Question:

What if you want to forgive someone but find you just cannot? Is there any value to wanting to forgive them?

Answer:

This is how forgiveness begins. Real forgiveness is sincere and involves genuine compassion but sometimes that is a tall order, especially if what you perceive as their crime against you or a loved one is particularly heinous. When there is no forgiveness you want revenge, to punish them, to make them pay. Wanting to forgive them is a good start because it usually means you are willing to let revenge go. Maybe you can’t forgive them today but you have let go wanting to kill them or hurt them. You have somehow perceived that revenge will truly accomplish nothing but misery. The next step is seeing them as a projected part of you. The truth is you could have committed that crime in another time and place. You’ve been there and learned that lesson. Now they are learning that lesson. You will learn new lessons that you would like someone to forgive you for when the time comes.

Question:

Will the United States survive the economic crisis?

Answer:

The world will survive all the crisis coming. Will the USA survive? That is a different question. Maybe, maybe not! 2011, 2012, and to some degree 2013 are the peak years of crisis. This is the tear down period, a period of unexpected, spontaneous changes that may appear to be highly destructive to everyone’s way of life. Destruction however, is part of the creative process. The current paradigm has run its course and is showing signs of age and decrepitude like an old car that has reached its final hours on the road, sputtering, stalling, grinding, and hissing. Anyone driving by might say, “Yep, It’s the end of the line. Better haul it to the wrecking yard”. But the driver may not be willing to admit that it’s the end of the line for the car. They might be under the hood trying to tinker with the battery connections while the transmission and power train are lying on the pavement smoking. The truth is that it is hard to let Old Nelly go, even if it is a wreck.

The next couple of years will see volcanic eruptions on a major scale, hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, more economic turmoil, governments falling, social turmoil, transportation systems stalling, health crisis by the score, and so on. There, now you don’t have to be anxious about whether it will happen or not. It will. However, as always people will continue to wake up in the morning, brush their teeth, cook breakfast, and go about their day. So will you. All shall pass and then we will commence a building phase that will last many years resulting in a new way of living. Best to live in the present moment.

Question:

What is the best way out of the current economic crisis?

Answer:

People have few words to describe the economy: Bear, Bull, recession, depression, etc. Therefore people are trying to describe the current situation by old terms, recession or possibly double dip recession. However the current situation is not like former economic situations. Technically this is not a recession, nor is it a depression. In fact most economists are puzzled as to what is going on. The nation is in debt, unemployment is high, and the economy is turtling along. Some say “cut all spending”. Others say, “spend your way out of debt”. There are no solutions to fix the current mess. It will take a long time, many years, not a few months to heal the crisis. In fact the reset button may have to be pushed, much debt forgiven, and an entirely new economic structure put into place before this is over. Meanwhile as politicians dither and no solutions appear, social unrest will arise around the world and in the United States as well. This will not solve anything either. Throughout all this people will learn hard lessons and creativity will rise up to help people think up solutions that they never considered before. All will end well but not too soon.
What will help us navigate the rough times coming?

Look to make friends with the elements Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. Each element will be involved in the various natural events that will appear. Sometimes there will be too much or too little water, Fire may appear to go out of control or winds may increase to damaging levels. The earth may shake underfoot and so on. While you could come to the conclusion that the elements have gone out of control and are the enemy to be fought against, this would be a mistaken conclusion. The elements are actually always trying to restore balance to a situation that has become imbalanced. Each of the elements has intelligence and is responsive to humans when they form a proper relationship with the elements. Some shamans can pick up hot coals and not be burned. Others can listen to the winds, speak to them, and calm them if necessary. Still others are able to call forth the rains or calm floodwaters while others are able to receive messages from the Earth itself. These abilities begin with forming a simple alliance with the elements and regarding them as brothers and sisters rather than enemies. Listening to them is a requirement for understanding and communicating with them. Extending blessings to the elements is appreciated by them and highly effective in getting them to respond favorably.