Hearing the word economy in the contemporary context often gives rise to negative feelings and mental formations in our mind consciousness: Capitalism, competition, social injustice, exploitation, pollution, consumerism. Let us altogether breathe, smile, and look deeply in order to find ways to embrace, redefine, and heal this notion.

Tracing back the etymological roots of economy, which derives from the Greek term oikonomia, we observe that it consists of two components: oikos = house, household, family + nemein = (to) manage. What does oikos mean to us and how do we manage our oikos? Furthermore, if we look into the terms economy and ecology, we recognize that both have the same prefix deriving from oikos. Can we find ways to unite these two pillars?

Embracing the status quo, we might start to connect the dots between the negative manifestations of economy and our own personal suffering and habit energies - desire, fear, stress, loneliness, depression – and realize the potential for transformation. Smiling, we observe that several wholesome seedlings have already manifested in the individual and collective consciousness. One of them is Bhutan’s economic model which bases its socio-economic and political decisions on Gross National Happiness (GNH) instead of GDP, showing a way towards a paradigm shift in order to bring about the equilibrium between mental and material wealth, human needs and the needs of nature as well as the localization of economic activity.

Being at this Wake Up Spring Retreat, we will have the opportunity to be aware of three different dimensions of oikos and their interbeing: The spiritual, material and environmental household. With the presence of EIAB monastics and lay teachers*, we will discover these dimensions in relation to our mind and body, to our thought, speech and action, to the individual and the collective. Since the quality of our household is connected to the quality of our happiness, we will learn how to take care of them in a wholesome way. We will enjoy nourishing our household with the practice of mindfulness and experiencing an interdisciplinary mix of presentations, sharings, and workshops on the Five Mindfulness Trainings with the focus on economics, consumption and gardening.

Realizing that the act of localizing economical activities goes hand in hand with the act of localizing our happiness, we cultivate the awareness that we already have enough conditions to be happy right here, right now. Let us come together to stop being the destitute child, to be aware that we are the richest person on earth, to enjoy the miracles of spring and share our happiness with one another.

Learning to learn, to be, to do and to live together as one oikos, one family.

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