The Power of Questions

 

 

                        The mind thinks in questions. When we ask a question, it sends a message to the brain that we are looking for an answer. The first thing that happens is that the mind looks within itself for the answer. It may be looking for a piece of information that it has stored – we call this remembering. Or it may try to put together several bits of information to form a new answer – we call this logic.

 

                        Sometimes this process may take a while. The answer does not always pop up from the sub conscious immediately. We may have to
”sleep on it” or even wait several days before the “flash of inspiration” occurs that puts us on the right track.

 

                        If neither of these processes comes up with a satisfactory solution, then something else happens. The brain is put on stand by to notice the answer to the question in everything it is exposed to over the next few days, weeks or even months. It is as though it has been put on red alert to find the correct solution.

 

                        The reason for this is that the brain has a “reticular activating system” which pre programmes it to notice things. An example of this is when you buy a new red tee shirt – suddenly you notice how many other people are wearing red tee shirts! The brain has been put on stand by to take an interest in red tee shirts.

 

                        The quality of the answers you receive is directly affected by the quality of the questions you ask. Look at these two statements – “I’ve lost my car keys,” and “I’ve misplaced my car keys.” One will send the brain racing for the answer, the other will tell it not to bother!

 

                        Negative questions will produce negative answers. If you ask
”What am I doing wrong?” then the brain will tell you all the things that you are doing wrong. But if you ask, “How can I change this situation for the better?” then you will get some positive answers instead.

 

                        Questions act like levers – they pry information out of the Universe. Some of the best questions begin with the word HOW? An open ended question will produce and open ended answer. Ask a question that requires a simple yes or no and the quality of the answer will be much more limited.

 

                        The same principles apply when asking questions of the oracles – the Tarot, the runes, the I Ching. The more thought that goes into framing the question, the better the answer will be. A classic example is the person who asks, “Will my partner and I get back together again?” Very often a better question would be, “Should my partner and I get back together again?”

 

Before consulting the I Ching a serious questioner would sometimes meditate on the framing of the question for anything up to three days before asking it. This is a good indication of how seriously the Chinese took the art of asking a question. Learn to ask good questions and you will have a very powerful tool to assist you in everything you undertake.