This article first appeared in Personal Wealth, The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on Dec 28, 2015 - Jan 3, 2016.

2016 will be a year of endings, a completion of the present economic cycle, and there will be much volatility in the country and the markets. But how everyone experiences the year will depend less on external factors and more on how they manage their energy.

Seminar facilitator and consciousness shifter Sophia Catha says the numbers for next year — 2016 — add up to nine, which is the number of “effect”. “The seeds you sow will bear fruit at the end of your nine-year cycle. A lot of people go through seven-year cycles, but when I look at the economy, the energy of money, I always work with a nine-year band. So, whatever you have planted in the last four or five years is going to be bear fruit. And sometimes, the harvest may not be to your liking.”

She says people are already talking about a global recession. “What is a recession? It’s actually receding energy. When energy recedes, there is fear. Money is always there … it’s circulating. The question is, why isn’t it circulating as much? It’s because people are afraid.”

Catha says it is the events of the last decade, especially things like the failure of Lehman Brothers in 2008, which have planted this fear. “It was like, who do we trust anymore? We can’t even trust big business to take care of our money. This underlying fear is like a virus and it’s going to show up next year.”

According to the Law of Attraction, what you focus on, you will get. “If your underlying fear is building up and gaining momentum, it will show up in your bank balance. People will have challenges meeting their monthly budgets,” says Catha.

This time around, she says, people cannot look externally for help. “Since, 2010 there has been a new operating framework. You know how computer systems have operating frameworks? Well, the human psyche has its own operating system. Before 2010, you could look externally for a source of support and guidance. But after 2010, you need to be responsible for your own finances and your own energy.”

Are we heading for a stock market crash? “I would like to say no. If enough people hold a positive vibration, we could actually minimise the damage. Again, it comes down to people. In tough times, the top people in an organisation cannot just sit down and say the economy is bad and that is the way it is. You need to rearrange your people and bring out heretofore unknown qualities in them.”

In Malaysia, she says, all businesses need to be aware that the customer is not going accept marginal service delivery and marginal performance. “The ‘I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened’ attitude cannot prevail. If you do, then you are really sinking and by 2017, you may not have a business. That I can say with a certain amount of conviction because the energy is very volatile and nine is a number of completions, of endings. So you have got to learn from next year and see what you shouldn’t do in 2017 and start planting seeds that will bring you a better harvest the next time around.”

Catha’s main advice to Malaysians is to learn to manage their emotion of fear. “Don’t let it eat you up. If you are running an organisation, yes, the worry is on you. You have all these people working for you. How do you manage it? 

“You really need to manage your energy, your emotion of fear because it trickles down to the product or service you are offering and your customer will feel it.”

She points out that when there are limited dollars going around, this fear will repel customers. “So you are pushing away whatever money can come to you. People don’t just buy a product, they buy the energy that comes with it. And the energy they are looking for, at the basic level, is assurance. 

“So, ask yourself, are your people delivering that assurance to the customer? Because if you are in panic mode and the customer is subconsciously in panic mode, there will be a clash. And they will take their business elsewhere and find someone else who can actually sell them the energy of assurance, even if their product or service is not as good as yours.”

So work through your fears. Times like these bring out strength, leadership and character. “You have to believe that what you offer will stand the test and that you can sustain yourself through these times,” says Catha.

Next year, she says, will be about survival and collective will. “If you look at it in metaphysical terms, it’s the root and solar plexus chakras that have been affected.”

Survival issues relate to basic questions such as whether you have the money to pay your bills and feed your family. Collective will relates to how Malaysia as a nation will move forward.

Today, Catha says, a certain flatness prevails in the energy of Malaysians. “If you go out into the streets, you can feel this. And Malaysia was never flat. Every time you arrived in Kuala Lumpur, the energy was always vibrant. But in the last few months, there has been a flatline feeling. And if you keep plugging into that, you will sink.”

So, people have to find ways to lift their energy. “I am not asking you to go into denial and pretend we don’t have a problem. We do. Acknowledge that there is a problem and find a way to mitigate the damage. Do not let outside negative influences control how you experience your year. How 2016 goes for you, ultimately, will depend on how you manage your energy, control your fear and ride it out,” says Catha.

Save by subscribing to us for your print and/or digital copy.

P/S: The Edge is also available on Apple's AppStore and Androids' Google Play.