curious how the mortgage fiasco inside the U.S. Has had such disastrous ripple consequences around the world - understanding the truism that once Wall Street sneezes, the sector catches cold.

Game idea and interconnectivity

From a religious angle there may be no surprise. The idea of the zero-sum game may help us recognize what's taking place and the Universal Principle of Interconnectivity might assist us find a answer.

In game principle and monetary idea, 0-sum describes a state of affairs wherein a player's benefit or loss is exactly balanced by means of the losses or gains of the opposite player(s). If the total profits of the individuals are delivered up, and the whole losses are subtracted, they'll sum to 0. Zero-sum can be concept of extra commonly as regular sum where the advantages and losses to all players sum to the identical fee of cash, satisfaction and dignity. In essence, slicing a cake is zero-sum due to the fact taking a larger piece reduces the quantity of cake available for others. Simply, in case you get yours, I won't get mine. It appears that a great deal of our financial struggles are pushed by means of the chant, "How can I get mine...And neglect all and sundry else?"

So what happens if I live my life from a 0-sum angle? How quite simply could I be inclined that will help you "get yours" if I realize that with the aid of you getting yours, I'll lose out on me "getting mine"? Zero-sum oldsters have interaction from a worry-primarily based vicinity, dwelling a lifestyles primarily based on greed, egoism, hubris, disconnection and dishonesty. What we see happening in the global marketplace is the end result of folks residing a zero-sum sport - thousands and thousands suffer for the sake of the few, class warfare and coins-struggle. Increasing poverty and economic insecurity, once the concern of lower classes are actually permeating center and higher center lessons around the world. Recession now looms big, affecting maximum every class, every family and every man or woman in a few manner, form or shape.

As the number of zero-sum game enthusiasts will increase, and it's miles growing, the wide variety of oldsters residing from an area of love and caring for others decreases.

Whose fault is it besides?

The religious fine of love created this planet. Lack of love will undoubtedly, if not damage the planet, purpose critical harm on many levels. We are witnessing this harm economically, environmentally, institutionally and in our relationships.

Many ask, "Are we being punished?" Interesting use of the "passive voice" as even though someone is "doing this to me." The reality is that nobody is doing something to us. We are doing it to ourselves. The daunting fears gripping us daily handiest exacerbate our contemporary financial scenario in a 0-sum environment as long as oldsters pick out to behave in a disconnected fashion. The anomaly is that the more we act and deal with others in a disconnected fashion, the more we all go through.

The greed and fear permeating the planet movements from hemisphere to hemisphere, u . S . A . To united states of america, state to kingdom, city to town, city to town, circle of relatives to family, man or woman to person.

Ego-inflating behaviors based totally on greed and fear create an environment that cannot preserve lifestyles in a healthful manner. Our countrywide fitness records show increasing spikes in dis-eases of the thoughts, heart and body. Illnesses like cancer and depression are increasing at amazing fees as are illnesses of the immune gadget - no wonder while we live from a place of greed, anger and worry. The extra the greed anger and fear, the greater the ache and suffering; it's a vicious cycle.

The more time we spend blaming others, preventing for "mine", and residing in fear and anger, the greater we're shifting towards a few flavor of the 2012 closing date. As Pogo stated, "We have met the enemy and he is us."

Is there a solution?

Pure and simple. Love-based totally connection.

What if each one folks, from a heart-felt place, had been to take non-public duty for the problems the world now faces? What if we were to take responsibility and choose to consider each one people can alternate the arena for the higher in a few way, right right here, proper now in our own small manner?

Interconnectivity and economics

"Economy isn't a plan for construction, however it's miles a plan for destruction. It is economics which have added us to destruction. It is the coronary heart first-rate, it's far the religious outlook a good way to alternate the sector'". - Sufi expression

In the Buddhist subculture, as an example, there's a symbolic photo known as Indra's Net - a 3-dimensional net filling the entire of space - a network of golden threads at the juncture of each is a jewel which, upon nearer inspection, famous the mirrored image of each other jewel within the countless network and as the glint in a single jewel modifications, it's far meditated in the sparkle of every different jewel. The metaphor being - every of us is profoundly related in an internet of life and complicated social relationships stretching throughout the globe.

Looking down on our planet in 2008, there's a clean information that we have did not understand the intimate connections that exist within our ecosystems, among our self and the world, among our existence and the economies of the developing nations, between our use of chemical compounds in day by day lifestyles and their effect on our oceans and streams, between our 0-sum greed, affluence and comfort and the poverty and hardships of others.

The Thai monk Bhikkhu says, "The entire cosmos is a cooperative...While we recognize the sector is a mutual, interdependent cooperative agency...Then we will build a noble environment. If our lives aren't based on this fact, then we will perish."

Interconnectivity in the realm of economics is meditated in "spiritual capitalism" or "non secular economics" where ethics performs the important role of defining dreams and constraints. Spiritual capitalism and economics could require: non-violence, non-stealing, telling the fact, and a focal point on proper livelihood (e.G., getting cash truely without cheating or deceptive marketing). The underlying principle of religious capitalism makes a speciality of being "stewards" of wealth, accumulating wealth ethically, and now not turning into connected to it, generously the use of wealth for the best of all. Underneath religious capitalism or non secular economics is the principle that economics and a ethical and religious lifestyles are neither separate nor together exceptional. There is no emphasis on "self-benefit."

Why is there resistance to religious economics?

One motive so few are capable of both understand the notion of connectivity, or live from a place of interdependence, is they may be caught up in a worry-based, emotional reactivity that precludes them from accessing their frontal cortex (the rational and wondering a part of their brain) and, caught of their limbic (emotional) and amygdala (reptilian, reactive) brains, can't make "feel" of the concept of spiritual economics. Remember, they may be residing a "0-sum" recreation, worry-based emotionally reactive life. One different principal cause is that many folks are separated from their hearts, their True, Real and Essential self. Without a religious knowledge, an information that comes from a exercise of self-reflection, aware focus, meditation, and a deeper, crucial understanding of ethics, a spiritual or heart-felt approach does not make sense. Cognition alone, without getting access to the knowledge of 1's heart, will almost in no way lead to compassion, and so, greed, hatred and lack of expertise be triumphant and the root cause of, and solution for, suffering is in no way addressed. The self-destructive beat goes on.

From the religious angle, we're engaged in a big wake up call. Over and above our financial crises, we hold to lose our land to the oceans as the tide rises round the arena. Unknown and untreatable sicknesses are increasingly baffling the medical experts, growing numbers of parents are experiencing abuse in some shape, and many keep to perish from hunger.

Oddly sufficient, despite the fact that we've elevated our potential to "connect" with every different over the Internet, supposedly extra capable of bridge the gap between all cultures, we've misplaced our potential to "relate" on a deeper, non secular degree. We appear to be the use of the Internet no longer to undoubtedly impact every other, but to perpetuate our personal egos to garner extra for "me" in a more globalized form of the zero-sum game.

The very last desire

Interestingly enough, within the weeks, months and years ahead, we're going to absolute confidence read numerous new books, treatises, white papers, theories, insights and positions on the advent of "new visionary economic systems." The unhappy fact might be none of these will point to 1 manner of coming near economics - based no longer on "futurism" however on the ideas taught in the East 2500 years ago, namely, the fundamental interconnectivity of people and nature. That's the task. That's the selection. Life is alternatives and we stay and die via our choices. The Buddhists and the Mayans knew something. Will we pick out to examine from them or certainly search for some other manner to reinvent the 0-sum approach to economics and life? Through non secular improvement, via our popularity of the oneness of human lifestyles, through our spiritual increase we can evolve. Perhaps this requires antique paradigms to disintegrate to make way for a trendy financial order, a religious economics, that displays humanity's rising attention. How does that make me experience...And why?

So, some questions for self-mirrored image are:

Do I believe lifestyles is a "0-sum" recreation"? If so, why? Do I ever consciously mirror on my mind, phrases, feelings, reasons and movements round money? Do my mind and moves round money continually and congruently reflect higher values? Do the way I make, spend and invest cash bring about damage to others or to the earth? In all of my endeavors, do I seek to realize the highest proper for all? What beliefs did my dad and mom and other influential adults have approximately money once I became growing up? Am I carrying those beliefs. Are they serving me? How may want to I obtain economic stability and sufficiency? Would I need extra income? Would I need to trim returned my life-style? Would I attain this with the aid of refusing to buy on credit score? What can I do now that could flow me one step toward having manipulate over the cash in my life? Do I revel in a widespread feeling of malaise, resentment, anger and agitation with respect to money tons of the time? Can I believe a world with properly be-ing for anyone? If not, why not?