Find purpose during financial crisis

Since the start of the recession, 8.8 million jobs have been lost, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The author was one of those 8.8 million people. In 2009, she was laid off a research project due to funding being suspended. Between 2007 and 2014, she was also one of 7.3 million homeowners who lost her home to foreclosure.

Some affected by job loss and foreclosure, due to the economic downturn, were able to bounce back relatively emotionally unscathed. Many, however, internalized the outer events as a negative reflection of their personal capacities without taking a deeper look at the crisis as a potential underlying catalyst.

Although a personal economic crisis can be viewed as both an externally influenced event beyond your control yet within your control, it can also be an opportunity to examine the conscious and sub-conscious conditions that brought the experience into your life. If thoughts and beliefs create experiences, so do unexamined thoughts and beliefs. It was through experiences of prolonged financial crisis, that the author realized she subconsciously co-created experiences that felt so bad until the only place she could go was within―exactly where she needed to go.

Of the millions of individuals who lost jobs and homes, how many turned to meditation as a viable way to face and overcome financial crisis? Probably very few. How many recognized the depth of financial crisis as a potential catalyst to pave the way for living a life of purpose? Again, probably very few.

The Gift of Crisis will show how repeated crises can serve as a catalyst to reveal the underlying purpose, and how questions posed during a meditative state can reveal answers in the direction of a higher purpose.

For women and men who are sincerely interested in spiritual growth, yet find it difficult to make “mental room” to dedicate to such growth due to personal distractions, The Gift of Crisis will demonstrate the practical manner in which meditation and prayer can assist during any type of crisis as a means of reaching for a calmer, clearer and purposeful life.

While interposing personal stories and prescriptive ideas amidst ongoing financial destitution, The Gift of Crisis will highlight the following insights gleaned from strengthening a meditative practice during crisis:

- Deepen your trust in a Higher Intelligence and in your higher purpose.

- Welcome change and embrace change.

- Focus your attention on the emergence of new possibilities as a result of the crisis.

The Gift of Crisis is developed to show it is not solely about “the end result.” It is about the moment-to-moment experience within the journey; the journey that leads to growth, transformation, change and purpose.