Turning Problems Into Opportunities: Story & Meditation

Hi,

I'm so glad that you're joining me today.

I'm going to guide us through three parts of this meditation process.

A story time,

A short talk,

And then lead us into a guided meditation.

Before I read the story to you that I want to share,

I'd like to tell you a little bit about how I discovered it.

I discovered a wonderful children's book called What Do You Do With a Problem?

It is written by Kobi Yamada and has beautiful illustrations by Mae Bessam.

When I stumbled across the book,

I read it and loved how Kobi,

The author,

Walks children through the process of being scared when problems arise,

And yet how you face them and move through it and learn how to take a problem,

Work with it,

And create new opportunities.

After reading the book,

I reflected on this story,

And although the original intention is for children,

It can also be helpful for adults as well,

And to work with our inner children and the fears that we sometimes face when problems arise for us.

We can explore this process together.

With the blessing of Kobi Yamada,

Mae Bessam,

And Compendium,

They have given their permission for me to read Kobi's children's story to you.

This story will then lead me into sharing my own personal experience about how I used the process of the book when I was facing things that were a problem for me.

After I share my own personal experience,

I would then like to take us on a guided meditation where we can move together,

Working on the energy around a problem that you might be facing in your own life and looking to transform it.

Let's move into story time.

I'm now going to read for us.

What Do You Do With A Problem by Kobi Yamada.

I don't know how it happened,

But one day I had a problem.

I didn't want it.

I didn't ask for it.

I really didn't like having a problem,

But it was there.

Why is it here?

What does it want?

What do you do with a problem,

I thought.

I wanted to make it go away.

I shooed it.

I scowled at it.

I tried ignoring it,

But nothing worked.

I started to worry about my problem.

What if it swallows me up?

What if my problem sneaks up and gets me?

What if it takes all my things?

I worried a lot.

I worried about what would happen.

I worried about what could happen.

I worried about this and worried about that.

And the more I worried,

The bigger my problem became.

I wished it would just disappear.

I tried everything I could to hide from it.

I even found ways to disguise myself,

But it still found me.

And the more I avoided my problem,

The more I saw it everywhere.

I thought about it all the time.

I didn't feel good at all.

I couldn't take it anymore.

This has to stop,

I declared.

Maybe I was making my problem bigger and scarier than it actually was.

After all,

My problem hadn't really swallowed me up or attacked me.

I realized that I had to face it.

So even though I didn't want to,

Even though I was really afraid,

I got ready and I tackled my problem.

When I got face to face with it,

I discovered something.

My problem wasn't what I thought it was.

I discovered it had something beautiful inside.

My problem held an opportunity.

It was an opportunity for me to learn and to grow,

To be brave,

To do something.

It showed me that it was important to look closely because some opportunities only come once.

So now I see problems differently.

I'm not afraid of them anymore because I know their secret.

Every problem has an opportunity for something good.

You just have to look for it.

The End.

I hope you've enjoyed this story as much as I did when I read it.

For the next part,

I'd like to share a short personal story with you about how I recently worked with a problem of my own,

Just like Kobe's character in the book.

I was preparing to go on a teaching trip from Tucson all the way to New York at Chautauqua Institution.

I was scheduled to teach a four-day class connecting people with meditation,

Breath work,

And writing poetry about trees.

Now,

I can be a shy person,

Especially when it comes to going to places I've never been,

Meeting new people that I don't know,

And teaching a class that is new to me as well.

Because of all these things together,

I began to feel anxious inside about my upcoming trip.

Now on the outside,

When my friends and family see me,

I appear quite confident.

Sometimes they don't know that I'm having anxiety inside.

I was beginning to feel more and more nervous as my trip began to approach.

And just like Kobe's character in the book,

I felt that this anxiety was growing bigger and bigger inside of me.

At first,

I told myself,

Well,

I just won't go.

That will solve everything.

If I don't go on the trip,

Then I don't have to travel,

I don't have to meet new people,

And I can just stay home.

My inner voice said,

Shannon,

That's just silly.

You know you want to go do this.

And just as Kobe's character faced his fear,

Because some opportunities only come once,

I realized that this opportunity to teach at Shatakwa might not come back.

So I thought,

I need to face my problem and ask for help.

As I sat down with myself and asked,

What do I do with this problem?

I asked,

Where do I look for help?

That's when I reached out to my friends and my family,

Letting them know how I was feeling inside.

I asked that if my friends and family and my spiritual community could give me a blessing for my trip,

To surround me with lots of good energy and to hold me in a space of love,

That having them surround me with these blessings would help me travel more lightly and be able to encourage my bravery on my trip.

And guess what?

They did.

They all sent me blessings and love and carried me in their heart as I went on my trip to teach.

Just like Kobe's character,

I was able to create an opportunity out of what at first seemed like an insurmountable problem.

I would now like to move into the guided meditation part of this lesson.

We will be working together on the energy that's surrounding a current problem that you might be facing.

We will bring it in,

Sit with it,

Have a conversation,

And begin the process of shifting it from a problem into an opportunity.

I do this process in a way that is direct and yet gentle at the same time.

Let's move into the guided meditation now.

Begin to notice your breath,

Taking in some longer,

Slower breaths,

Allowing your lungs to fully expand.

And find yourself in a comfortable position,

Either seated or lying down.

Feel the earth beneath you,

Grounding yourself with her loving support.

And in this grounded space,

Begin to inhale,

Moving your breath from the earth up through your spine,

Your back,

Shoulders,

And out the top of your head,

Connecting with your higher self,

Your divine connection.

And exhale,

Moving the breath back through your body,

Down your spine,

Out your legs,

And back into the earth.

Let's do this deep connective breath one more time,

Inhaling up through mother earth,

All the way to the top of your head.

And exhale from the top of your head,

All the way back down.

And close your eyes gently,

Move your breath into a natural rhythm that is comfortable for you.

From this grounded loving space,

We will set the intention that in this moment,

You are safe and surrounded and protected during this process.

Allow the list of things that come up in your mind of things to do later be temporarily held for you while you do this inner work.

Now in your imagination,

I'm going to ask you to call your awareness to a location in which you can imagine yourself sitting during this process,

One that looks and feels beautiful and grounded and safe.

You can imagine yourself sitting at home,

Or it might be a location in nature like a forest or by a stream.

You might imagine yourself sitting at the beach,

Listening to the ocean,

Or sitting on the top of a mountain.

Allow your imagination to show you the place where you will find yourself during the rest of this guided meditation energetically and find yourself present in that place now.

In the place that you have imagined yourself,

Begin to make this place sacred to you.

What objects or things can you put in this place that makes it feel like a sacred,

Safe place to you?

Do you add candles or cushions?

Do you imagine a fire pit in the center?

Are there lights surrounding you?

Take these next few quiet moments to imagine how you would create a sacred space within this place that you will be seated.

Within this sacred,

Beautiful space that you have created for yourself,

Now find a place within it to sit quietly and breathe deeply,

Connecting to that which you have created.

Take a deep breath in and exhale.

With intention,

When you are ready,

Ask yourself,

Your body and your higher self this question,

What is a current problem I am facing that wants me to be present with it now?

Ask this question now and see what rises to the surface for you.

If more than one thing presents itself,

Choose the one that you feel ready to sit with today in this meditation.

Take this time now to see which problem comes forward for you to work with.

With this specific problem that has presented itself to focus on,

Bring it now into your attention and your mind.

Now that you have attention to it with this focus,

Begin to gently scan your body.

And when you think about this problem that you are facing,

Where emotionally does it live inside your body and what does it feel like?

This will be different for each person.

For example,

You might feel it in your stomach and notice that it becomes tightened.

Or you might notice it sitting in your chest as a heavy feeling.

Or you might notice a sharp pain that sits behind your shoulder blade.

Scan your body now and allow this information to show itself to you.

Once you have located it,

See what it feels like inside.

You do not have to sit with this feeling for the whole meditation,

Just for this moment.

Take this time now to gather this information.

The next step is to move the problem and this feeling that it has in your body out of your physical body and into a space where we can spend time with it.

Imagine an object in front of you in which you would like to energetically place the feelings of the problem where it can be stored during this meditation.

It might be a box or a stone,

A crystal or a jar.

See what object appears for you where you can store these feelings.

Now hold this object in your hands and ask the feeling of the problem to begin to move out of your body and into the object that you are holding.

The intention is to be able to have a conversation with these feelings.

Allow the energy to move from your body into the object now.

In this next step,

I will ask you to look around the sacred space that you have created and find a place across from you to set this object down on.

You can imagine that it might be a pillow that's seated across from you where you can place a jar or if it's a small table on which you place it or if it's a stone you may place it across from you on the ground.

Take time now to see how this looks for you in this space.

Once you have created this place,

Gently set the object down and place it in the space in front of you.

Take a deep breath in and exhale.

Before we begin a dialogue with your problem and the energy around your problem,

I'm going to ask that if it feels appropriate for you to call into the space either your higher self,

A guide or angel,

Or an ancestor that would like to hold the space with you to be there while you have conversation with you and your problem in a loving way.

If no one presents him or herself that is okay too.

Take time now to see who comes forward to be in the space with you.

Now we are ready to be in conversation with the problem that has presented itself to you today.

The first thing I will ask you to do is to share with your problem why you see it as such,

How it makes you feel inside and how it feels like it affects you.

You are in a safe place and sharing is coming from your heart.

So take the time now to share with the problem that sits across from you how you are feeling in this moment.

Allow this Take a deep breath in,

Allowing your words and feelings to be held in this space.

And exhale.

In conversation,

It is wise to hear the dialogue from the other side as well.

You have shared what is on your heart with the problem across from you.

Now allow your problem that energetically sits with you in this space to also share with you why it is in your life right now,

What it wants you to know in this moment.

Even though it may be difficult to listen to what it shares with you,

As we honor its voice and the voice of the problem,

We honor its energy that is present so that we can bring understanding to it,

That we may begin to shift it.

Listen now in this sacred,

Safe space to what it shares with you.

Take a deep breath in,

And exhale.

You and your problem have now shared with one another,

And when you are ready,

Ask the energy of the problem along with the wisdom of those who are with you these questions.

Why is this problem present in my life now?

And what opportunity do I get to experience that this problem is presenting to me?

Through this problem,

What am I getting to learn about myself that will help me be a stronger person,

Even in this difficult,

Vulnerable place?

Listen to the insights that rise to the surface for you in this next quiet moment.

Take a deep breath in,

And exhale.

With all this information that you have gathered,

Ask within yourself if there is a solution present or available for this problem currently.

If you hear a yes,

Take this next moment to listen to what solutions present themselves.

If you hear a no,

Just know that it may not be ready yet to take action.

Whether the answer you have heard is a yes or a no,

Take this next quiet moment.

To either hear the solutions,

Or to find a peaceful place within to sit with the unknown.

Take a deep breath in,

And exhale.

I would like you to take time to find gratitude for either the peace that is made within you and what will come forward as you work with this problem.

Or gratitude for solutions that have presented themselves for you to implement after we finish this guided meditation.

Take time now to thank the problem that sits across from you for helping you become more stronger,

Braver person.

I will ask you to gently pick up the object now in your hands and ask it where it would like to be placed within this sacred space after we finish.

Where would it sit?

Where would it sit?

And ask it where it would like to be placed within this sacred space after we finish.

Where would it like to find a home?

This place might be if you're in a forest.

It might be a nest in a tree where you place it.

Or if it's a stone,

You might place it in a river.

If the object is a necklace,

You might place it in a box that sits on a shelf.

Listen to the object and what it shares with you about where it would like to be held and stored.

Let this information come forward to you now.

Now that the object has shared with you where it would like to be held in this space,

Ask your guide,

Your higher self,

For your spirit to take the object from you and place it in this location.

Allow this to happen now in this moment.

Let us take some quiet time now to integrate all that has happened during this time together.

Integrate the feelings,

The information that you and your problem have shared with one another.

We will take time now to rest in this loving space,

Integrating all that has shared with you.

Take time now to rest in this loving space,

Integrating all that has shifted.

Take a deep breath in and exhale.

Thank yourself for sitting in this sacred space and taking the time to dialogue with the feelings that live within you.

Know that you are brave and that we walk this journey together.

Take a deep breath in and exhale.

And open your eyes when you are ready and find yourself back in the present moment.

As we close the guided meditation portion of this piece,

Remember that sometimes the solutions to our problems don't always happen linearly and sometimes the best solutions are not always the easiest.

Allow the process in your life to unfold in the timing that is best for you in a loving and gentle way.

And just as the young character in Kobi Yamada's book was able to find opportunity within his problem,

I believe that you can as well.

I ask that you be blessed on your journey,

That solutions arise to the surface easily for you.

That the opportunities transform into something beautiful and new.

And that you remember to always ask for help from source or divinity,

From angels,

From friends or family or loved ones.

And that you are open to solutions that present themselves,

Even if they might look different from what you have expected.

And that you are open to the things that you have expected.

Thank you for joining me on this journey.

Have a beautiful day.

Namaste.