Understanding Self Holds The Key

This column proposes to find solutions to life’s many problems within our own minds. It is a spiritual journey that helps harness the power of the mind to seek inner peace.
Have you ever looked out at the world and seen irrational behaviour, been affected by decisions, and overwhelmed by systems, customs and traditions that just simply don’t make sense? How do we begin to understand having the ability and resources to grow more than enough food– and yet we throw away so much food that people go hungry? How do we manage to spend so much money and yet solve so few problems? How can we love our family members and still hurt the ones we love?

To begin to accumulate the wisdom to understand and solve these problems, the first thing we need to do is realize that all problems are by nature spiritual “problems.” Why? Because all creativity, decision making, feelings, thinking and remembering is done or felt by spiritual beings occupying human bodies. It is spiritual beings that are making decisions; and so if our creation is flawed it must reflect the flawed awareness of our spiritual identity and reality, and flawed understanding and beliefs within the I, the creator of my actions.

The first step for anyone on a spiritual journey of any kind is to realize: who am I? Am I really just this incredibly sophisticated body of flesh, bone, water, atoms and molecules? And again: what is consciousness? My consciousness?

Another helpful principle is to realize I am not just conscious and aware but by nature I am powerful, positive and virtuous by nature, even if not in action, ie everyone has good intention although they don’t necessary realize how to manifest good intention into action.
In Hindi, there are some wise words which all rhyme, which help illustrate this point: as is my smritti (awareness), so will be my stitti (stage), so will be my vritti (attitude), so will be my drishti (vision), so will be my kritti (actions), and so will be my srishti (world).
All things created in this world were created on the basis of thought, and thoughts are based on beliefs and values, and values and beliefs are based on self-awareness.

If we don’t realize we are spiritual in nature then our outlook or point of view will cause us to overlook the solution that is in plain view. In fact, if we understand the relationship between creator and creation, the creator being the seed and the creation being the fruit (result).

The creator always has to be more powerful than the creation, because the creator has to infuse his/her power into creating the creation. This applies to our flaws as well. Whatever is in the seed will always be in the fruit.

This tells us that merged in all our problems is the solution. We only have to learn to see the problem correctly. Most of us, however, get overwhelmed seeing the problem, or confused, and thus lose stability. Stability is essential in order to be detached enough and patient enough to find a solution.

Understanding the self and the spiritual laws that govern action can be a very empowering and positive way to finding solutions to any problem.
Remember, Your mind does matter.