Nowadays, it’s hard to listen to the news or read newspapers and not come across references to the Recession, aka "The Global Credit Crisis ", with graphic detail about how it is affecting all of us in one form or another. Around the world, the face of commerce and industry is changing. Restaurants, pubs and hotels are loosing business, shops and factories are closing down, and people are losing their jobs.

Skills and experience are being lost. For the individual loss of regular wages can mean the prospect of losing their homes, divorce and destitution. The other night, and for the first time in the UK, I saw a television advertisement promoting property auctions for repossessed homes! This is following the pattern that emerged in the United States. What's more, economists are saying the worst is yet to come!

The times, they are a-changin’. However, what’s emerging are new and creative ways of bouncing off this crisis. Times journalist, Damian Barr, who "is dedicated to discovering new lifestyle and social trends, people or places", has found a new and lucrative source of income by reading aloud for people. His account is an inspiring "survival" example.

Another, and I am happy to announce, is my friend and client's recently published book: The Frugal Life: How to Spend Less and Live More, by Piper Terrett; which is based on her frugal living column and blog on MSN Money. What’s more satisfying is that her book nearly became a victim of the credit crunch itself when the initial publishers pulled out two weeks before the deadline, but “thankfully it found a good home- and it has finally made it. At one point, I nearly gave up on it.” she told me.

Mainstream media, like BBC Television, have also been airing new "holistic" material which includes the likes of How to make your own drugs, a series exploring plant-based natural remedies and beauty treatments. Meanwhile, in Turkey, one man's poison is another man's meat: "i n a small shoe factory in Istanbul, sales are up 500% - all thanks to the Iraqi who threw his lace-ups at Bush"!

Frugal or not, it seems that we, the consumers, are truly dictating how businesses will go on. We may be giving up quantity, but it doesn’t seem like we are about to give up quality! For example, the founder of Net-a-porter.com is launching new website offering cut price designer clothes. Marks and Spencer's, one of the UK’s leading stores, have created a new online service for bespoke clients, offering high quality at budget prices.

Innovative approaches are surfacing in a number of other areas, and one of the strangest is Australia’s efforts to reduce the amount of cow farts, with the aim of cutting greenhouse gas emissions; read this.

On a more serious note, I believe what we are seeing are glimpses of the future; which is about more than just surviving the credit crunch. Perhaps these new and innovative ways will help restore the balance, and formulate how we are going to live from now on; beyond the credit crunch.

If you are thinking about the future here are some quick thoughts:

- The future will not be a "reboot" of the past

- We will need to reclaim responsibility for our own lives, not wait for governments and "official" institutions (they are broke)

- We will need to take much greater responsibility for our own health – focus on diet, exercise and common sense

- We will need to grow much more of our own food, as food shortages develop around the world

- The sexes will start to come into a true balance

- We will need to be far more resilient, secure in our sense of self-worth and able to trust and rely on our own abilities.

- The future CAN be better than the past, but it will be very different.

In one word it is about resilience- a catch word you'll hear more often - she predicts.

Let me know what you think. You can also post your comments at the bottom of this article … we are all on the yellow brick road.

Love and light

Sahar

The Frugal Life: How to Spend Less and Live More, by Piper Terret
As the credit crunch becomes a recession and rising energy prices take their toll on our finances, many of us have little choice but to cut back our spending. But life is for living, so why should budgeting mean a miserable existence? The Frugal Life: How to spend less and live more will show readers how to save money by taking control of their finances and adopting a simpler approach to life. Readers will learn they don’t have to overspend to enjoy themselves or impress friends.


Drum Making Shamanic Ceremonials Workshop
California, May 2009: More than just a crafting project, Drum Making is a meditation, an act of creation, the bringing to life of an instrument of prayer. During this three day workshop of ceremonial creation each person will construct an authentic two-sided Shamanic Drum, a Drum that is the expression of their own uniqueness and relationship with the Spirit of the Drum.



Vote Earth! One Hour Between 8.30 and 9.30pm on Saturday 28th of March 2009
On March 28 you can VOTE EARTH by switching off your lights for one hour.
Or you can vote global warming by leaving your lights on. WWF are urging the world to VOTE EARTH and reach the target of 1 billion votes, which will be presented to world leaders at the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 2009. This meeting will determine official government policies to take action against global warming, which will replace the Kyoto Protocol. It is the chance for the people of the world to make their voice heard.


Dark Night, New Dawn: Healing Weekend with Serge Beddington-Behrens and Tony Neate
Dark Night; New Dawn.  A healing weekend to help people understand and effectively work with the underlying changes going on inside themselves and out in the world. April 09, Nov 09: "Our world is currently going through a very dark night on many levels and our current financial crises are triggering hidden insecurities. What we wish to do over this weekend, is to present a new way of looking at our many challenges or crises, whereby, instead of seeing them as ‘bad’, we come to understand them in terms of a deep cleansing or purifi cation, a crumbling away of an old ‘way of being’ that no longer works, in order that a new and ‘better world’ may emerge." 

The Night of the Unicorn by Jenny and Tony Smedley
"I applaud this book; it reaches out to children and illustrates the amazing power of love. The lessons contained within its pages could easily be incorporated into everyday life, if we so chose. Most of us lead privileged lives and make informed choices, sadly this book will not find its way into the lives of children less fortunate."


 
Your Forgotten Self: Mirrored in Jesus the Christ by David Robert Ord
"Your Forgotten Self is a really stunning read. The author has a way of healing us with his words; he bridges the gap between religion and the reality of the human condition."


 
The Reason For Which You Have Come Into This Incarnation
Channeled by © Asandra 2009: " Dear Friends,
I asked Spirit to speak about the current "shift." This is their response:
Love,"
Asandra




Do These Mysterious Stones Mark the Site of The Garden of Eden?
From The Daily Mail Online: "The site has been described as 'extraordinary' and 'the most important' site in the world." Archaeologists worldwide are in rare agreement on the site's importance. 'Gobekli Tepe changes everything... a site that has revolutionised the way we look at human history, the origin of religion - and perhaps even the truth behind the Garden of Eden."