Evaluating Our Economic Spirit, Part 2: How To Feed Our Spirits Without Going Bankrupt

     In “Part I” we discussed how we tend to go into self-deprivation-mode during an economic downswing and the harm it can cause microcosmically and macrocosmically. I shared my dilemma over continuing with the more expensive hormone-free chicken when my husband got laid off as an example of how we can be tempted to deprive our spirits. (Link to Part I)

     Feeding our spirits is satisfying while feeding our egos leaves us greedy for more. What is a genuine source of enrichment to one person may be used as a status symbol for another. How can we tell the difference? What feeds spirit is enriching—what feeds ego is indebting.

     Are you wondering, “But what if I don’t know which is which?”

     The good news is, even when we don’t actually know what is best; we can find comfort in knowing that our desire to be clear on what is best will guide us in the right direction.

     How does this work? 

     We quite literally create our lives with our thoughts and feelings.  When our choices are in fear of the worst, it is because that is all our minds can envision. When our choices are in expectation of the best possible outcome, we open to the Macrocosmic Spirit’s Vision—a vision inaccessible from a fear stance.

     Buying responsibly raised chicken was a spirit rich choice for me. It respected the chicken, my family and modeled the level of integrity I wished to see practiced in the world. When I opened to the Macrocosmic Spirit’s Vision, I asked for it to somehow be within my means.

     Purchasing responsibly raised chicken can be used as a status symbol (to feed ego) if we are doing it to draw attention to ourselves—to prove that we are responsibly-minded, have faith in a higher power or are an animal lover. Purchasing responsibly raised chicken because it makes us feel good about ourselves at the end of the day is a source of enrichment—it honors what is important to us and that leaves us feeling full-filled.

          I’m not suggesting that you purchase hormone-free, grain-fed, free-range chicken during your downswing or ever. I want to know your “Chicken Story.”

     What feeds your spirit—what choice makes you feel good about yourself while having a positive impact on others, and is a change you’d like to see more of in the world?

     What happens to your integrity-rich choice in a downswing?

     You may unknowingly be sacrificing your integrity in support of upholding a status symbol.

     Integrity should not be economy-sensitive.

          Status symbols are our attempts to cover up the debt (the emptiness and insecurity) inside ourselves. Filling our emptiness with attention in this way only transfers the debt to our credit cards. Even when a status symbol appears to be paid for, something else will suffer because of it. Investing in status symbols supports the thriving of a robbing-from-Peter-to-pay-Paul mentality—it blocks economic flow and turns our back toward Spirit-rich possibilities.

     Unwavering integrity is a reflection of our wholeness.

     Sometimes we give life our best shot and figure out which are our status symbols and which are our sources of enrichment in hindsight. But if we didn’t risk putting ourselves out there, how would we know? If we couldn’t shed light on our emptiness how would we know we weren’t whole?

Economic downswings provide time for indulging our spirits:

·      Rid your closets of items that are no longer a source of enrichment.

·      Utilize a status symbol as a marker for retrieving lost self-esteem.

·      Pursue a desire to model integrity and following it through to the end.

·      Face your fears rather than giving them the car keys.

·      Desire best across the board and call on Macrocosmic Spirit’s Vision for guidance.

Play with these suggestions and next we will discuss how we can use the current state of affairs as a springboard into greater consciousness.

Enjoy the journey,

Trish