I wanted to talk tonight about the self-inquiry question that we ask in our meditation practice.
I haven't talked about it in a while,
Not kind of giving it a full talk,
And we also have some new people,
So I think it would be helpful for them to hear kind of the purpose,
The meaning behind the self-inquiry question.
And for those of us that have been asking this question for a while,
It's always a good reminder to remember the purpose and the deeper meaning and guidance that we're getting in this question.
So the question is,
What is it that you want more than anything else in the world for yourself?
This is the most important question in the world.
If we are not asking ourselves this question,
We won't know the answer.
If we don't know the answer,
How are we going to find what's most important to us?
So when we ask this question,
We're not asking for what we want in the external world,
In our external conditions—a new job,
A new house,
A new car,
A holiday—not that there is anything wrong with any of those things,
And there's nothing wrong with wanting any of those things.
They are not the most important thing,
Though,
And we have been making the external world the most important thing in the world for us.
And we know how that's turned out.
It's not so good for us—a lot of grasping and clinging and wanting and desires and chasing and worries and fears,
Whether we'll get it or not,
Or someone else is getting it and we're going to get left behind.
All of this angst,
All of this suffering,
So that if we ultimately get it,
For some fleeting moments of happiness.
So the self-inquiry question,
When we ask what is it that we really want,
I'm asking us to look inside.
What is it you want to feel?
What is it you want to know?
What do you want your experience on this earth to be?
And I'll often offer some words of guidance,
Words like inner peace,
Love,
A sense of belonging,
Contentment,
Joy.
If you're on a spiritual path,
Your words might be enlightenment,
Might be self-realization,
You know,
It might be to know God.
But I offer these words simply as pointers so that you don't get distracted and look in the wrong direction.
Because we really do need to make sure that the words that you're,
The answer that you're receiving in this question need to be your words.
So when we ask the question,
What is it that you want more than anything else in the world for yourself,
Allow that question to sit in silence,
To rest in the present moment trusting that the words will arise.
This is where we get a little tempted to want to force the answer,
To maybe just pull one of the words that I suggested,
Like,
Oh,
You know,
Enlightenment does sound pretty good.
Like,
Yeah,
Just throw that out there.
But it's not your words and it doesn't have the same power,
Doesn't have the same purpose if it's not coming from that deep well of inner wisdom that's within each and every one of us that we access in the stillness,
In the present moment.
So when we allow those words to arise,
And they're our words,
They're your words,
They're specific for you,
They are the best advice,
They are the best words for you to point you on your path.
The words that I use,
My answer is for my path.
Your answer needs to be for your path.
Because while I believe we are ultimately all landing or arriving in the same place,
There are an infinite number of paths to get there.
And we all have different experiences,
And different words have different meaning for us,
And we're at different stages of our path.
And so when those words,
When they're your words,
Arising from that deep well of inner wisdom,
You know they're your words because they arise with a sense of serenity,
Of tranquility,
Of equanimity,
Of joy,
Of bliss even,
Because there's this,
It's kind of like a surprise,
Like,
Yes,
That's exactly it,
I couldn't quite describe what it is,
There's something in our heart that's matching up with it,
And going,
Yes,
That's what it is.
So you know when they're your words,
You know the feeling that arises when they're your words,
You know you're getting the right advice,
The right pointer when they're your words.
And every time we ask this question,
We want to let the question rest in the stillness,
In the presence.
Just because we answered one way the day before,
Maybe the same way the last seven days before,
Doesn't mean that's the answer we're going to get today.
Because as our intention becomes clearer to us,
The more we ask this question,
And as our actions align with our intention,
Our path becomes clearer.
And once we,
As we continue walking down our path,
We get to a certain point where we need a new signpost,
To take from Eckhart Tolle,
Signpost.
Words that maybe wouldn't have made as much sense to us three months ago,
Or six months ago,
Might have even frightened us.
But now we got the words we needed then,
To get us that far.
Now we need new signposts.
We need new words,
Because our intention starts to become more refined.
And again,
We are accessing this guidance deep within us,
Deep within the presence and stillness that knows us better than anyone,
Better than we know ourselves.
And when we learn to trust that,
To trust the present moment and the guidance that we're receiving,
And to trust that this is coming from such wisdom,
Such kindness and compassion for us,
Saying,
These are the words that are going to help point you in the right direction,
That we can then trust these words.
And we can let these words be our guide,
Reminding us again and again of what's most important.
So that when we're going out and about during our day,
We know what the tendency is.
Our tendency is to get lost in the world again.
We say we want happiness,
But we run to misery.
I don't remember who said that quote,
But it's so appropriate,
Because we do.
We say,
Eckhart Tolle says,
We say we want enlightenment one minute,
And then we want chocolate cake the next minute.
We're so fickle.
We're still so pulled in to the external world.
So we have to be really mindful of that,
Mindful of that tendency for us to want to get lost in the external world.
So when we notice,
We know how we get lost in the external world,
We notice the ground gets a little shaky.
All of a sudden we're getting this sense of something's wrong.
Maybe we're lost in a problem that needs to be fixed.
And yes,
It needs to be fixed,
But is it the most important thing in the world?
We can ask ourselves in that moment,
What is it that I want?
What is it that's most important to me?
And just rest in that stillness for a moment to let that answer arise again.
And then we go,
Oh yeah,
That's right.
Yeah,
I need to take care of this,
But it's not the most important thing.
And if it's not in that acknowledgment,
We're not grasping so much at it.
We're taking care of it.
Yes,
Something needs to be resolved,
But we're not attached to it.
We're more calm and equanimous.
We're actually better level-headed to deal with whatever the problem is.
Or maybe we notice we're getting a little lost in the news,
Getting a little lost in social media.
We put a post up.
We're getting a little lost in looking at how many likes or comments we got.
To notice that feeling again and to ask ourselves,
Oh,
What is it that's most important to me?
Let that question sit in the present moment in the stillness and let that answer arise to keep guiding us.
So this is an incredibly profound question.
It is the most important question in the world.
And while we ask it almost every meditation,
We ask this question.
The only time I don't bring in the self-inquiry question is really if we're doing some type of heart-centered meditation where I'm really bringing us right to that place.
But nine out of ten meditations,
We ask this question.
And every time we ask this question,
It's guiding us.
It's showing us our path.
It's helping us be clearer about our intention so that we can make sure our actions are aligned with our intentions as well.
So that we are following our path.
So that we are being true to ourselves of what it is that we most want in the world.
