The mind and beyond

The world is like a gym, and life itself is like a set of weights.

Can you imagine someone going to the gym in order to gain muscle, and then complaining about lifting weights? That would be strange because we recognize that the muscle develops as a result of overcoming resistance to movement represented by the weights. Something somewhat analogous happens in life.

The world is like a gym, and life itself is like a set of weights that continuously opposes our objectives in a controlled fashion so as to promote development without injuries. Each problem we face has three interconnected dimensions – physical, mental and spiritual. Hunger, for instance, is a physicalproblem when it hurts and it may result from poor decisions made in the past; the mental dimension, while encouraging us to question our relationship with the Earth and our need to receive constantly, the spiritual dimension.

We come to this world for the same reason that we go to the gym – to develop ourselves. This point of view helps us transform the way we perceive life. We now see opportunities to develop ourselves whereas before we only saw problems. We all want to grow and to do better so, from now on, let us welcome all of life’s lessons.

This idea is simple and ancient. Why then, do most of us still feel that we have true problems? It may be useful to ask ourselves about the utility, or the function, that a certain characteristic or behavior serves, when attempting to understand why something happens.

What purpose then, even if unconscious in nature, is served when we perceive a situation as a problem instead of as an opportunity for growth? I suggest that we look at three common features, frequently observed in clinical practice: the quality of the consequent action, parental punishment, and divine justice. By consequent action we mean our response to an event.

We may not be able to prevent someone from offending us, for instance, but we are certainly in charge of what we do as a result of the supposed offense – that is the consequent action. Whichever consequent action we take depends heavily on our interpretation of the events.

When we interpret a certain situation as a problem we feel somewhat at liberty to act dishonorably; as the saying goes, “All is fair in times of war.” The action consequent to a situation that we perceive as a problem is always beneath the capacity and development of our true self.

Our fullest potential manifests when we interpret situations as opportunities for growth. The cumulative effect of consequent actions beneath our own standards is a lack of luster often called failure. Failure does serve a purpose, albeit an unconscious one: punishing our parents for what we take to be their errors towards us. This “punishment” stems from resentments that may occur subconsciously.

So, insisting on seeing problems where normal situations occur serves the purpose of justifying the unconscious punishment of our parents, since they now must contend with a failed child.

Finally, we consider the possibility that interpreting situations as problems fuels the idea that life is unfair, and that ultimately God himself is unfair, thus providing us with a great justification for our own unfairness. We all have the ability to restore true perception and correct interpretation of events by means of forgiveness.

We can forgive ourselves for the instances when we did not act, as well as for when we acted beneath our potential. By forgiving ourselves for our past, we ensure the quality of our future. We forgive our parents, and other people whom we think wronged us.

Doing this opens the way for major success in all areas of our lives. We reach spiritual success as we are illuminated by a knowledge and certainty that is unshakeable. Life is indeed unfair, but in our favor.

The favorable unfairness is known as Divine Grace. If life were completely fair, we would be judged by the full extent of karmic law, which would be unbearable for most of us. Realizing this truth from within ourselves does more than eliminating all of our “problems”

– it fills us with a genuine sense of joy and gratitude.