Being with your problems

The surprising, and beautiful thing about meditation, is that it doesn’t solve all my problems, it expands the way I understand my mind, which shifts the way I orientate to my problems. 

There's a Zen saying that the tea teacher, Wu De, says; that the greatest problem man has is that we think we shouldn’t have problems.

The greatest problem man has is that we think we shouldn't have problems.

Mmm...a subtle but significant shift to how most of us conventionally learn to deal with our problems – get rid of them or fix them.

 We will always have problems. All of us. Things we don’t want, things that bring us discomfort, things we wish were better. This is not about bypassing, it's about softening, 'being with' in a different way, and importantly, how we spend our energetic resources.

Learning how to be with my problems has been one of my greatest achievements in the last few years. Meditation has been an indispensable part of that.

If you’ve tried meditation and not been able to get into it, I love this from Tibetan Meditation Master, Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche -

"The first thing that happens when we begin to meditate, is that we learn just how crazy our minds are. Many of us take that as a sign that we are not cut out for meditation. Actually it is just the opposite, it’s the first sign that we are becoming familiar with our own mind. It’s a great insight. You will be fine."

For more on beginning a meditation practice, other practices I do to keep me centered and connected, and more about my own journey...have a listen to the recent conversation I had with the wonderful Laura from Space With-In, ‘Beginning to find your Zen’.

You can listen here or find in all the usual podcast places.