Is God Your Banker?

Day by day, we can begin to see the world's financial safety net beginning to tear apart and crumble. We are witnessing the end of excessive greed, out-of-control  capitalism, runaway materialism, and the having-it-all-now self-gratification that drives the hunger for wealth.

Bankers all over the world are beginning to realize that they cannot wrap their heads around the amount of debt they are in and the liabilities that go with it. Similarly, the world's most powerful lending institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, the Federal Reserve, The Bank of England, and the World Bank are waking up to the fact that they can't quantify or understand the sheer size and complexity of the financial crisis that is taking place. Nor can they comprehend the rate at which the meltdown is spreading across the world.          

People everywhere are going into shock. One third of Americans can't sleep at night because of financial anxiety. The Dow continues to plummet. IRAs, retirement funds, pension plans, net worth's, home values, and other assets are drying up dramatically. Individuals don't know where to put their money because nothing seems safe and assured anymore. One might as well hang a foreclosure sign on the world. Many wonder what to do. 

In 1991 I was a successful corporate executive and had a net worth of more than a half a million dollars. Seven years later I was destitute.

Years before that incredible turning point in my life, I graduated with a Ph.D. degree in the sciences, joined Warner-Lambert, then Richardson-Vicks,  met my former wife there, moved to Connecticut, had (and still have) two wonderful children, and quickly climbed the R&D management ranks for the next 13 years. 

During 1985, my life peaked. I was offered a vice-presidency in my company after many years of hard work. Five months later Proctor and Gamble unexpectedly bought us out.

For the next 15 years, my life unraveled in ways I never thought possible. No matter what I did or how hard I tried things just didn't work anymore. It had nothing to do with my abilities. I hit one brick wall after another because of events that unexpectedly came out of nowhere and disrupted the direction I wanted to take in life.

I didn't realize it at the time but God and I were heading for a "one on one" experience, and it took a while for me to realize what was going on. For the next 10-15 years, almost all of life's day-to-day distractions were stripped away from me. This occurred so that a much larger and more purposeful drama could unfold. It would irrevocably alter my inner world and perspective, because of the unexpected spiritual journey I would begin.

Life changing events, spiritual crisis, or a dark night of the soul experience can come in different forms, and varying degrees. When severe, the pain, suffering, and the threat of mental and physical breakdown can be very debilitating. It's all about the "death" and transformation of the ego, and then surrendering all to God. From what I understand, we'll all go through this kind of testing and awakening experience, this lifetime or next, until we come to this realization.  

During the 1990s, I had to experience a great deal of emotional trauma in order to wake up from the material slumber I was in. Financial ruin, a difficult divorce, the pain and anguish it caused my children, loss of one's home, several business failures, loss of one's career, lack of employment, loss of control over one's life, runaway debt, back taxes unpaid, qualifying for bankruptcy, loss of family life, lack of purpose and fulfillment, profound loneliness and despair, years of intense depression, loss of confidence and self-esteem, loss of identity, major decisions gone wrong, borrowing from family to survive, and failing as a head of household were part of my dark night drama. When added together in such a short period of time, the weight of it all became unbearable, and brought me to the point where it was extremely difficult to function normally in everyday life.

When my crisis started to intensify during the summer of 1991, I also began to awaken spiritually because of a New Age/metaphysical book called, Seth Speaks, that my sister gave me out of the clear blue. As I began to read it, something big began to stir inside I never knew existed before. That book led to many more, and as of today I've devoured well over 400 of them.

Surprisingly, as I began to awaken to who I really am, I found myself in more crisis and upheaval. Now it was my inner world that was coming apart in so many different ways. The spiritual wisdom and universal truths in these books was seriously threatening my fear-based ego, and the many false beliefs it had created for me over the years, and throughout my many lifetimes.

There I was. My external world was falling apart all around me. At the same time, my inner world of false beliefs, which had defined who I thought I was for most of my life, as a physical being enjoying the pleasures and comforts of the material world, was doing the same thing. It was a painful, sordid mess. 

Incredibly, all of this happened after pleading for God's help in 1991. At that time, my agenda and God's priorities were quite different. I have since learned that when you say "God, help me please!" you'd better put your seat belt on, and drop all of your expectations.

Towards the end of 1998, I was destitute and dependent upon family for my everyday needs. God must have known that I had enough, and that I had reached a point of surrender where I depended solely upon Him for my security and sustenance. In essence He became by banker. And through today, I will not compromise nor make any exceptions to that realization. 

It was after my final surrender in 1998 that things began to appear in my life, without my having to lift a finger. Consulting work that I had been trying to obtain for years magically came to me out of the blue. I was now able to pay bills, support myself, and help pay for my children's education.    

Today, in 2009, I lead a very simple life. I still consult from time to time, and do what I can to help humanity in some meaningful way.

My philosophy is to stay in the moment, let Spirit lead the way, and try to trust and accept whatever comes. I call it my God-Spot. When I am in that place all is fine, everything works, I'm at peace and fully secure. When I drift a bit from that sacred space, things just don't feel right to me. That's why God is my banker.

I suspect that many people today are finding themselves in varying degrees of turmoil similar to what I experienced years ago when my world began to fall apart. It's easy for us to make money our security. After all, that's what we were taught, that's why we get an education, and it's the reason we go into debt to have things for ourselves and our families. What often goes out of out of balance is the degree to which we make money our security, while at the same time putting far less effort into our relationship with God. 

The turbulent economic times we face today are showing us plainly and clearly that two banks exist for us to find security and the necessary abundance we need to sustain life simply but comfortably. Many will chose The Bank of America, J.P. Morgan-Chase, investment funds, gold, and money market funds, without even giving consideration to the most powerful banker of all.