Skillful Means in Tough Economic Times
Lets face it: contraction cycles aren't easy. They slow down the flow of energy, cause things to collapse, and force us to reevaluate our positions. We would much rather be in the rush and thrill of expansion, which our culture has deemed as good and contraction as bad. Because we don't value them very highly, contraction cycles can cause us to implode into horrific survival fears
and drive our creativity into the ground by constantly worrying about the other dropping shoe. It's important to remember that contraction in essence means slowing down, not shutting down. This is the place that many of us find ourselves challenged by in our current economic downturn. Like all challenges, we can either meet this one with reactive fear or with skillful means.
First we need to understand and accept the value that contraction cycles serve. They are absolutely necessary. Expansion can't exist without contraction. It allows us to simplify, get back to basics, eliminate excess, rid ourselves of
decay and make a fresh start. We get to streamline something using our innovation and resourcefulness. The trick to moving through contraction cycles successfully has everything to do with perception. Have we put a bad, scary label on it ourselves, not trusting that gains follow losses, often for the better? Are we trusting our own voice and intuition or getting hooked by the opinions
of other people? This economic crisis can make us doubt the significance of our individual actions and intentions, especially if those we listen to are scared. In reality, over the next 9 months, our actions and intentions will be more
decisive than ever, so we can move on our most daring dreams with trust in their success.
Most older souls understand the basics of expansion/contraction cycles and know how to live in abundance for themselves but it never hurts to have a
little encouragement along the way, especially if you find your security buttons getting triggered and have fallen into a pothole of fear. If you find yourself struggling with fears of lack and scarcity, consider the following:
- Don't trust appearances. Your own way of defining prosperity, abundance and lack, not anyone else's, will influence your experience. It’s highly advisable to keep an emotional distance from the voices that predict an impending apocalypse, a hype that will intensify as the
months go by. The truth is that no one knows how this economic downturn is going to go or for how long, no matter how reliable the source. Resist becoming hypnotized. Instead of worrying about what
the news will say tomorrow, you might ask what kind of energy you
can generate today. Taking hold of your reactions is your responsibility. You can move on to a new level of prosperity as you release outer expressions of security and turn to Spirit in meditation, affirmative
prayer and compatible practices.
- Take responsibility. Any approach you take to reclaiming sovereignty over your own prosperity beliefs and life direction nurtures the whole. Not only your actions, but the emotions behind them are also crucial. If you focus on frugality while holding to the image of hard times ahead, each dollar you save becomes an investment in limitation. Rather, you can multiply the power of your savings by blessing them and visualizing freedom from the fear of scarcity each time you set some aside. Extend that same unconditional wish of freedom outward and you have
instantly made a positive contribution to the whole.
- Be generous with your blessings. This is the simplest key to accessing the energy of universal abundance: bless your actions on behalf of Spirit, yourself, others and the planet by remembering that each act, however small, comes from love. Each time you turn to this vibration you lift your personal efforts to a higher frequency, and generate abundance. Once you focus this blessing on your actions, you can extend your generosity by wishing everyone you come in contact
with in a given day your blessing. "May you be happy, may you be well, may you be prosperous, and free from suffering." The great benefit to extending your blessing outward is that you get blessings back, as you step fully into reciprocity.
Money is not hard to get or have, I don’t strive or toil for it.
I focus my efforts on a higher work, awakening to the
riches that
are already mine by divine right, which allows
them to manifest
easily through Spirit’s infinite channels.
I am free to
put my time
and talents to use in loving,
productive service to
which I am
divinely directed, and my
every contribution to the Universe is
richly blessed.
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