Imagine if, in the story of the Princess and the Pea, the princess had tried to make her bed more cushy? If she had added more mattresses and feather ticks to the pile, it wouldn’t have made her any more comfortable. Not until she removed the pea from beneath the very bottom mattress would she have gotten a good night’s sleep.
In this way of looking at the Princess’s story, that little pea is the issue under the issue. Let’s see how we can find our own “pea” without piling up twenty mattresses first.
The way to find the issue under the issue is:
1. Take the situation to general, emotional language
2. Poke around for where else you have that “general, emotional” situation going on
3. Do the work on what comes up, even if unrelated to original subject
1. Take the situation to general, emotional language
Start by listing the emotions and generalities of the situation. This will be what the surface issue has in common with the underlying issue. So describe the current situation in emotional words. Be descriptive but remove the specifics of the current situation.
This approach can be easier to visualize with a physical condition. So if your back is hurting, your description might be that you’re limited in your movement. That you feel like you lifted something that was too heavy. Maybe you are annoyed that you need “help” to be comfortable [if you have to use a back pillow or wear a supportive brace]. And let’s say you resent the time and money this is costing [if you’re spending time and money to get treatment, and to buy the pillow and the brace].
I added the information in brackets for your ease in reading this short explanation here; those specifics would not be part of your process. Removing the bracketed information, note that there are layers of description in there.
Do you see how those descriptive phrases are not specifically about the back pain?
Here are the phrases: Limited in movement. Feels like lifting something too heavy. Annoyance at needing support. Resenting the time and money it costs.
Include all of those layers as you do the next step. Then take a mental look around to see where these phrases are describing something else going on in your life.
2. Poke around for where else you have that “general, emotional” situation going on
Even if you don’t normally do written work, it’s very helpful to write things down when doing “issue under the issue” work. As you try different situations on for size, it’s easy to bend and reshape the original descriptive phrases. That’s why it’s good to do this in writing.
Write the exercise down using pen and paper so that you don’t forget one (or two) descriptions. Another reason to write it out is because we all tend to start changing the original descriptions as we look at other parts of our life. Referring back to our original general language will keep things on track in our process work.
When things don’t click, step away for a bit
If you don’t immediately see where else this energy is active in your life, then take a break. Let the ideas percolate as you focus on something else. Often the connection will seem to pop up out of the blue after you’ve laid this groundwork.
When you start to think of connections, write down everything that seems at all a match. You can edit the list later. Right now you want to invite yourself to include as much as possible.
Remember, we’ve been hiding this issue underneath other issues. Part of us has been avoiding facing this issue. It might not be crystal clear at first glance.
Whatever comes up that feels like it may be a match, that is what to do your work on.
3. Do the work on what comes up, even if unrelated to original subject
Well, let’s say “especially” if what comes up is unrelated to the original subject. Back to our example of back pain, the descriptive phrases were: Limited in movement. Feels like lifting something too heavy. Annoyance at needing support. Resenting the time and money it costs.
Pretend that we came up with two areas where these emotions appear appear. We’ll say that we notice this at work and with the dog:
- Work: I’m overloaded at work [lifting a heavy load]. I’ve been working too many hours and it’s affecting my home life [limited in movement]. I am going to have to hire someone to do some maintenance at my house that I would do myself if I weren’t working so many hours [annoyance at needing support; resenting the cost]
- Dog: I’m limited in where I can take my dog for walks because he reacts to other dogs [limited in movement]. I’ve bought so many books and videos trying to come up with a solution [resenting the cost and time of support]. I’ve even taken him to doggy therapy, which was effective, but it takes a lot of time and is very expensive [resenting the time and cost of support]. I feel like I should be able to manage my dog’s energy myself [annoyance at needing support].
Now, do processes on the subjects of the job and the dog
Basic gridwork is a good process to start with at this point. You already have some words for the emotions. And it will be easy to come up with more as you write out the contrasting situations with the job and the dog.
As you do this work, remember to keep taking the vibrational temperature. Especially as you’re bridging phrases from the surface issue, keep checking in with yourself to make sure the language is a match to what you’re working on. Be open to impulses for wording and be open to ideas of better-feeling thoughts.
Beware of “Big Issue” Syndrome
Just because there’s an underlying issue does not mean that it’s a big issue. Especially when it’s long-standing, it can be something that’s actually not that big a deal for you anymore. Meaning, it may be something that you will shift your energy on fairly easily.
Just as the pea was very small compared to the pile of mattresses, likewise a small issue can have farther-reaching effects than one would expect. It may be a stubborn issue but it might not be. So stay open to the possibility of it being a surprisingly easy issue.
Whichever it is, remember that it is necessary to do your work (move your energy) on the underlying issue. It won’t be enough simply to identify it.
Summary
When a situation doesn’t shift, or the shift doesn’t last, then consider that there might be a proverbial pea underneath. Look for an issue under the issue. One way to do that is to take the contrasting situation to general, emotional language.
Use that descriptive list of emotions and phrases, then poke around for where else in your life you have that “general, emotional” situation going on.
Then do the work on what comes up, even if (especially if!) unrelated to original subject. While sometimes the solution will as small as a little pea, remember to actually remove the pea. It’s not enough just to identify it.
Next Step
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Get Short Daily EmailsAll Abraham material is copyright J&E Hicks. This article represents Teresa Rogovsky's personal understanding of the teachings of Abraham.