Questions to Ask Yourself If You Feel You Are In Crisis

If you feel you’re in crisis, here are some things you might want to consider:

1) What Is The True Meaning of Crisis -- What Is The Gift of Crisis?

When the beauty of inner work starts to unfold for us, we often discover the true meaning of our crises! Sometimes I like to say what would we do without our crises? Or – who would we be if we never met a good crisis? 

Just think about it. Without our crises, most of us would never grow or develop! We’d just stay stuck in our ruts and continue to be distracted by all the trivialities around us. But fortunately, most of us are blessed with crisis – that wonderful magic wand of change – that either nudges us gently or kicks us in the butt, forcing us to ask questions and perhaps even wake up!

When we look at it this way, we see that crisis is an alarm signal, a sign that something we are thinking or doing is preventing us from experiencing the happiness that is our true nature and birthright.

There’s another interesting thing about crisis. When we are young and inexperienced, we have a tendency to be terrified when we find ourselves in crisis especially if we have not been taught the value of crisis or how to investigate our thinking.


innerself subscribe graphic


Then as life goes on and we survive one or several major crises, we mature and begin to understand that we can probably deal with crisis and may even survive! We may even discover that what we once thought of as a crisis is really nothing more than our own inappropriate reaction to events that are quite beyond our control!

2) Is Crisis Just Resisting What Is?

If this is true, if crisis is just resisting what is, what happens if instead of running from what we call ‘a crisis’ and our anxious feelings, we eventually learn to stand quietly and take a good look at what’s going on.

When we do this, we discover that when we shine the light of awareness on events (also those we call a crisis) and our reactions to these events, amazing things happen.

3) What Is Our Definition of Crisis?

So… whether you consider yourself to be in crisis or not, sooner or later many of us discover that it’s all a question of dealing with our own thoughts and reactions to events and circumstances. When we realize this, we see that it might be a good idea to begin at the beginning when we are troubled or upset by events and ask ourselves – what in fact is my definition of crisis?

 It’s not that easy to define is it? Because this question leads us back to our own arbitrary standards and stories about what it takes to live a happy life. Without these arbitrary standards and stories, it’s pretty difficult to have a crisis. In fact we find that it’s almost impossible to have a crisis without having certain ideas or expectations as to what it takes to live a good life.

When we look at it like this, we discover that a “crisis” doesn’t have so much to do with the actual event or experience, but rather to how we respond to the event or experience. It’s interesting to contemplate, isn’t it?

So here’s what I’ve discovered:

Without our stories and unrealistic expectations to life, when new unexpected situations arise, it suddenly becomes more difficult to be troubled by these events or to be “in crisis” about them. Then, the experience is more like – oh well this is interesting! Or – what am I supposed to do here? Or – what am I supposed to learn here? Or – what’s this all about?

And then we can just sit back and relax and see what happens.

This article first appeared on Barbara's blog.
©2014 Barbara Berger.
All Rights Reserved.
Reprinted with permission of the author.

This article was written by the author of:

Are You Happy Now? 10 Ways to Live a Happy Life
by Barbara Berger.

Are You Happy Now?What is preventing you from being happy now? Is it your partner, your health, your job, your financial situation or your weight? Or is it all the things you think you “should” do? Barbara Berger takes a look at all the things we think and do that prevent us from living happy lives now. Barbara presents 10 practical ways to use this understanding in your daily life, your relationships, at work and for your health.

Click here for more info or to order this book on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1782792015/innerselfcom

About the Author

Barbara Berger, author of the book: Are You Happy Now?

Barbara Berger has written over 15 self-empowerment books, including her international bestsellers "The Road to Power / Fast Food for the Soul" (published in 30 languages) and "Are You Happy Now? 10 Ways to Live a Happy Life" (published in 21 languages). She is also the author of “The Awakening Human Being – A Guide to the Power of Mind” and “Find and Follow Your Inner Compass”. Barbara's latest books are “Healthy Models for Relationships – The Basic Principles Behind Good Relationships” and her autobiography “My Road to Power – Sex, Trauma & Higher Consciousness”..

American-born, Barbara now lives and works in Copenhagen, Denmark. In addition to her books, she offers private sessions to individuals who wish to work intensely with her (in her office in Copenhagen or on Zoom, Skype and telephone for people who live far away from Copenhagen).

For more about Barbara Berger, see her website: www.beamteam.com