I feel that one can be happy always if he don't easily see
situations as 'problems'.. thus problems are most of the time
perspectives of the human mind.
Originally posted by An Eternal Now:
All Problems Are Illusions Of The Mind
It feels as if a heavy burden has
been lifted. A sense of lightness. I feel clear... but my problems
are still there waiting for me, aren't they? They haven't been
solved. Am I not just temporarily evading them?
If you found yourself in paradise, it wouldn't be long before your
mind would say "yes, but...."
Ultimately, this is not about solving your problems. It's about
realizing that there are
no problems. Only situations - to be dealt with now, or to be left
alone and accepted as part of the "isness" of the present moment
until they change or can
be dealt with. Problems are mind-made and need time to survive.
They cannot survive in the actuality of the Now.
Focus your attention on the Now and tell me what problem you have
at this moment.
[Pause and meditate]
I am not getting any answer because it is impossible to have a
problem when your attention is fully in the Now. A situation that
needs to be either dealt with or accepted - yes. Why make it into a
problem? Why make anything into a problem? Isn't lifechallenging
enough as it is? What do you need problems for? The mind
unconsciously loves problems because they give you an identity of
sorts. This is normal, and it is insane. "Problem" means that you
are dwelling on a situation mentally without there being a true
intention or possibility of taking action now and that you are
unconsciously making it part of your sense of self. You become so
overwhelmed by your life situation that you lose your sense of
life, of Being. Or you are carrying in your mind the insane burden
of a hundred things that you will or may have to do in the future
instead of focusing your attention on the one thing that you can do
now.
When you create a problem, you create pain. All it takes is a
simple choice, a simple decision: no matter what happens, I will
create no more pain for myself. I will create no more problems.
Although it is a simple choice, it is also very radical. You won' t
make that choice unless you are truly fed up with suffering, unless
you have truly had enough. And you won't be able to go through with
it unless you access the power of the Now. If you create no more
pain for yourself, then you create no more pain for others. You
also no longer contaminate the beautiful Earth, your inner space,
and the collective human psyche with the negativity of
problem-making.
[Pause and meditate]
If you have ever been in a life-or-death emergency situation, you
will know that it wasn't a problem. The mind didn't have time to
fool around and make it into a problem. In a true emergency, the
mind stops; you become totally present in the Now, and something
infinitely more powerful takes over. This is why there are many
reports of ordinary people suddenly becoming capable of incredibly
courageous deeds. In any emergency, either you survive or you
don't. Either way, it is not a problem.
Some people get angry when they hear me say that problems are
illusions. I am threatening to take away their sense of who they
are. They have invested much time in a false sense of self. For
many years, they have unconsciously defined their whole identity in
terms of' their problems or their suffering. Who would they be
without it?
A great deal of what people say, think, or do is actually motivated
by fear, which of course is always linked with having your focus on
the future and being out of touch with the Now. As there are no
problems in the Now, there is no fear either.
Should a situation arise that you need to deal with now, your
action will be clear and incisive if it arises out of
present-moment awareness. It is also more likely to be effective.
It will not be a reaction coming from the past conditioning of your
mind but an intuitive response to the situation. In other
instances, when the time-bound mind would have reacted, you will
find it more effective to do nothing - just stay centered in the
Now.
~ Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now