Practical Problem-Solving Through Meditation

Have you ever found yourself struggling with a problem or personal issue and no matter how hard you try to think your way to an answer, your mind goes round and round until your head hurts? It’s frustrating. You feel stuck. You can sense that an answer is there, but it’s just beyond your reach.

Michael Gottlieb, master teacher and founder of Royal Way Spiritual Center, explains it this way: “You cannot solve a problem at the level of the problem.” If we look deeply, this teaching leads to an immense new understanding.

Rising Above the Level of the Problem

There’s a clear implication to the phrase “You cannot solve a problem at the level of the problem”—that is, the intriguing concept of different levels of consciousness, and the ability to move between them. Michael gives an example:

“Life functions on multilevels. The same rain that grows wheat crops in Iowa destroys towns on the Mississippi. The same sun that tans beautiful women on the Riviera turns the Sahara into a desert.”

He continues: “Life functions on many levels. The ability to appreciate some, many, or all of them depends entirely on where we are. If I am on a farm in Iowa, I see only the wheat growing abundantly. If I am in an airplane high in the sky, I see not only the crops of Iowa, I see also the destruction of the Mississippi floods. If I am stuck in one level, I am appalled at the unfairness to these innocent men, women, and children driven out of their homes into misery and poverty without just cause.”

We Can Access Different Levels of Consciousness

By so vividly illustrating the concept of different levels of consciousness, Michael is suggesting that we have the ability to shift our vantage point from which we view life. If we’re stuck in judging the rain as something negative that causes destruction, then we’re likely to get caught up in anger, frustration, resentment, etc. This clouds our thinking and actions. If we can rise to a different level of consciousness, we can gain greater clarity. We see the essence of rain contains both positives and negatives. This applies broadly, throughout life. From this balanced viewpoint, Michael says, “All our energies are free to deal effectively with the situation.”

This is easy to understand in the example of the rain. Why, then, is it often difficult to practice when we feel stuck in the face of a personal challenge?

The ‘Clinging Mind’ Makes Us Stuck

Put simply, Michael Gottlieb teaches that the reason we get stuck is because of what he calls “the clinging mind.” We have mental sets and thought patterns that have been ingrained for so long that it’s indeed difficult to break out of them. Sometimes we can’t even see the problem, let alone solve it. So how do we move beyond this limitation? Michael teaches, “The way to let go of the clinging mind is to practice meditation. That is where you draw awareness away from identification with thought. The very definition of meditation is ‘away from thought.’”

Developing Higher Consciousness Through Meditation

Meditation allows us to rise above the level of the clinging mind to different levels of consciousness, to higher levels of consciousness, to greater clarity, and into the expanse of higher consciousness. Michael writes:

“The vibratory frequencies of consciousness are infinite. And at each different level of consciousness we see, hear, feel, think, and understand differently. And as we move to higher and higher levels of consciousness, we begin to see with the light of divine clarity and become a knowing of the ultimate reality.” He continues: “But just hearing about it will not achieve this. It requires meditation.”

At first, developing the ability to meditate may take practice. Often, we are so habituated to the mind’s constant drama and struggle that we don’t want to let go of our thoughts, even if they’re causing pain and negativity. We think this is normal—we think our thoughts are who we are, and the feeling of quieting the mind and allowing a new space to arise feels awkward—sometimes even a bit scary.

But the reward is so fulfilling. As we go deeper into meditation, the weight of the mind’s burdens from the past and projections into the future subside. Without the constant, repetitive grind and noise of mind chatter, we find the ability to rise above the level of any problem. We find a space where new insights and clarity arise. New pockets of energy, creativity, and inspiration open. Far from losing the mind, we sharpen it, allowing it to function at a much higher level.

As we can see, when Michael Gottlieb says “You cannot solve a problem at the level of the problem,” he is inviting us to discover meditation. “Put simply,” Michael writes, “Meditation is one of a very few effective ways of learning how to live fully.” Through this transformative practice, we quiet our thoughts, enabling us to harness new levels of clarity and understanding. Everyday issues and problems become easier to resolve as we experience powerful new strata of living.