Sad update: Pink Floyd’s Richard Wright Dies at 65. A week of loss. I don't know how they are related but there seems to be a spiritual crisis going on in America — as evidenced by the loss of Lehman Brothers, one of our oldest investment banks — loss of lives in the L.A. Metro train crash and Hurricane Ike, and the loss of David Foster Wallace — one of our brightest literary lights.
Tectonic' Market Shift as Lehman Fails, Merrill SoldWe can and will rebuild America. We are in a crisis brought on by greed, Mother Nature and human error. But I believe this is the most important time in our lives to come together and realize we are all ONE. No one can do it alone; we were never meant to. We can't just pull ourselves up by our bootstraps without help. This is a hard lesson in cooperation, but we will survive these strange times and not only thrive, but transcend these "regressive" forces. Pray for those who lost loved ones in the hurricanes and Los Angeles Metro train collisions. It's the perfect time to build a better, stronger, more compassionate United States of America.
FREEDOM FROM FEAR"Barn burned down, but now I can see the moon."
Don't panic. Fear is "False Evidence Appearing Real." We have so much in this country. What if we simplify our lives and quiet the nagging desires for more? Instead of economic growth, why not economic stability? Sometimes you have to hit bottom to really find out what you're made of. Maybe this financial crisis will cause us to really focus on creating the new green industries that will save our jobs and our environment. Despite appearances, good is winning and this time in our history is actually the best time for us to regroup, rebuild, reconnect and learn some spiritual lessons in helping each other. Let's look up, not down, and embrace the new enlightenment which is coming in with a bang, not a whimper.
Though trickle-down Reaganomics is clearly the cause of our economic woes, there is no need to panic over the so-called 'recession.' Everything that is happening is simply showing us that predatory lending and greed-based corporatism has got to end. Capitalism run amuck has run amuck. For many years I've seen this coming -- in the obsessive advertising products we don't need and creating industries out of our insecurities. The outsourcing and 'buy, buy, buy' mentality is what needs to be changed. We will create green industries at home. We will become more conscious of those in need. We all need to simplify and take care of each other. This morning I had a very calm feeling about the stock market and the sub-prime catastrophes. People who panicked, sold and lost. Those who were not ruled by false evidence appearing real (fear) were fine. I almost sold my stock, then meditated, and decided to sit still. My stock went up. Americans are powerfully resilient, industrious and innovative. Fearmongering will not take hold here. Obviously we cannot sustain a consumer society without bringing manufacturing jobs back here, but we should open our minds to embrace the train that has already left the station: globalization. There is no turning back, so we better love our neighbors as ourselves. Including some of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi is an amazing place. Do not be in fear of "the other." Anyway, when you keep your heart on the spiritual values of life —— love, charity, truth, empathy, generosity — you really know what's important. My family could live in a one bedroom shack and still be happy because we finally have our values in the right place: love, friendships, family... and dogs.
Something Good Always Comes of Bad
Even the severed branch grows again.
And the sunken moon returns
Wise men who know this
Are not troubled in adversity.
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Please contribute your thoughts on our economy and tell us what you think will happen next. Will the Fed cut interest rates? What is the best idea for the American economy? Create new "green" jobs? Drop prices? Force oil barons to share profits/ How can we survive these difficult times, and what is the solution? I have a utopian solution and my optimism may annoy some of you, but if you can think outside the box and take a brave leap in your thinking you will see a silver lining here. Our vets will be coming home from Iraq with wounds to heal. We will need to support over 25,000 Iraq vets for lifetime disabilities. We will need to treat them for post traumatic stress syndrome as well. FEMA will need to help the hurricane victims. The Fed should be bailing out the homeowners who were victims of predatory lending practices — instead of bailing out only Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and Bear Sterns. Please leave your comments here.
THE LAW OF ATTRACTION
There are certain laws in the universe that we all believe in. The law of gravity comes to mind. We all know that the law of gravity exists. However, we cannot see it, touch it, or sense it. We just believe and it is true. The same is true for electricity. We know what it does, but does anyone know what it is or how it works? What if there was a law that would bring you everything in the world that you wanted? There is, it is called the law of attraction, and it is at the basis of this new movement called “spiritual marketing.
The law of attraction states that we attract everything in our life. Everything that we are, everything that we have, and everything that we do is a result of what we believe. Our thoughts are the most powerful force in the universe. Can you imagine controlling your thoughts and in controlling your thoughts you are able to attract everything that you always wanted in your life? I know it sounds too good to be true, but think of this. How many thoughts do you have each day? How many are positive? How many are negative? Whatever you focus on you attract. If you focus on what you don’t have, you are focusing on lack and things will never change. If you focus on the negative, you will bring about negative results. We all have the power to choose our thoughts, and in that power lays the potential to be, do, and have everything you’ve always wanted. The law of attraction and spiritual marketing go hand in hand, and I can say that I’ve experienced it firsthand.
What Does This Have To Do With My Business?
So you’re probably saying, okay, I believe in the law of attraction –but how will this help me in my business and personal relationships? Did you know that when you are meeting with a prospect or
client they are influenced not by what you say, or even how you say it but by your presence and the energy you send out?I couldn’t believe it either. People are influenced by your words only 7%; by your tone of voice 38%; and by your energy and the way you conduct yourself and believe in yourself 55%! Isn’t that amazing? We all try to come up with the correct words or the correct presentation and even try to match the tone of voice of the person we are talking to. The real power is in your belief, how you believe in yourself, the outcome that you expect to happen and the energy behind your presence.
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RABBI MICHAEL LERNER
Materialism and greed which has become a run-away epidemic in the contemporary capitalist world in general, and in the U.S. in particular, is the root of the problem. Once again, the responsibility is on ordinary citizens to stand up and talk back to the politicians in both parties, and to do so in a way that demands a new set of values to run our economy, so that materialism and selfishness is put on the defensive and caring for each other becomes the central motif. It is only when some serious political leaders are willing to make that the center of their campaign, to demand that love, generosity and caring for others is the shaping force determining their policies, that the American people will be able to take that part of their consciousnss that wants such a world but believes it impossible, and finally transcend their fears and act on their highest desires rather than sinking into the other fearful part of their consiousness that leads them to seek magical solutions in repression and denial of much of what they know about the failures of the economy and of our foreign policy.
--Rabbi Michael Lerner is editor of Tikkun Magazine and chair of the Network of Spiritual Progressives. RabbiLerner@Tikkun.org
DAVID FOSTER WALLACE REST IN PEACE
NEW YORK (AP) — The literary world is in grief for David Foster Wallace, an author of seemingly unstoppable curiosity, imagination and ambition who apparently killed himself last week. Readers are seeking out his work, including his 1,000-page novel "Infinite Jest" and the essay collection "Consider the Lobster." Published in 1996, "Infinite Jest" cemented Wallace's reputation as a major American literary figure. The 1,000-plus-page tome, praised for its complexity and dark wit, topped many best-of lists. Time Magazine named "Infinite Jest" in its issue of the "100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005." Wallace received a "genius grant" from the MacArthur Foundation in 1997.
Wallace, who wrote with an explosive, ironic, but deeply serious passion about subjects ranging from tennis and politics to mathematics and cruise ships, was found dead by his wife in his home Friday night, according to the Claremont, Calif., police department. The 46-year-old author apparently hanged himself.
"He was the best of our generation, and his death is a loss beyond describing," Richard Powers, winner of the National Book Award in 2006 for the novel "The Echo Maker," told The Associated Press on Sunday.
"I am so sad — stunned — it reminds us all of how fragile we are, and how close at hand the darkness is," said fellow author A.M. Homes, whose books include the novel "The End of Alice" and "The Mistress's Daughter," a memoir. "He was a wonderful writer, a generous friend, and a singular talent."
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