Let me recognize the problem so it can be solved

One problem, one solution

“Everyone seems to have his own special problems. ²Yet they are all the same, and must be recognized as one if the one solution which solves them all is to be accepted. [CE W-79.2:1-2]

For all our problems, we seek ready-made answers in this world. We look for solutions precisely there: in the world. And if we do not find them, we panic. Let’s face it—we all frantically try every day to address the problems we face, especially on a global scale, considering everything that is happening. Solutions must be found. Yet, instead of solving problems, we seem to drift further and further apart. And that is precisely the issue: the sense of separation and the tendency to see things as separate.

Nothing stands alone. Everything is connected. We seem to be separated from each other—each in a different body—and also divided by time and space. However, according to A Course in Miracles, this is not true. Separation is the great illusion because we are not apart—we are one.

Now, when we look at a problem—any problem—the Course asks us to examine it more closely. While problems may seem different, we must look beyond appearances and ask ourselves what the problem truly is. In our Course practice, we ask the Holy Spirit (or, if you prefer, inner guidance) to reveal the true nature of the problem—and then, we wait.

This morning, after a night of hardly any sleep, I lay in bed knowing I had to get up early for work. Before rising, I read my lesson for the day and practiced Lesson 79: Let me recognize the problem so it can be solved. [CE W-79:1]

I focused on my ‘specific’ problem: how to cope with the day ahead after barely any rest. I asked, “What is the problem? Let me recognize the problem.”

At first, I thought my problem was simply struggling through the day while feeling exhausted, fearing that I wouldn’t manage at work. But I sat in silence and waited for an answer. And, of course, it came. The answer was: “The problem is that you think you are alone.”

That was not something I would have come up with on my own.

Yet, the answer was so illuminating. This was, indeed, my version of the problem of separation! I feared that I wouldn’t cope because I believed everything was up to me alone. But that is not true. I am not separate from everything else. All things work together for good if I trust that I am guided and allow myself to be led. I realized that it did not even matter what I specifically did at the office—it was more about remembering that I was not alone. Everything was, in fact, already as it should be. This realization allowed me to truly enjoy my day of togetherness with my colleagues!

The lesson states:
No one could solve all the problems the world appears to hold. ²They seem to be on so many levels, in such varying forms and with such varied content, that they confront you with an impossible situation. ³Dismay and depression are inevitable as you regard them. ⁴Some spring up unexpectedly, just as you think you have resolved the previous ones. ⁵Others remain unsolved under a cloud of denial and rise to haunt you from time to time, only to be hidden again but still unsolved. [CE W-79.5]
[…]

²If you could recognize that your only problem is separation, no matter what form it takes, you could accept the answer because you would not lose sight of its relevance. ³Perceiving the underlying constancy in all the problems that confront you, you would understand that you have the means to solve them all. ⁴And you would use the means because you recognize the problem. [CE W-79.6]

[…]

⁴We 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. [CE W-79.8:3-4]

And so, this applies to all problems. Take, for instance, a common issue we all experience from time to time: “I feel like my loved one or friend is angry with me. What do I do with this ‘problem’?”

I ask: “What is the problem? Let me recognize the problem so it can be solved.”

The real issue -and the answer of what the problem is- is that I mistakenly believe that behavior has the power to separate. However, neither behavior nor judgment can divide what is one. The awareness that the problem and the answer are already united brings peace. I know that my loved one and I are already connected in every way that truly matters.

I realize it is crucial to allow the true answer to come to me during quiet reflection on the lesson in which I state that so important question of “What is the problem? Let me recognize the problem so it can be solved.”. Otherwise, the ego mind will hijack the problem again and turn it into something complex.

If we could immediately recognize the root of every problem—namely, separation—we might not be so easily deceived by the ego. But the ego is a trickster—so who am I fooling?

Until… the day comes when we are no longer fooled by the ego at all. And that day might be now—in the blink of an eye. Because in this moment, all is quiet, peaceful, and joyously alive within me. I sense the infinite oneness. And the more moments of oneness we experience—woven together—the better we become at turning away from whatever illusions the ego tries to present as (many) problems.

From many problems to one problem.
From many solutions to one solution.
A solution that is already present—because the one central problem has already been answered.

⁵One problem, one solution. [CE W-80.1:4-5]

Love, Valentine 💗