“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”
~Albert Einstein
Do you ever feel stuck? Does it seem like things will never change no matter how hard you try?
Well, maybe, as Einstein suggests, you need to find a different way to approach your problems.
I hear from people who have tried everything—years of therapy, lots of self-help books, trying hard to love themselves more—and I was one of them. We desperately want to feel better in life, but somehow, no matter how hard we try, we keep repeating the same stressful patterns that don’t bring the happiness we’re looking for. It’s frustrating!
And that’s why Einstein’s quote above is so inspirational. It invites us to open up, to get curious, to look for another way. And when it comes to everyday human suffering, there is always another way.
So how do you solve your problems? Here is another quote for your contemplation:
“All problems are psychological, but all solutions are spiritual.”
~Thomas Hora
Psychological problems stem from a range of stories that we live by and keep repeating in our minds. We have stories about:
• Our past;
• Ourselves…often involving self-judgment and feelings of inadequacy;
• Our needs and fears; and
• Other people and the situations in our lives.
And when we believe these stories are true, we feel sad, depressed, anxious, confused, or angry.
Take a moment now to reflect on the stories you live by…the mindsets and beliefs that color your view…the interpretations you add to the reality of things that may or may not be true…the ways you limit your full expression in life.
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Knowing that a happier existence must be possible, we’re called to a different way of approaching our problems. What is that way? A spiritual path that takes us outside our well-worn mindsets and beliefs to an exploration of our fundamental identity.
If we are not these limiting stories, who are we?
There is an underlying truth that is here to be discovered—and it’s found outside of our thinking minds. This is the aliveness that animates us, the pure vibration of life that is here behind our histories, viewpoints, and interpretations.
It’s our original innocence, available in every moment, that is perfectly whole—no matter what our minds tell us.
And here is where we find the true and sustainable solution to our problems.
Instead of trying to fix our problems by fixing and changing ourselves and our stories, we change our whole approach. How? By shifting our attention away from the mind’s thinking—and right into our direct experience of the moment, the alive awareness that holds everything in a field of unconditional love.
Now much more spacious and less attached to our thoughts, we gain a fresh perspective on the stories. If we can experience this present moment aliveness, even just a little, maybe these fear-based stories aren’t the truth of who we are. Maybe we can expand beyond them.
Maybe we can show up in the world free of the mind’s haze of inflexible thinking—and finally open to life as it actually is—beyond our veils of conditioning.
What is the true solution to our problems? Explore outside the distorted thinking that makes up what you think are your problems, and here’s what you’ll find:
• A clear understanding of what drives conditioned patterns;
• The capacity for deep compassion for everyone’s struggles, including yourself;
• Heartfelt connection with everything and everyone;
• Loving acceptance of feelings that arise; and
• Wise clarity about the actions to take.
But don’t take my word for it. Look beyond the familiar patterns of thinking. You just might find exactly what you’ve been looking for all along.