Your Emotional Stress Test – Are you spiritually insolvent?

1. You suddenly lose your job and find yourself in deep
financial trouble. You …

1. Feel sorry for yourself and blame others for your current
   situation. You may become severely depressed or turn to drugs, alcohol
   or some other vice to help you escape from your situation.
2. Roll up your sleeves and do whatever it takes to get
   yourself out of debt and “back onto your feet” again.
3. See this as an opportunity to make a change in your life.
   You feel positive about your situation and confident that you’ll find
   an even better job.
4. Understand that your job, your status and your external
   wealth do not define who YOU really are. You see this as a good
   opportunity to re-examine yourself, your views, and your entire
   approach to life, and have a very positive outlook for the future.

2. You find out that a long-time friend of yours has been
stealing from you. You …

1. Become furious, report them to the police, and renounce
   your friendship forever!
2. Avoid dealing with the problem, and avoid your friend from
   now on.
3. Confront your friend about it and give them an opportunity
   to apologize and to pay back what they have stolen from you. If they
   don’t, then you will be forced to end your friendship.
4. Show compassion and restraint, and try to understand why
   your friend has stolen from you. You let them know that you want to
   remain friends, and are also willing to forgive them and to help them
   to overcome whatever troubles have led them to steal from you.

3. A relief organization approaches you for a donation to a
good cause, but you are already struggling to “make financial ends
meet” in your own life. You …

1. Say “No way man, I got my own problems to deal with.”
2. Dig around for some loose change and give them a couple
   bucks just to get rid of them.
3. Say, “I’m truly sorry, I wish I could help, but I really
   can’t afford to give anything right now.”
4. Dig deep and give as much as you can, or say “I don’t have
   much money to give, but is there anything else I can do to help?”

4. You heard on the news that a favourite product that you
have been using for years is made by a company that has a record of
human rights abuses in other countries. You …

1. Don’t even give it a second thought.
2. Criticize the company for their human rights record, but
   continue to use their product sometimes.
3. Criticize the company for their human rights record, and
   immediately stop using their product.
4. Stop using their product and make an effort to understand
   more about the company, the details about their questionable business
   activities, and what all the “real facts” are about their human rights
   allegations, before passing judgement on them.

5. Someone close to you suddenly dies. You …

1. Are consumed with grief, anger, and heartache. You are
   unable to work or carry out most of your daily activities, and are
   rarely able to find any relief from your pain for many months, or even
   years afterwards.
2. Are initially shocked, go through a “grieving period,” and
   then slowly come to terms with what has happened. However, it always
   remains a difficult subject for you to talk about, and you feel a
   permanent “sense of loss” for a long, long time.
3. Feel great sadness, but in time you come to accept what has
   happened and are able to talk with fondness and joy about the one whom
   has passed.
4. Understand that it is natural to feel a sense of loss when
   this happens, but you also understand that death is an inevitable part
   of life, a stage that we all must eventually pass through – that in
   truth, death is not an unfortunate or a bad thing. You know that any
   pain we feel when we lose a loved one is only an expression of our own
   attachment to them, as well as our own inability to fully realize the
   infinite, indestructible nature of mankind.

6. You consider alcohol and/or drugs to be …

1. Necessary aspects of life.
2. Ok in moderation.
3. A personal choice.
4. Poison to the body, mind and spirit, and an unacceptable
   indulgence for one who is serious about their physical, mental and
   spiritual health.

7. Over the years, your life has become so busy with work and
other obligations that you have let your health deteriorate and now
find that you have developed a dangerous heart condition. You …

1. Accept your lot in life and carry on with the attitude that
   whatever happens to you is your fate.
2. Visit your doctor to get medication or medical intervention
   to remedy the condition.
3. Seek advice on exercise, diet and other measures to help
   you re-gain your health, and then make changes as best as you can.
4. Take this opportunity to “step back” and re-evaluate your
   approach to life. You realize that you may have to make significant
   changes in your lifestyle and your overall attitude toward life, and
   are willing and committed to do it.

8. You think that sex …

1. Is okay anytime, anywhere, with anyone.
2. Is okay as long as both people are consenting adults.
3. Should be avoided completely in order to live a “spiritual
   life.”
4. Should be enjoyed only in a loving marriage.

9. You …

1. Enjoy life as much as possible, without thinking much about
   the consequences of your actions.
2. Sometimes find yourself conflicted in life, but you are
   unable to understand why or what to do about it.
3. Are aware that some choices you made in the past were not
   always good for you or in the best interests of others, but you
   continue to make unhealthy decisions over and over again.
4. Are aware that some choices you have made in the past were
   not good for you or in the best interests of others, but you learned
   from your mistakes and continually strive to make more intelligent
   decisions.

10. Making environmentally conscious choices, such as buying
organic produce or carpooling to work is …

1. Something you do not care about at all.
2. Something to consider, but really not a high priority in
   your life.
3. Essential, 100% of the time, without exceptions.
4. Important to you. You do your best in every situation to be
   environmentally conscious, but realize that things are not always “cut
   and dry,” and every situation in life has multiple dimensions that need
   to be carefully considered in order to discern the best course of
   action.