Problems!

I expect we have all had a few, some still do. Some of those problems appear to be big ones, others small.

What is a problem, it can be many things, health, relationships, emotional, financial the list goes on and on. Where do problems come from? Why do some people have more problems than others? What can be done so that problems cease showing up in our lives?

It is likely that problems arise as a result of ‘karma’ the Law of Cause and Effect, nice but not very helpful. Or is it simply the way we deal with life’s challenges, some see problems others challenges, others solutions. How we deal with problems has to be a product of who we are and how we got to this place. Again nice but not very helpful, especially if you are one of those who see problems around every corner! Even ‘problems’ that have not shown up yet!

This is a condition that I call ‘The What If Disease.’ What if this? What if that? Have you noticed that many people suffering from this ‘disease’ are very negative in their expectations? What if I lose? What if it rains? What if I get sick? And on it goes. I have to ask myself why do people always give a negative spin to the ‘What If’s.’ Perhaps this is one reason people experience problems the way that they do — giving so much energy to the negative. Whether they do this consciously or sub-consciously the results are the same. Problems get worse or require even more attention to control / avoid / fix.

Because, in part, of the path I have travelled certain things have become more obvious. One of the important understandings that have shown up along that path is that we do indeed create our own reality. We do this by putting energy, thought, time, emotion into any particular area of life. The more energy we give to any subject the more ‘real’ it appears to be. This works in many ways of course, we give energy to art, to science, to philosophy, no matter what our chosen path, it arises because we have given it energy in the past and as we continue to energise these aspects of life they continue to manifest in ‘our’ reality.

Because we are quite complex in our likes and dislikes, in our goals our personal paths may differ yet fundamentally we are all in the same boat, we are born on a planet to live a life and that life is going to reflect back what we put in.

Another understanding has arisen as a result of treading my path, that is that we all exist within The Mind, you can name this whatever you wish, I am simply calling it The Mind. In Dr. Larry Dossey’s book ‘Recovering the Soul’ he, amongst others, went looking for this Mind. They (?) Came to the conclusion that Mind was/is non-local. Meaning Mind is not confined to Time and Space, it is everywhere, all of the time.

If this is indeed true, and much of my own journey confirms it is, then we, as individuals within this mind do not have a mind of our own. We are a part of the Mind but do not possess a mind of our own. We have a brain and nervous system that accesses the Mind. We interpret the Mind through the filter system of our personality. The personality can again be seen as a result of Karmic Charge, again nice but not helpful (yet!) In our personal journey we have been taught various things, we had come to believe in various points of view that are often reinforced by the society in which we have grown up.

Now, assume for a moment that all of the above is the way things are.One, we are creating the ‘personal’ world in which we live by the energy we give it, all the result of our conditioned past.

Two, We do not possess a personal mind we are simply accessing the Mind interpreted by our personality which is also a result of our conditioned past.

With this in mind (?) We can ask ‘is this problem mine?’ Or is it simply how I see it? Does the problem exist in The Mind? Or is it just my interpretation of the issue that makes it a problem? And perhaps even more importantly if I stop giving energy to the problem be it real or imaginary will it go away?

Spend a moment reflecting upon the amount of energy / time you give to problems. Especially of the ‘What if’ nature.

If your manifesting reality is a result of where you put your energy, of how much energy is devoted to various aspects of you life and that you, alone, are responsible for that manifesting reality then what can you ‘do’ about changing that.

Well, perhaps obviously by changing your mind, which you don’t have so that is not so obvious or easy. Perhaps you can use The Mind in a different way. A way where you stop giving energy to the negatives, the ‘problems’ what would happen, what would change in your life if you were able to do this?

There are many paths you could follow, many teachings to help you understand this from a different perspective, you will be drawn to and choose your own path. Many of these paths require you to do something, to behave in a way that you are not familiar with. This is not always easy for it challenge you on many levels.

My journey, via ‘clearing’ has been one of acceptance of what is. Simply put this means noticing emotions, feelings, even thoughts, accepting them without blame or judgement and of not identifying with those emotions, thoughts etc simply observe and make an effort to return your awareness to a quiet, peaceful place. This takes practice for no matter who we believe ourselves to be we are addicted to certain ways of being, ways of being that have embedded themselves deeply into our psyche. To turn them around from the negative ‘What If’ to a positive ‘What if’ and eventually to letting go of ‘What If’ completely is a road that will lead to less problems, less conflict which in turn give you greater access to The Mind.

But don’t believe me, try it for yourself.