October 3rd 2015 Lesson 79(b)
Let me recognize the problem so it can be solved.
A problem cannot be solved if you do not know what it is. Even if it is really solved already you will still have the problem, because you will not recognized that it has been solved. This is the situation of the world. The problem of separation, which is really the only problem, has already been solved. Yet the solution is not recognized because the problem is not recognized.Everyone in this world seems to have his own special problems. Yet they are all the same, and must be recognized as one if the one solution that solves them all is to be accepted. Who can see that a problem has been solved if he thinks the problem is something else? Even if he is given the answer, he cannot see its relevance.
That is the position in which you find yourself now. You have the answer, but you are still uncertain about what the problem is. A long series of different problems seems to confront you, and as one is settled the next one and the next arise. There seems to be no end to them. There is no time in which you feel completely free of problems and at peace.
The temptation to regard problems as many is the temptation to keep the problem of separation unsolved. The world seems to present you with a vast number of problems, each requiring a different answer. This perception places you in a position in which your problem solving must be inadequate, and failure is inevitable.
No one could solve all the problems the world appears to hold. They seem to be on so many levels, in such varying forms and with such varied content, that they confront you with an impossible situation. Dismay and depression are inevitable as you regard them. Some spring up unexpectedly, just as you think you have resolved the previous ones. Others remain unsolved under a cloud of denial, and rise to haunt you from time to time, only to be hidden again but still unsolved.
All this complexity is but a desperate attempt not to recognize the problem, and therefore not to let it be resolved. If you could recognize that your only problem is separation, no matter what form it takes, you could accept the answer because you would see its relevance. Perceiving the underlying constancy in all the problems that seem to confront you, you would understand that you have the means to solve them all. And you would use the means, because you recognize the problem.
- Intention: We will
do two long practice periods today, each of which should last some ten
to fifteen minutes. In addition we will repeat today's idea frequently, at least four or five times an hour.
- Practice: In our longer practice periods today we will ask what the problem is, and what is the answer to it. We will not assume that we already know. We will try to free our minds of all the many different kinds of problems we think we have. We will try to realize that we have only one problem, which we have failed to recognize. We will ask what it is, and wait for the answer. We will be told. Then we will ask for the solution to it. And we will be told.
The exercises for today will be successful to the extent to which you do not insist on defining the problem. Perhaps you will not succeed in letting all your preconceived notions go, but that is not necessary. All that is necessary is to entertain some doubt about the reality of your version of what your problems are. You are trying to recognize that you have been given the answer by recognizing the problem, so that the problem and the answer can be brought together and you can be at peace.
- Application: The shorter practice periods
for today will not be set by time, but by need. You will see many
problems today, each one calling for an answer. Our efforts will be
directed toward recognizing that there is only one problem and one
answer. In this recognition are all problems resolved. In this
recognition there is peace.
Be not deceived by the form of problems today. Whenever any difficulty seems to rise, tell yourself quickly:
Let me recognize this problem so it can be solved.
Then try to suspend all judgment about what the problem is. If possible, close your eyes for a moment and ask what it is. You will be heard and you will be answered.
Insights/comments:
- Today's
lesson encourages us to reevaluate our perception and understanding about life. Our current experience is that our lives are filled with various problems, each of which require our attention and effort to resolve. But today's lesson brings this experience into question by suggesting that we really do not recognized our problems. Generally we define a problem as anything that does not seem to work the way we expect it to, for example, we expect our car to start when we turn the key in the ignition but if it does not, then this is seen as a problem to us. Yet this is only a superficial understanding of what a problem is because it is based on the belief that the apparent world we live in is real and therefore what we do or do not do here has real effects and consequences with respect to our true function and purpose.
The deeper definition of a problem is anything that distracts us from achieving our highest goal, which is forgiveness. Forgiveness is our God-given function; it is why we exist in this relative world, and it is the means for our salvation from it. The only thing that can distract and therefore delay the moment of our awakening to this function is our belief in separation. Separation is based on the beliefs that our apparent world is real; that we are separate individuals frail and limited; and that we must strive for survival in this harsh and dangerous world. Separation seems real because we do not realize our true identity as children of God, as the maker of our apparent world. We fail to acknowledge that the world we experience is an illusion, full of imagined self-made-up functions that hide our God-given function. In truth separation is an illusion for we cannot exist apart from our Creator, Who is All-That-Is, and because we were created in Her image and likeness, our survival is guaranteed; we need not strive for it, so forgiveness is our only function here.
If we recognize that all apparent problems result from the illusion of separation, and we acknowledge the truth that separation cannot be real, then we have found the solution to all problems, and can now give full attention to our true function of forgiveness. The questions that will help solve our apparent problems are: Am I willing to forgive the ups and downs of this relative world? Am I willing to let all my grievances be replaced by miracles? Can I view everything that comes to me, without exception, as the means to my salvation and calmly, even joyfully, deal with it as best as I can, with whatever resources and intelligence I can bring to it? It might just be a dead battery--no problemo!
I and my Creator are One. 
No comments:
Post a Comment