“I want to let you in on a little secret. There are no problems. Problems just mean the world isn’t turning out the way you want it to.  Everything is unfolding as it should.”   Robert Adams

II

What if your Problem’s Not the problem?

The First Practice

What if everything you consider to be a problem isn’t a problem after all? What if everything that happens, whether it seems right or wrong or feels good or bad, is happening exactly the way it should? What if you knew that to be true with every fiber of your being? What would your life be like? Would it change?

When I first encountered this concept, it sounded like a conundrum. I couldn’t make any sense of it. How could there be no problems? But my curiosity was peaked.

Seeing Through the Problem

In June of 2005 while enrolled in the Radiant Mind Training, this concept was offered to a group of well educated, spiritually wise, mature men and women. I sat and watched the concept challenged. Everyone seemed just as curious as I was and just as interested in understanding what was being posed. We were good students because Peter Fenner, founder of the Radiant Mind Training, was a great teacher. I’m not sure what was finally asked or said when I lit up, but I finally got it. I cracked the code to my old programming and saw what made a problem a problem – me.

Once I got it, like a kid with a new toy, or more accurately a spiritual seeker with a new tool, I began testing this “theory” on everything I labeled a problem. First I started with mere irritations. I noticed that when my computer malfunctioned or I forgot to save a file before shutting it down, I’d become incensed. Every time I had a difference of opinion with a customer service representative and didn’t get my way, even after leaning heavily on “the customer is always right,” I was reluctant to give in (making it a problem). When a crick would form in the back-yard hose, frustrated I’d try to whip it loose.  I became aware how I stressed over these little things, making their contrary-to-my-liking, a problem. The energy I expended fighting reality was exhausting. That was the first eye-opener.

Once aware of my useless struggles, I stopped myself before the fight. When caught behind a slow driver on a single lane, two-way street on my way to an appointment, instead of getting irritated, I’d take a breath and remember I had a cell phone and could call if I was running late. When a cashier at the market was inefficient in my eyes, and taking more than the necessary time ringing up the customer in front of me, I’d take a breath and wait patiently. Each time I caught myself in the act of stressing over one of these or similar annoyances, I’d simply ask myself, what if this wasn’t a problem? I realized that creating a problem was just a way of distracting myself from my discomfort with the way things were. By abolishing the notion that what didn’t go my way was a “problem,” I simply eliminated getting sidetracked by all the small frustrations, anger, hurt, etc.

Soon, all it took was a shift in my perception and more than not, little inconveniences stopped rattling my cage. I was amazed at how this one simple adjustment to my attitude gave me a sense of peace and calm. I felt as if I’d awakened to a better part of myself. I shared this epiphany with everyone I knew.

Months later, still enrolled in the training, I was diagnosed with a lump in my thyroid. I had all the tests but the doctors couldn’t determine if the lump was cancerous. They had to operate to find out for sure. I was shocked. I’d never had to be hospitalized overnight for anything except childbirth.

I had the operation and everything was fine—the lump was not cancerous. But during the process of preparing for surgery, I was told that if they had to remove the thyroid, I’d be on medication my whole life to regulate my metabolism. I know this is going to seem strange but because I have a strong aversion to taking supplements, I was more concerned with that fact than the possibility of having cancer. Maybe I was diverting my fear, but regardless, I was creating a problem by projecting my fear into the future based on my past experience with supplements. I was afraid that if I didn’t take the medicine prescribed (which given my personality was a definite possibility), I’d have a lot of health problems. For an active person like myself, that thought was devastating.

Mulling over this dilemma, I heard the question arise, What if this wasn’t a problem? By now I was familiar with this query but still working at it. I knew thinking something was a problem was what made it one. So how could I see this in another light? I suddenly felt a rush of air as if I were standing in a stuffy room and a window was opened. I got the “no problem” concept on a whole new level. I saw how most things that seem like a problem didn’t have anything to do with the present moment. They only felt problematic based on past experience or by projecting a future possibility. In the present moment, the problem doesn’t exist. In my case, I didn’t yet know if I’d need to take the medication and wouldn’t know for two weeks. Stressing out wasn’t going to help.  If everything went well, I wouldn’t have to do anything. If it didn’t, there’d be plenty of time to deal with the circumstances.

The point behind this example is universal. Worrying about worst-case scenarios and believing they’re real creates stress. But stressing over future possibilities doesn’t change the end result. It only causes the one who’s stressing, anguish. Every time I get in a stressful situation and forget or ignore the question what if this wasn’t a problem, I wind up miserable. Nothing positive comes out of it except maybe a reinforcement to remember the question.

It’s not about denying the circumstances. It’s about being with the effect of the situation as it currently presents itself. The present moment is the only thing we have any influence over.

Sign up for my Newsletter and I’ll send you the information on my Book Launch December 4th;. If you buy my book through a special link that day, you’ll also get 16 free gifts from respected transformation leaders around the world.  Subscribe here –http://eepurl.com/khznz