Loving Thy Questions
The good fortune of the proximity of some of the thought leaders in my field of study pleasantly blinds me with this overriding existence of a sense of inquiry in all those who have ‘arrived’ or are very close to it. Irrespective of the age, level of material success or interest of these individuals, they possess a child-like quality of incessant inquisition, looking frantically from all sources for answers and inspirations.
This brings me to audaciously think and reaffirm my nascent belief that questions might just be more important than the answers. At the risk of getting caught into the proverbial chicken and egg situation, the exploration of the antecedence and consequence of ‘questions’ and ‘answers’ is a journey worth taking.
Concretizing the questions brings to life a whole new quest that is above any answers that are floating around us. More often than not, when we stumble upon the nugget of right question we would realize that our exploration for an answer is far deeper than what appears at the surface. Neal Donald Walsch in ‘Conversation With God’, reiterates what different genres of spirituality state- that we already know all the answers, what we are attempting is to remind ourselves of the knowledge that exists within ourselves – most of us experience it when we read or hear something that resonates with us – like a light bulb going on – somewhere inside us we already knew this. If that is the case, the questions we ask embrace an enhanced importance as they lead us to the ‘aha effect’ that reminds us of what we as a part of the higher power already know.
Richard Bach has come out with a book called ‘The Messiah’s Handbook’ that accentuates the importance of right questions. In the foreword he defines the way to use the book. He says we need to frame the question in our mind open the book at any page and read the answer. The “Devil’s Advocate’ in me has tried multiple times to find an instance where this would fail but to my delight the process perennially works. Infact he goes to the extent of stating that if we know our question we can find the answer anywhere in the universe- the newspaper, magazine, number plate of a car ahead of us or a billboard that we pass on our way to work – all that is required is the right question.
I strongly recommend subscribing to this website http://www.cwgcoachingservices.com/FreeQ.php. that sends a ‘Weekly Powerful Question’. To quote their philosophy behind this initiative: “There is great power in a simple inquiry. If life is a journey with no end, if it is a process rather than a destination, then living with penetrating questions might be the fuel that moves us forward. Pondering, reflecting, contemplating, dancing with the right questions can change your life!” Some of the questions they send are undoubtedly powerful enough for reflections for days and animated discussions with others – with the sole objective of knowing the question, irrespective of whether we find an answer or not.
Exploring is an art few are gifted with. Most of us are born as inquisitors but lose it in the corruption of growing up. Tolerance to ambiguity unfortunately has a course that spirals downwards – concrete, defined, fixed answers are what provide us with that security blanket which cheats us from the excitement of the unknown. Its only when we find that explorer within us will we be able to love the questions sans the qualification of an answer.
"Be patient towards all that is unsolved in your heart and dreams,
try to love the questions themselves." Rainer Maria Rilke
The good fortune of the proximity of some of the thought leaders in my field of study pleasantly blinds me with this overriding existence of a sense of inquiry in all those who have ‘arrived’ or are very close to it. Irrespective of the age, level of material success or interest of these individuals, they possess a child-like quality of incessant inquisition, looking frantically from all sources for answers and inspirations.
This brings me to audaciously think and reaffirm my nascent belief that questions might just be more important than the answers. At the risk of getting caught into the proverbial chicken and egg situation, the exploration of the antecedence and consequence of ‘questions’ and ‘answers’ is a journey worth taking.
Concretizing the questions brings to life a whole new quest that is above any answers that are floating around us. More often than not, when we stumble upon the nugget of right question we would realize that our exploration for an answer is far deeper than what appears at the surface. Neal Donald Walsch in ‘Conversation With God’, reiterates what different genres of spirituality state- that we already know all the answers, what we are attempting is to remind ourselves of the knowledge that exists within ourselves – most of us experience it when we read or hear something that resonates with us – like a light bulb going on – somewhere inside us we already knew this. If that is the case, the questions we ask embrace an enhanced importance as they lead us to the ‘aha effect’ that reminds us of what we as a part of the higher power already know.
Richard Bach has come out with a book called ‘The Messiah’s Handbook’ that accentuates the importance of right questions. In the foreword he defines the way to use the book. He says we need to frame the question in our mind open the book at any page and read the answer. The “Devil’s Advocate’ in me has tried multiple times to find an instance where this would fail but to my delight the process perennially works. Infact he goes to the extent of stating that if we know our question we can find the answer anywhere in the universe- the newspaper, magazine, number plate of a car ahead of us or a billboard that we pass on our way to work – all that is required is the right question.
I strongly recommend subscribing to this website http://www.cwgcoachingservices.com/FreeQ.php. that sends a ‘Weekly Powerful Question’. To quote their philosophy behind this initiative: “There is great power in a simple inquiry. If life is a journey with no end, if it is a process rather than a destination, then living with penetrating questions might be the fuel that moves us forward. Pondering, reflecting, contemplating, dancing with the right questions can change your life!” Some of the questions they send are undoubtedly powerful enough for reflections for days and animated discussions with others – with the sole objective of knowing the question, irrespective of whether we find an answer or not.
Exploring is an art few are gifted with. Most of us are born as inquisitors but lose it in the corruption of growing up. Tolerance to ambiguity unfortunately has a course that spirals downwards – concrete, defined, fixed answers are what provide us with that security blanket which cheats us from the excitement of the unknown. Its only when we find that explorer within us will we be able to love the questions sans the qualification of an answer.
"Be patient towards all that is unsolved in your heart and dreams,
try to love the questions themselves." Rainer Maria Rilke
posted by Garima at 12:06 PM
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