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INNER PEACE First thing to do is solve the 84th problem Comment By Victoria Leo DailyTidings.com By Victoria Leo Posted Oct. 31, 2014 at 12:39 PM By Victoria Leo Posted Oct. 31, 2014 at 12:39 PM » RELATED CONTENT • Gratitude is key for a Cinderella wanna-be • Portal to freedom and expanded human potential • Illness: One road to inner peace • Consenting to receive yourself just as you are • Nonviolence as a transformative way to peace • Community Blog: Being at peace with your Inner Process • Inner Peace: Being in conscious presence or peacefulness » Social News I was re-reading the excellent "Being Zen" last night and came across one of the Buddha’s teachings that I thought had been written just for me (as all really great pearls of wisdom seem). A man came to the teacher with a list of 83 problems that he wanted the Buddha to cure or fix for him. The Buddha said, “Well, I can’t remove your 83 problems, but I can help you with your 84th.” The final — and real — problem, of course, was that the man was making himself physically and mentally sick with his upset and worry. That was the foundation of the issue that the wise one suggested that they tackle first.   When people ask me why I put so much emphasis on lowering my clients’ physiological arousal level (worry, upset, scared, etc.) — encouraging meditation, reiki, centering, yoga, breathing, mindfulness and so on —  I tell them that painting the second-floor bedroom is fun, but you need to do the dirty, hard work of setting the foundation first if you want a house that isn’t going to fall over and kill your loved ones. So if someone is upset and frantic because they need a new job, I spend time coaching them to a new, more effective resume and set up an action plan for them to take one or two steps toward distributing it to the people who might want to see it AND AT THE SAME TIME I spend time dealing with the "84th need." When you have calmed the maelstrom of your mind, you have tons of energy to put toward problem-solving. Your thoughts, because they aren’t being dissipated in 20 directions at once, flow fast and true down arroyos both well-known and brand-new. You “remember” all the good ideas that were blocked before. You also think new thoughts that you never thought before —  your thinking becomes more creative. There is no downside. The time you “waste” doing nothing but breathing and meditating you make up tenfold: You don’t “need” to watch TV to unwind; you don’t need a beer (good for your health and waistline); you can parent authoritatively, which builds trust and reduces conflict and defiant behavior; you can interact lovingly with spouse or partner, which reduces conflict, which improves your health and longevity; you tear through chores or projects that you didn’t even realize you were dragging through before. Just yesterday, I started the day with my usual meditation then went through a professional to-do list that was longer than my arm. I met someone at a networking party who wanted me to hire her to get more effective with my time. So I told her how I spent my days and she immediately diagnosed that I was wasting an hour a day exercising and the additional hour I spend in meditation and reiki self-healing. “What could you do with an extra two hours/day?” she asked me —  it’s a sales close, in case you’re wondering —  and I told her the truth: “Destroy my health, my well-being and the foundation of all my success and joy.” And I walked away. I recommend that you walk away from any similar advice yourself. Focus on your 84th problem while you take small steps to chip away at the most important of your 83. My prediction is that many of those 83 are just side effects of each other. Some others will fade in importance, some you will decide (when you are not coming from a place of fear) that others can do (it’s their responsibility and the world won’t come to an end if you don’t rush in to the rescue) —  or don’t really need doing right now anyway. Your energy, your creative thinking and your calm self-confidence will take care of the others. Try it every day for 30 days and see what results you get. As the Buddha said on his deathbed: Don’t take anyone’s word for anything, even mine. Be a scientist: test the idea, fairly and honestly, and see what you get. Ashland resident  Victoria Leo ( www.soaringdragon.biz, www.linkedin.com/in/victoriacleo)  is a life/health/career coach, clinical hypnotherapist and usui and karuna reiki healer and trainer.   By Victoria Leo DailyTidings.com By Victoria Leo Posted Oct. 31, 2014 at 12:39 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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