Let Me Recognize the Problem So It Can Be Solved.
1. You cannot solve a problem if you do not know what it is.
²Even if it is already truly solved, you will still have it because you cannot recognize that it has been resolved.
³This is the situation of the world.
⁴The problem of separation, which is really the only problem there is, has already been solved.
⁵But the solution is not recognized because the problem itself has not been recognized. I
2. In this world, each person seems to have their own special problems.
²But they are all the same, and they must be recognized as one if the one solution that solves them all is to be accepted.
³Who can see that a problem has been solved if he thinks the problem is something else?
⁴Even if he is given the answer, he cannot see its relevance.
3. This is the situation in which you find yourself now.
²You have the answer, but you are still uncertain about what the problem is.
³You think you are dealing with a long list of different problems, and as one is resolved, another appears, and then another.
⁴It seems to have no end.
⁵You never feel completely free of problems and at peace.
4. The temptation to regard problems as many is the temptation to keep the problem of separation unsolved.
²The world seems to present you with a vast array of problems, each requiring a different answer.
³This perception places you in a position in which your way of solving problems must be inadequate, and failure is inevitable.
5. No one could solve all the problems the world appears to hold.
²They seem to be on so many levels, in such varied forms, and with such differing content, that they seem to confront you with an impossible situation.
³As you perceive them, discouragement and depression are inevitable.
⁴Some arise unexpectedly, just when you thought you had resolved the previous ones.
⁵Others remain unresolved beneath a cloud of denial and emerge from time to time to haunt you, only to hide again, still unsolved.
6. All this complexity is but a desperate attempt to not recognize the problem, and therefore not allow it to be solved.
²If you could recognize that your only problem is separation—regardless of the form it takes—you could accept the answer, because you would see its relevance.
³If you could see the underlying sameness of all the problems you face, you would understand that you have the means to solve them all.
⁴And then you would use those means, because you would have recognized the problem.
7. In today’s longer practice periods, we will ask what the problem is, and what the solution is.
²We will not assume we already know.
³We will try to let go of all the kinds of problems we think we have.
⁴We will try to realize that we have only one problem, which we have not yet recognized.
⁵We will ask what it is, and wait for the answer.
⁶It will be told to us.
⁷Then we will ask for its solution.
⁸And that, too, will be given. II
8. Today’s exercises will be successful to the extent that you do not insist on defining the problem yourself.
²You may not be able to let go of all your preconceptions, but that is not necessary.
³All that is required is that you question the reality of your version of what your problems are. III
⁴You are trying to realize that in recognizing the problem, the answer has been given—so that the problem and the answer can be seen together, and you may be at peace.
9. Today, the shorter practice periods will not follow a fixed schedule, but will be used as needed.
²You will see many problems today, and each one seems to require a response.
³Try to recognize that there is only one problem, and only one answer.
⁴In this recognition are all problems resolved.
⁵In this recognition is peace.
10. Do not let yourself be deceived today by the form in which problems appear. IV
²Whenever difficulty arises, say immediately:
³Let me recognize the problem so it can be solved.
⁴Then try to suspend all judgment about what the problem is.
⁵If possible, close your eyes for a moment and ask what it is.
⁶You will be heard, and you will be answered.
I Here we are told that the problem is separation—but what does that really mean? In what way can knowing that separation is the problem help me here and now, in daily life?
It is quite likely that today’s Lesson will seem very difficult to you; that is normal. Perhaps the best approach is simply to read it carefully, do the practice as instructed, and see what happens. In tomorrow’s Lesson you will find an explanatory note on the nature of the problem mentioned here.
It is important that your experience today not be influenced by the descriptions of others. Work through the Lesson with kindness, an open mind, and all your good will.
Be certain that you are loved to a degree you are incapable of conceiving or imagining. You are looked upon with infinite tenderness and protected at every step you take, even though you do not yet know it.
Work well today and expect an answer; but if it does not come, do not worry.
II Do not expect the answer to come to you in a particular way that you have imagined. Who knows how the answer will reach you! It will come in a form specific to you. It will be an absolutely personal experience.
III This line is important. Realize that, in order to hear the answer, a receptive mind is necessary. If your mind is clinging to its own interpretation of reality, it will hardly be able to hear an answer—and if it does, it will very likely perceive it as an attack on its beliefs and respond with a counterattack.
All that is asked of you is to question your way of describing the problem, not to deny or reject it; doubting it is enough—nothing more is required.
Bring to mind any problem you tell yourself you have. You certainly have an explanation to justify your disturbance about that situation, but ask yourself: what is it that makes this a problem? Why does it disturb you?
Do not answer yourself. Keep your mind open and receptive to an answer that must come from beyond yourself.
IV This, too, is very important: do not confuse form with content. The problem is not the form it takes, but that which makes it a problem. All the problems of the world are nothing more than different manifestations of the idea of separation. That is the root of the problem. When you recognize it, you will be able to resolve them all, for they are children of the same mother.
As an exercise, try to observe the different problems you believe the world has from this perspective. It will not take you long to see that the idea of separation underlies them all. Nothing more is required. Simply recognize what the real problem is. This Lesson asks nothing more of you than that.