Do you ever feel like you're on a treadmill, going round and round endlessly, without getting anywhere? Does it seem like you have been running faster and faster just to stay in the same place? With all the bad economic news and political turmoil, are you starting to feel that you won't even be able to stay where you are, no matter how hard you run?

If you feel this way, you aren't alone. Many people in the developed countries feel the same way you do. It seems like the system isn't working anymore, and we're trapped. Trapped and forced to run endlessly, with no hope of ever achieving our life goals. Some people have taken to calling it the hamster wheel life. And it is strange that we feel this way.

We are surrounded by technological marvels. Our standard of living is beyond that of even the wealthiest rulers only a few generations ago. We have access to an almost limitless selection of products. We can choose to live our lives our own way, with few of the taboos and restrictions that used to exist. So why do we feel so overworked and stressed out? Why do we feel so lost?

I think we feel this way because in many ways we are lost. In particular, we have lost touch with the traditions, customs, and rituals that people have traditionally based their lives around. Our lives are incredibly fast paced. We are always on the run, always behind schedule, always chasing our next life goals. As a result, we experience most of life shallowly. We don't have the time or the energy or the inclination to dive deeply into the meaningful experiences of our lives. The hamster wheel doesn't stop and we don't know how to get off or even realize that's what we most need to do.

With the endless interruptions, distractions, and temptations of modern life, people and events and experiences pass by in a blur. About the only things that can really get our attention, really knock us off the hamster wheel for long are major crises. Family or personal disasters get our attention. So do massive disasters like September 11. For a while, we look at life differently, actually concentrate on what's important and meaningful.

But all too soon, we're back on the wheel, running for all we're worth, our lives once again a blur, with the echoes of some horrible intense experiences ringing in the back of our minds. No wonder we feel stressed out and helpless to achieve our personal goals.

The good news is that you can escape the hamster wheel lifestyle. You don't have to abandon all the undeniable benefits of modern life either. There's a simple secret to it.

If you can bring some positive intense experiences into your life, and dive deeply into them, you can absorb the good and meaningful things they provide. You can transform the way you experience life. It doesn't take a huge commitment of time, or lots of experimentation either.

Until very recently in our history, these kinds of experiences were intrinsic parts of human life. There are tried and true traditions that you can easily incorporate into your own life to counteract much of what is wrong with modern life without losing what is good about it. What we're talking about here is combining the positive aspects of our past with those of our present and future. All you need is a little help.