Perceived Problems

One of the main impulses in why we reach out for help or guidance, some support or clarity is because we believe strongly that we have a problem or maybe many problems. Sometimes it may feel very urgent because we are suffering so much and deep into the story. Other times, it is less so but we still experience a lack of peace or joy.

Yet all so called “problems” are created and generated endlessly by the problem creator - the Mind. All problems are born in the mind of the perceiver. This always starts with how we perceive or interpret an experience or situation that is arising in our life. This isn’t about denying what is happening; rather, it is about being willing to meet it fully before we fell into familiar patterns of conditioning to see it as a “problem“.

Secondly, a problem can only belong to a someone - i.e.: a separate identity - an “I” - who believes strongly that they are really a someone who has a problem!

If we really slow down and become still… and question… we see very clearly that :

a) there really is no problem - it’s how we interpret the reality or experience of the moment which we label “PROBLEM”. We can just as easily experience what is arising directly without labelling it, regardless of what it is.

b) there is no separate “I” who has a perceived problem attached to it. It’s a complete illusion.

To SEE this clearly requires stillness and an open mind. This is what The Work is about. It’s about questioning and unlearning.

Would you rather solve “your problems” one by one?

OR

Would you rather question and remove the source of all perceived problems?

There is a direct way.

The former will take you lifetimes because as soon as one problem is solved, the mind simply generates a new one. Endlessly! It reminds me of one of those old fashioned toys where you push down one column/block and then another one reappears and pops up in another place. Once you see the game clearly, it’s logical that it makes absolutely no sense to keep playing that game. Game over.

In the same way, seeing is all that is required.

The latter is intelligence. The latter recognises this familiar pattern of the mind, slowing down long enough to be still and see what’s really going on here. It’s a habit. A very old, conditioned habit. That’s all! In the light of your seeing, something shifts. An inner quiet arises. A pause. It takes but a split second and it’s all that is required to reveal the Truth.