A problem comes hurtling your way and throws you off balance, you feel stuck and no matter what you do the solution won’t come and you find yourself running in circles!
You cannot find the solution while still staying stuck at the level of the problem
What does that mean?
Well, the mindset, circumstances and beliefs that were around when the problem happened are incapable of finding the solution to that problem. You have to uplevel!
That particular mindset was helpful in recognising all essential parts of the problem and preparation required for it but it is not enough to give you the relief and satisfaction of the solution!
Don’t you ever wonder why the government of any country, the management of an office, a household or even the world crises at large keep facing the same type of problems again and again? And in this, very few find proper and innovative solutions and are able to finally break the “slump”
This is because either an individual going through life or as a collective planet going through any crises we keep focusing on the blithering problem! We’ll have discussion panels about it, we will have meetings and emails and long talks leading nowhere. We will find each and every pitfall and each and every future pitfall and wrong turns this problem “might” bring but none of us focus on the frequency of the solution!
And if by the twisting fate of the nineteenth realm some poor enlightened innovator will introduce a solution, someone will try to squeeze a problem into that or someone else might say “who asked for this?” And everyone will continue with the grind. Oh how the humans love the idea of the glorified grind! More than ice cream on a hot summer day!
It is obvious that the solution of the world crises or even the management in your office is not on your shoulders, *cue sigh of relief * but you must uplevel in your own world and move past the problem.
But how can I find the solution if I do not acknowledge and study about the problem?
As I often say about reality, same principle applies to the subject of the problem- there is a difference between acknowledging the problem and being addicted to the problem
You bruised your knee and you have a wound, you’ll examine it and check whether it’s serious or not and accordingly you’ll proceed with the solution such as cleaning the area, applying antiseptic,bandaging etc. or if it’s serious then going to the doctor
But it would be absolutely damaging if you keep poking it to check and “make sure” you have figured it out correctly
So, how to uplevel from the problem to the solution?
You need to turn around your thoughts and emotions. When stuck in the problem we are frustrated and hopeless but when we find the solution we are relieved, happy and satisfied
The mind is utterly powerful yet annoyingly simple. People who study the mind have found one thing in common. The mind has the same reaction within it when the person goes through a particular situation in physicality and when the person “imagines” to be going through that situation. So, if the love of your your life kisses you on the forehead and later when you imagine it again, the mind “feels” it is going through the same thing, although the intensity may be different.
Note: this DOES NOT mean we can fully replace physical aspects with the state of imagination, kindly invite common sense for assistance.
However, we can carve a path for the desired physical aspect through our imagination. This particular characteristic of the mind helps as a “hack” (sorry, modern lingo) to elevate to the level of the solution.
I can already sense the stench of skeptism in the air and scrunched noses with the thought “Really?! Aren’t you making things too simple and (maybe naive)?”
To this I say “Aren’t you making things too difficult for you? Loving the problem more than the solution?”
One of my favourites, Albert Einstein regarded imagination higher than knowledge and used it to decipher and come up with all that he had given the world. He often conducted experiments and tried out his theories in the expansive area of his imagination. One of which was “chasing after a beam of light”
Although the logic folk call these as “visualised thought experiments”
(Boring! They’ll call it anything but imagination)
Call it anything you want, it doesn’t matter. You can call it “alchemising elements from the other dimension” The key takeaway is, if it worked for one of the greatest physicists of the world to come up with these life-altering theories it will certainly work for you and I and the problems we face.
How to use this “hack”?
Ask yourself
How would I feel after I have found the solution?
Don’t think about the exact solution yet. Shift your focus subtly on the feeling. Relief, satisfaction, confidence.
Allow yourself to feel that without feeling guilty or stressed. When you stay in this feeling often you will begin to see a shift. From being stuck in the grind to elevating to the place of ease. This mental and emotional shift will bring an external shift. Your mind which was in rut before will see things from a clearer and more broader perspective and the solution will be apparent. But you must allow yourself to be free in the expansive areas of your imagination.
Try this today, start small and be ready to notice the shift
Until next time
Imagine and expand!
Sangmitra
