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The Principles of Spiritual Living

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Got Problems?

Got Problems?

Last updated on: May 11, 2016 at 6:00 am by Terry Drew Karanen

Got Problems? 2016-05-10T14:49:33-06:00 Terry Drew Karanen

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Okay, so first of all, the graphic here is a kinda true! Ernest Holmes taught us that our reality is a real as we need it to be. The question here is how “real” do we want our problems to be?

Do you have problems? “OH NO!!!” screams the metaphysician in horror. “We NEVER have problems! We have ‘challenges’ or ‘opportunities,’ but NEVER problems! That’s so NEGATIVE!”

Reality check. We in New Thought and metaphysics need to realize how afraid some in our movement have become of this little word. What IS a “problem” anyway?

While we may avoid them or try to admit they don’t exist, problems pop up and ignoring them can be disastrous. Here’s the skinny on “problem,” according to the Oxford Dictionary:

A matter or situation regarded as unwelcome or harmful and needing to be dealt with and overcome, or an inquiry starting from given conditions to investigate or demonstrate a fact, result, or law.

It’s not the end of the world and having one doesn’t mean someone takes away your minister, practitioner or spiritual counseling license. Lighten up, folks! We didn’t choose to float on pink clouds and giggle all day. We chose to live in the corporeal realm here on a planet with exquisite joys and annoying pains. There are now more than seven billion other spirits having a spiritual experience on earth and it’s gonna get messy at times!

Don’t be afraid of the word “problem.” It doesn’t mean half of what some people would like you to believe. Other words that can be used are difficulty, trouble, worry or complication if you’re that terrified of a seven-letter word. And, it can also be a challenge as well as an opportunity.

But to tell someone, with a giddy smile on our face, so excited that we’re about to wet ourselves, who’s just been given a diagnosis of stage 5 cancer, or who’s just found out their house burned down, that they have an “opportunity for growth” is just plain wrong.

It’s unloving.

It’s unkind.

And, it’s cruel.

This is NOT the way to enhance The Global Vision: A World That Works for Everyone. So what can we do? Love them. Support them. Refrain from sympathy and exercise empathy. Be there for them.

And above all, pray with them to know the Truth. This week’s theme is, “Communion With God.” While prayer is one of the ways we can do this, there are numerous other ways as well. Some of these other methods will be of interest to those reading who are agnostic or atheist, as there’s virtually no reason to commune with an entity one thinks doesn’t care or who doesn’t exist.

Throughout the week over at the Facebook® page for Spirit, Mind and Body Foundation we’ll be looking at embracing spiritual guidance – both guidance from what appears outside us as well as what is already available in our own consciousness.

Returning to our topic here about problems: Do you have any? Probably. We all have situations in our lives that we’d rather not tackle. Often those issues are brought about through means that seem totally out of our control. Either way, there’s a fool-proof way to handle them.

Acknowledge the problem.
Approach the situation like a medical triage unit – figure out what MUST be done right away, what SHOULD be done and what COULD be done.
Do what MUST be done.
Delegate authority and/or responsibility for what someone else could do for you.
Get professional or experienced help if you need it.

We don’t have to tough it out when stuff happens and it’s going to. Like everything else, however, how we deal with the problem will determine whether it gets resolved quickly and easily, or whether it gets morphed into a huge issue that could affect our health, wealth and well-being.

Like with everything else in life, the choice is ours. How will you choose to handle your next problem?

In Spirit, Truth and Playfulness,
Terry

#DrTerryMakingSense
#TheGlobalVision
#AworldThatWorksForEveryone

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