What are the important questions we can ask ourself?

[Songtsan]

So, like....I was thinking that there are good times for questioning our selves, where the question is an action which will derive fruit. For example. if one is in a state of apoplexy, confusion, or 'not knowing what to do with oneself,' then asking oneself: "What would be one of the best things I could do with myself right now"? and sitting with a clear mind and allowing the wise answer to come about might produce something useful.

 

Other examples might be:

 

"Who am I"?

"What is this"?

"What is the best way to handle this"?

"What's really going on here"?

 

It's maybe better not to talk too much to oneself in the head, but if you are already talking to yourself and aren't stopping and you know that you are like that, then using a specific set of questions that will lead you in a better direction is useful.

 

The questions can become focal points for redirection....basic common sense.

 

I'm sure you all have done this before many times.

 

Where you catch yourself in a moment and redirect the energy by asking yourself the question....

 

What are the neat questions you use?

 

[Stosh]

What do I do now?

Yes you said that one. But its the biggest one. The important one.

Edited April 5, 2015 by Stosh

[Jetsun]

Why am I doing what I'm doing? Eg why am I meditating

What do I really want from my life? From my practice.

 

I heard an interview with Adyashanti the other day and he says over the years he has met thousands of practitioners and very few of them could answer the simple question of why they were meditating with much clarity or precision or what they really wanted out of it. Which is a pretty strange situation really.

[Josama]

What is it that makes me truly happy?

 

True happiness is part of the light that's why every activity that makes one truly happy can lead to enlightenment in time.

[blue eyed snake]

what can I learn from being ill again.

How can i stay/ get back in a contented mood in this situation

[Nikolai1]

You WILL recover! You definitely will.

[Josama]

what can I learn from being ill again.

How can i stay/ get back in a contented mood in this situation

 

The realization that your true self can never die. Once you realize that nothing is able to faze you, you will be extremely happy.

Edited April 5, 2015 by Josama

[Nikolai1]

The ability to see illness as something that will pass IS knowing your true self! The moment we get lost in an illness we are no longer our true selves but locked in a local vision.

[blue eyed snake]

well,

 

I think the OP asked for important questions we can ask ourselves. Even though these questions are now relevant for me, i think they're relevant in general.

 

many people get sick and need to deal with pain, fatigue, often fear and uncertainties. Therefor I posted it, not so much looking for answers in this thread.

 

Concerning the answers you give

 

You WILL recover! You definitely will.

 

I don't know that I will recover, and for me it's not the most important thing either. a lot of people don't recover and die as a result of illnesses, we all die in the end. For me the question is: in what way can I use this illness/experience to develop further. To go on developing I need to be contented in the situation and that is what's lacking the last few days

 

The realization that your true self can never die. Once you realize that nothing is able to faze you, you will be extremely happy.

That my true self can't die is no news to me, doesn't make me especially happy, is just the way it is.

 

The ability to see illness as something that will pass IS knowing your true self! The moment we get lost in an illness we are no longer our true selves but locked in a local vision.

Illness doesn't necessarily need to pass, but indeed, it's sucking me up now. I'm getting fed up with the unending pain and fatigue. And that was my , general,  question, how to deal with that.

 

So many people have to deal with that, especially the elderly

Edited April 5, 2015 by blue eyed snake

[Josama]

well,

 

I think the OP asked for important questions we can ask ourselves. Even though these questions are now relevant for me, i think they're relevant in general.

 

many people get sick and need to deal with pain, fatigue, often fear and uncertainties. Therefor I posted it, not so much looking for answers in this thread.

 

Concerning the answers you give

 

 

I don't know that I will recover, and for me it's not the most important thing either. a lot of people don't recover and die as a result of illnesses, we all die in the end. For me the question is: in what way can I use this illness/experience to develop further. To go on developing I need to be contented in the situation and that is what's lacking the last few days

 

That my true self can't die is no news to me, doesn't make me especially happy, is just the way it is.

 

Illness doesn't necessarily need to pass, but indeed, it's sucking me up now. I'm getting fed up with the unending pain and fatigue. And that was my , general,  question, how to deal with that.

 

So many people have to deal with that, especially the elderly

 

I didn't mean knowing on an intellectual level, but feeling it.  When you switch into your true self then you see that it doesn't matter. That's so because the pain and fatigue is not part of yourself. The real you is always perfect, always flawless unable to be fazed by anything.

[thelerner]

1> What time is it?

2> Where did I put my keys?

 

might not be the most important questions

   but they're the ones I ask most often.

[blue eyed snake]

I didn't mean knowing on an intellectual level, but feeling it.  When you switch into your true self then you see that it doesn't matter. That's so because the pain and fatigue is not part of yourself. The real you is always perfect, always flawless unable to be fazed by anything.

 

sorry for the original poster, I'm  derailing again..

 

When you think that my knowledge is purely intellectual and when you feel that when that ' knowledge' is not intellectual but really felt the resultant is  

<<<When you switch into your true self then you see that it doesn't matter. That's so because the pain and fatigue is not part of yourself. >>>

 

well, as said, i do not agree with that.  What you call the true self is, at this moment, living in this body and has this mind as an instrument. Both are severely out of order and that influences the ways I can use them.

 

Happiness, or even being " extremely happy"  by the way is a much overrated emotion for the simple reason that it has a flipside , i prefer contentedness.

 

and I wonder why you post this (again), your remark is not helpful, and even though I do not want an answer on this question, you may ask yourself the reason/motivation for posting this.

[Stosh]

Hmm why did he post that if you disagree, 

why did you post that if you dont care about the answer? 

why did I post this if i think it comes down to petty bickering? 

[Josama]

sorry for the original poster, I'm derailing again..

 

When you think that my knowledge is purely intellectual and when you feel that when that ' knowledge' is not intellectual but really felt the resultant is

<<>>

 

well, as said, i do not agree with that. What you call the true self is, at this moment, living in this body and has this mind as an instrument. Both are severely out of order and that influences the ways I can use them.

 

Happiness, or even being " extremely happy" by the way is a much overrated emotion for the simple reason that it has a flipside , i prefer contentedness.

 

and I wonder why you post this (again), your remark is not helpful, and even though I do not want an answer on this question, you may ask yourself the reason/motivation for posting this.

No actually, you are right, there was probably no need to post it. Then how about you try chanting 'namo amituofo' that's what I wanted to include originally, but didn't. That practice Gives you the feeling 'that everything is going to be all right', can't imagine anything better. Sorry, I will clip out here, I didn't want to pick at you, I just wanted to help you. Sorry I actually expressed myself not ckearly. I am actually in a situation that is in some ways similiar to yours. I am possessed by a demon which takes away my yang chi and so my health, fatigue is standard for me. However, more than that I have other demons attacking me constantly. I can understand that you are frustrated, you feel powerless just like me. However, after chanting I realize that it just doesn't matter because my higher self can't be fazed.

 

May the light be with you.

Edited April 6, 2015 by Josama

[thelerner]

Ask the big questions superficially and you'll get superficial answers. 

 

Maybe we need to put ourselves in the right place, right mindset and with plenty of time before we can truly answer the big ones. Only then do we have enough clarity and force of mind to find the answers powerful enough to change our lives. 

Edited April 6, 2015 by thelerner

[Stosh]

Im actually toying with the ol idea that after one learns the ropes one doesnt need to remember the guidelines. and rephrasing  that turns into, once you get the gist , just forget the theories.  If you think about the moves , you lose speed, if you are keeping the ideas as philosophy, well then they dont feel like they are being generated by yourself, they feel artificial. Asking oneself the questions is part of a learning process, but at some point one needs to trust that they have the stuff down pat , and find out what it really all amounts to. Yeah one may need to go back , and revisit issues , but one also needs to trust themselves. 

Folks born into a system feel like they belong , us New Yorkers rarely visit the Empire state building. Most of us ,We take it for granted, so if someone wanted to feel like they fit in ,they go to a movie, or central park, or Coney Island, instead. 

Now for sure I havent done this much myself, let go of the theory, and trust that I really meant everything I said on a deeper level, and Im giving it a roll now, because I just dont believe in the great big specific transformative event, but instead think that there are pivot points in our fate, we ride a wave or create a milestone, but the tide was shifting anyway, and we really just need to stay in touch with that subtle creeping of the moon.

Edited April 6, 2015 by Stosh

[GrandmasterP]

Why me?

[Stosh]

Why me?

Is that really a helpful question? 

[blue eyed snake]

No actually, you are right, there was probably no need to post it. Then how about you try chanting 'namo amituofo' that's what I wanted to include originally, but didn't. That practice Gives you the feeling 'that everything is going to be all right', can't imagine anything better. Sorry, I will clip out here, I didn't want to pick at you, I just wanted to help you. Sorry I actually expressed myself not ckearly. I am actually in a situation that is in some ways similiar to yours. I am possessed by a demon which takes away my yang chi and so my health, fatigue is standard for me. However, more than that I have other demons attacking me constantly. I can understand that you are frustrated, you feel powerless just like me. However, after chanting I realize that it just doesn't matter because my higher self can't be fazed.

 

May the light be with you.

 

It's all right Josama, don't feel bad about it. I'm just very irritable at the moment and you got the reaction, I'm sorry for that.

 

wish you well,

 

BES

[GrandmasterP]

Is that really a helpful question? 

 

Screaming ' Why me?'... Takes away the pain.

 

[Perceiver]

How do I get laid?

 

An important question I ask myself every day .

[gendao]

If you were waning into the twilight of your last years, months, weeks, days, hours on this rock...what would you wish to be, do or say and to whom, how or what?  How would your epitaph read?

And how are or why aren't you already doing all those things NOW?

[Stosh]

I know what my epitaph will read. 

 

Here lies Stosh, we had no idea what the heck he was talking about.

Dona eis requiem.    

[doc benway]

So, like....I was thinking that there are good times for questioning our selves, where the question is an action which will derive fruit. For example. if one is in a state of apoplexy, confusion, or 'not knowing what to do with oneself,' then asking oneself: "What would be one of the best things I could do with myself right now"? and sitting with a clear mind and allowing the wise answer to come about might produce something useful.

 

Other examples might be:

 

"Who am I"?

"What is this"?

"What is the best way to handle this"?

"What's really going on here"?

 

It's maybe better not to talk too much to oneself in the head, but if you are already talking to yourself and aren't stopping and you know that you are like that, then using a specific set of questions that will lead you in a better direction is useful.

 

The questions can become focal points for redirection....basic common sense.

 

I'm sure you all have done this before many times.

 

Where you catch yourself in a moment and redirect the energy by asking yourself the question....

 

What are the neat questions you use?

Another important question we can ourselves is, should I be asking myself questions or is there perhaps some other technique to use that could be even more beneficial?

 

I've used a variety of questions over the years (decades) and some have been mentioned.

Lately I've been using a different approach. 

Rather than use a question, I take that moment of mindfulness to go in a different direction - non-conceptual. 

 

Certainly the intellect can be useful in our practices but I would wager that most of us think way more than necessary and don't practice nearly enough non-conceptually. 

 

So rather than ask myself a question, I practice meditation during those moments. 

It's just what I'm doing now. I'm not saying it is necessarily better or worse than other approaches.

I will say this - it is much better for me and where I'm at currently. 

I am seeing much more happening and changing in me than when asking myself questions. 

[Songtsan]

I hear you on that. I only use the questioning as a centering device, which after being asked is then left behind, leaving a blank mind. A sort of redirection when the mind is all over the place.
 

Some other questions might be:

 

"What is really important in life, vs. what is frivolous"?

 

"What can I get rid of that will make my life more pointed and productive"?

 

"What am I doing that is causing me unnecessary suffering"?

 

But yeah, usually if one just sits with an empty mind in a serene state, all the answers will arise without even having asked any questions.....