It’s All About How We Frame It
Recently, I struggled with an issue, and my mentor said, "Remember the Buddha's teaching; it's only a problem if you make it one."
Wow, right, it's all about how I frame it.
This made me think of how I speak. to myself about things I have to do that I resist.
Mel Robbins, a motivational coach, inspired me to change "I have to" to "I get to!" What an energetic shift!
I can view challenges as problems -that make them worse, or I can view them as something I get to work through.
This is a similar mind shift that speaks to the Buddha's three most fundamental attitudes:
1- relating to whatever happens in a relaxed, open way.
2- being interested.
3- approach with a friendly attitude of kindness.
Each of these attitudes is open-minded.
~ Relaxed awareness is wide open. It doesn’t try to fix or control.
~ It's a wakefulness that notices and is interested.
~ Friendliness is a natural and open tenderness and care.
When it's framed as a problem, we're not so open; we're fixated and stressed.
This is an opportunity to observe how we're handling our current challenges.
According to Chinese medicine, the observing mind is the consciousness of the spring. This is where we can shift old patterns that don't serve us by shining the light of awareness on them.
This can be done physically by noticing our furrowed brow, which is related to a problem, and allowing the brow to become smooth and wide.
Try it! Right now, see what happens to your mind when you expand your brow and lift the corners of your mouth. You'll find your mind opens up, brightens - and calms down.
When we open our minds, there are a lot more possibilities. We can become more creative in how we handle our challenges.
With a wide brow and a friendly, interested mind, consider your challenge and see if it shifts from a problem to 'just what's happening.'
Who would I be if I didn’t regard anything as a problem? It’s just life happening, pleasant and unpleasant.
Asking ourselves, who am I if there’s no problem right now?
This is the portal to being open, including what’s here without making it bad.
The Buddha’s teaching states that there is no freedom if we try to control things, and there is an assumption that something is wrong or bad or needs to be different - to be OK.
Or...It's just life happening- pleasant and unpleasant.
And at this moment, thousands of others are dealing with the same circumstance, so it's not my issue; it's THE issue.
This helps me not feel isolated but part of humanity when dealing with pleasant and unpleasant life events.
If you could use support in shifting your attitude from stress about life's problems to an open, friendly curiosity, join the upcoming Emotional Endurance Spring Program.
Meditations and breathwork will be taught to cultivate a new attitude about how we relate to life's circumstances. Yoga and qigong will be guided to release the issues in our tissues so we feel physically and emotionally free.
See below for details.
Namaste,
Maggie