A problem cannot be solved if you do not know what it is. Even if it is really
solved already, you will still have the problem because you cannot recognize
that it has been solved. This is the situation of the world. The problem of
separation, which is really the only problem, has already been solved. But the
solution is not recognized because the problem is not recognized.
Everyone in this world seems to have his own special problems. Yet they are all
the same, and must be recognized as one if the one solution which solves them
all is to be accepted. Who can see that a problem has been solved if he thinks
the problem is something else? Even if he is given the answer, he cannot see its
relevance.
That is the position in which you find yourselves now. You have the answer, but
you are still uncertain about what the problem is. A long series of different
problems seems to confront you, and as one is settled the next one and the next
arise. There seems to be no end to them. There is no time in which you feel
completely free of problems, and at peace.
The temptation to regard problems as many is the temptation to keep the problem
of separation unsolved. The world seems to present you with a vast number of
problems, each requiring a different answer. This perception places you in a
position in which your problem solving must be inadequate, and failure must be
inevitable.
No-one could solve all the problems the world appears to hold. They seem to be
on so many levels, in such varying forms and with such varied content, that they
confront you with an impossible situation. Dismay and depression are inevitable
as you regard them. Some spring up unexpectedly, just as you think you have
resolved the previous ones. Others remain unsolved under a cloud of denial, and
rise to haunt you from time to time, only to be hidden again but still unsolved.
All this complexity is but a desperate attempt not to recognize the problem, and
therefore not to let it be resolved. If you could recognize that your only
problem is separation, no matter what form it takes, you could accept the answer
because you would see its relevance. Perceiving the underlying constancy in all
the problems which confront you, you would understand that you have the means to
solve them all. And you would use the means because you recognize the problem.
In our longer practice periods, we will ask what the problem is, and what is the
answer to it. We will not assume that we already know. We will try to free our
minds of all the many different kinds of problems that we think we have. We will
try to realize that we have only one problem, which we have failed to recognize.
We will ask what it is, and wait for the answer. We will be told. Then we will
ask for the solution to it. And we will be told.
Our exercises for today will be successful to the extent to which we do not
insist on defining the problem. Perhaps we will not succeed in letting all our
preconceived notions go, but that is not necessary. All that is necessary is to
entertain some doubt about the reality of our version of what our problems are.
We are trying to recognize that we have been given the answer by recognizing the
problem, so that the problem and the answer can be brought together, and we can
be at peace.
The shorter practice periods for today will not be set by time, but by need. You
will see many problems today, each one calling for an answer. Our efforts will
be directed toward recognizing that there is only one problem and one answer. In
this recognition are all problems resolved. In this recognition there is peace.
Be not deceived by the form of problems today. Whenever any difficulty seems to
rise, tell yourself quickly:
"Let me recognize this problem so it can be solved."
Then try to suspend all judgement about
what the problem is. If possible, close your eyes for a moment, and ask what it
is. You will be heard and you will be answered.
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