Problems are the Agents for Grace

Posted on July 30, 2012

Our true Self is enlightened and flawless. In the true place of the soul, in the cave of the heart, we have tremendous love, unshakable peace, and all the happiness we could ever hope for. But why are we so often troubled and out of touch?

It is because our mind is conditioned for unhappiness, and unless we change this conditioning, it will have its way with us. We are accustomed to object, to complain, to want what we don’t have and to try to escape from what we dislike. We try to fulfill our desires, and this, we are told again and again, will make us happy.

The truth of course is that all this desiring, rejecting and complaining is the very root of unhappiness. To have peace, we have to have peace with the way things are now. Always.

For that we have to turn our mind around. The way the mind turns, our life turns, because we experience everything through the mind. The key is this:

~ Mistrust your desires, and let your obstacles guide you ~

Desires lead you astray. They tell you that you don’t have enough, even when you have plenty. They don’t allow you to see the blessings that surround you. They cut you off from grace. They can make a beggar out of a king in no time. Desires make you live a life of “I’ll be happy when…” – and the when will never come.

Your obstacles on the other hand can show you the path to fulfillment, but you have to look closely. Anger, fears, shyness, worry, insecurities, and stress can seem like a never-ending curse. But to end them is much easier than to live with them!

>> Here is what you can do:

1. Take your most troubling pattern of thoughts, emotions or behaviors.
2. Then identify the exact opposite of this obstacle. What is the opposite your conflicts, your anxiety, your depression? That is what you are here to overcome! The immediate purpose of your life is hidden in this obstacle: to “turn it around” into its opposite.
3. Then use any of the Skills for Awakening to systematically uproot these patterns and set yourself free.

As long as you are in the grip of your problems, the world is an unkind place. This is not a quality of the world—but of your mind. Someone right next to you may live in a wonderful world, filled with grace. So again: change your mind to change your world. Your problems are the agents for grace.

The world is constructed in an amazingly wonderful way. It exists, with all its beauty and terror, its bliss and its pain, to precisely guide each one of us to our fulfillment. It is perfect that way.

Can you see how much you have gained from encountering obstacles? Have they not given you wisdom, endurance, compassion, and strength? Have they not taught you much?

Question your thoughts that tell you of a less than perfect world. What have they done for you anyway? Instead, become aware of the flawlessness of your world, reflected in the awareness of the perfection in you.

Nothing less but inner freedom will be sufficient for any of us. We cannot escape, but we can transform. We can stop our war with reality and awaken into a world of perfection and grace.

For that we don’t have to change the world; only the way we see it.

 

With love,

Ram Giri
and the Skills for Awakening team

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