Summary
This page offers a way of enjoying problems and difficulties by the application of spiritual principals. This allows a person to get into gratitude for the opportunity to practice spiritual principals when unwanted events happen. Experiencing gratitude allows one to move from resisting the difficulty (sympathetic nervous system dominating ) to peace, calm and acceptance of the situation (para sympathetic nervous system active)
Background
A friend mentioned the title of a book titled Transforming Problems into Happiness by Lama Zopa Rinpoche. I was fascinated at this possibility and started studying the book. As I know very little about Buddhist terminology I struggled to, understand and implement the practise. But more was revealed
How it works, the first stage:Pain
Any time a person perceives a situation as a problem , difficulty or hindrance, what is happening is that the person is experiencing (suffering) an unwanted emotion (fear, anger, etc.) because they are not getting what they want (desire). (In the 12-step philosophy they are taking step one). Buddhist are experiencing the First Noble Truth and Second Noble Truth . From the perspective of Neurobiology their Sympathetic Nervous System of their Autonomic Nervous System has been activated.
How it works: The second stage:Hope
In the second stage, a person may come to believe that there is a solution and gain some hope that their is a way to reduce their suffering. This may look like the Second Step of the 12-step philosophy or the Third Noble Truth of Buddhism.
As the person is experiencing some hope that there is a way out of their suffering and start relaxing.
From a Neurobiological Perspective, they may begin sliding from a very active Sympathetic System towards a more active Para Sympathetic Nervous System,.
How it Works: Third Stage: Acceptance
If the person can get into acceptance of the situation, they will experience less suffering, stop resisting the situation. From a Neurobiological perspective they will want to move from an active Sympathetic Nervous System towards a more active Sympathetic Nervous System which is characterized by less fear, more trust and connection with others.
How it works: Into Action
In the 12-step programs, the recommendation is to work the 12-steps. In the Buddhist approach, the Fourth Noble Truth is that there is aa path that leads to the end of suffering. In this web-page , we suggest a path of gratitude.
How this path works: Gratitude.
In 1many spiritual philosophies, spiritual growth is usually accompanied by pain. . So the pain a person is experiencing could be an indicator of an opportunity for spiritual growth
Now the glass half full, half empty concept means we can change our perspective on ANY EVENT THAT HAPPENS. (including the Covid -19 pandemic).
Can we move into gratitude for the pain we experienced when the problem/difficulty occurred in our life becuase we now have the opportunity to grow spiritually .
Want to Implement these ideas?
Check out the web page “Remaining Happy, Joyous and Free if you would like to implement the notions on this page.
Acknowledgements.
Thank you , Laurie M. for informing me about Transforming Problems into Happiness by Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Reading this book gave me hope that it was possible to live in a world where I could experience happiness when difficulties and problems occurred.
And of course there are lots of 12-step concepts on this page , thanks Bill W. And some Buddhist stuff too, thanks Gautama.=
And the whole basis for these ideas is my understanding of the Autonomic Nervous System. Thanks Lissa Rankin, MD. for the effort you put into writing Mind over Medicine which introduced me to this world.
This page may be found at http://problems.peaceeaseuse.com
Disclaimer.
This site offers educational information and is not intended to provide medical advice. Please consult your physician before taking any action on the ideas expressed in this page to ensure your safety and wellbeing.
Copyright.
All material offered on this page is copyrighted Compassionate Coaching,2021 and may not be used without written permission.
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