When we face difficult times, how we perceive the situation we are in may cause depression. It is not what happens in the world around us, what other people say or the promise of a dismal future, but by our own mind. When we focus on our thoughts, our own brains create our experience. If you believe that, then you have the power to create positive experiences during difficult times.
When you face a life-threatening illness or the loss of your job, that positive experience may not change the particulars of your situation and turn tragedy into a phony happiness; but it can take you deep where you perceive your situation from a wisdom that brings comfort. That comfort isn’t like laughter, but it brings a spiritual fulfillment and a deep satisfaction.
In difficult times, that satisfaction is better than the best joke, for it makes you feel so real. In the same way at the funeral for a person you love, there can be happiness without laughter. A step beyond the giddiness type happiness is the wholeness type happiness. That is where two hearts meet in the moment and share a beauty of life that is profound. Sharing that quality in every situation possible, makes life greater that particular situations.
Every life has ups and downs and every life has nothingness. If you live for the ups and learn to cope with the downs, you may ignore the beauty of nothingness. Imagine those times of solitude when nothing is happening. That is the majority of most people’s life. When the depth of your appreciation transcends the ups and downs of life, you can begin to appreciate simple silence.
In that silence is our experiential connection to our Higher Self. That is where a Spiritual moment becomes sacred. It is the home of creativity and of our true aspirations. It is from that depth we pass through the threshold that goes beyond our mind-made limitations. Think of any situation you struggle with from that depth. From that perspective, it isn’t the external job or relationship that depresses you; it is your own thoughts.
In the same way you cannot wash the floor you are standing on, you cannot change the thoughts you identify with. Entering this evolved consciousness is like rising above the floor you stand on to wash it or going beyond limiting thoughts. It is also like going beyond what you identify with so you can change or improve it. Re-own that nothingness (the silence beyond thoughts) and set your mind free. If you are ever depressed, realize the situation is not your biggest problem; your own thoughts cause depression. Realize your own thoughts are not your only reality. So, if thinking depresses you, find the freedom beyond thinking and tap inner experiences that take consciousness beyond depression. Then from that depth follow a path that is creative and not limited by thinking. You may still be in a bad job, in a lousy relationship or forced to deal with health challenges…but you are free to manifest to your full potential.
Learn to use a health challenge as a living example for this depth. Go to ahealthywaytobesick.org to find this beyond thought reality is as simple as breathing. No matter what challenge you face, beyond thinking is a powerful solution. Create this powerful habit and realize the beauty in life includes struggle.
© Marc Lerner & Life Skills 2010
Marc Lerner is the President of Life Skills Institute and has been working with people in a health crisis since 1982. Learning to discover oneself in difficult times is the theme of A Healthy Way to be Sick, the e-book Marc Lerner wrote. Go to http://ahealthyway.org to read a mini-version. Learn this same technique to deal with any difficult time with the e-book, A Light Shines Brighter in Darkness, at the same website. Marc Lerner is available for public speaking and tele-seminars. When you learn to master inner resources and avoid negative thinking, you automatically tap powerful inner resources to become an active partner with medical professionals. Patient participation can influence the results of the doctor’s treatment. The doctor’s relationship with the patient can also influence how the patient participates in healing. Marc’s work is dedicated to establishing this partnership.