Often the issues we are working on aren’t new. In fact, I tell clients we don’t get new issues; the old ones just keeping coming around for a new look at them. But our tendency is to continue to see them in the old way and that leads us to the same dead end. You’ve seen this bumper sticker? “Insanity is acting the same way and expecting different results.”

Photo by Flickr user Zanastardust

In last week's entry on meditation I promised an exercise to help you get a new perspective on whatever is bothering you. The following can help shift the way you see or experience what is troubling you. Imagine the problem is contained in a bubble in front of you. As you inhale think about it. As you exhale release it into the bubble. See the familiar detail, and everything related to it. Go back in time sensing other moments that resonate with this issue. Remember, it probably didn’t just start with the current dilemma. Next broaden your view. What’s around the problem? The first thing I hope you realize is that the problem is separate from you. It’s important to not try to solve it. Just look at it. Allow another part of your brain to get involved. I think of this as giving it to my “wise self.” You can also invite a guardian/deity/trusted witness to join you. Then let go and return to focusing on your breath.

Whenever your identified problem comes to mind, just see it in the bubble. When we did this exercise in my meditation class all of us were surprised that it took awhile to sense a shift, to be able to relax with the problem outside ourselves. So, if you feel frustrated you are probably close to letting go. Throw the frustration into the bubble, too. Then let go and meditate, returning to noticing your breath.

Over the next hours or days, become aware of how you feel differently about what you put in the bubble. Often times a solution comes without having to do anything. This advice actually comes from Rainer Maria Rilke in Letters to a Young Poet. His message - paraphrased - is learn to love the questions and some distant day you’ll live into the answers. I’ve found that I often gain an insight just by putting my concern in the bubble. Other times someone will say something - completely out of context - that illumines it. I’ve also had the experience that after the meditation I find the problem just doesn’t bother me anymore.

As a mental health professional, an owner of a fitness studio, a writer and a wife, mother and grandmother, I have found meditation to be helpful in every aspect of my life. Let's talk... To learn about my meditation classes you can reach me at susanmmorales@yahoo.com or check out my websites: susanscottmorales.com and bodiesinbalancefitness.com