For anyone who is paying attention, the crisis in the financial markets feels like a dizzying ride. Up and down (mostly down), with no clear end in site. And we keep hearing the words “Worst since the Great Depression.”

Other messages can be downright confusing. Monday, just as the stock market closed down 777 points, I heard a number of financial commentators say things like, “What we need is less regulation and cutting corporate taxes,” which is what the house Republicans want and why they blocked the bailout bill.

This tactic is part of the “trickle down” theory that states that the market will regulate itself and more freedom on the top will trickle down in the form of profits to the bottom… We see how well that has worked.

What’s the average person to do? Hopefully, if you have investments in the stock market, you also have someone who knows more than you do who you can talk to and get advice. From my point of view, things started getting a bit dicey six months ago and that seemed like a good time to get out of the market.

For those of you who function at a just-enough level, you are probably in ok shape, assuming you haven’t used a lot of credit. Just enough means you’ve had enough to cover your bills and financial obligations. You are the ones who can take a big sigh of relief–no debt, enough to pay your bills. This is not the time to take any chances.

If you function at a less-than-enough level, you’ve probably been borrowing over an extended period of time and may have paid some of your cards late or are maxed out on your cards. This will have compromised your FICO score, so you better stop using credit right now and do whatever you need to do to pay down some of your debt. The good news for you is that you may be forced to get your finances in order so you don’t have to go through this again.

If you are worried about the price of basics, losing your job, or any of the other potential fall out effects of this crisis, worrying isn’t gong to help. It never does. Take a deep breath and spend more time than usual meditating and tuning in to the part of you that sees a bigger picture and can lead you to solutions that will work for you.

Since you haven’t got any control over what going on around you, take control of your home environment. Create order out of chaos, if that’s what you have. Review your financial habits and decide what you are going to do differently.

This is a great time to analyse your past behaviors and decide what’s not serving you and what you want to change.

Here are some resources that can be helpful
Basic Meditation Instructions
Economist Paul Krugman’s column
Some levity at JibJab.com
And a bit more at The Daily Show

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