About Inquiry

The process of Inquiry has been around since ancient times. Essentially, it involves questioning what we have come to believe is true.  It is a form of meditation,  asking questions from a place of curiosity that  lead to stillness and an opening to Love.  While the process is simple, realizing the Truth is radical and life changing.

The thoughts and concepts we believe run our lives and we aren’t aware of it.  Where do these thought and concepts come from?  Throughout our lives we are told what things are, how things should be and we believe it without question.  In addition, our  mind looks for meaning in everything in hopes of making sense of it all, and we don’t question that either.  Our experiences throughout life also provide opportunities for the mind to create stories and beliefs about life and other people.

By slowing down, we can begin to notice and hear the thoughts that are running through our minds.  We can discover the beliefs that are “running our lives” and creating  stress, unhappiness and fear.  These thoughts are frequently  judgments about other people, ourselves and the world and how things should be different than they are.  Once we identify these thoughts, we can take them to Inquiry and discover for ourselves what is actually true. 

Inquiry, with an open mind and an honest desire to know the Truth, directs the listening from a place of curiosity.  Through Inquiry we can come out of denial and come to see our problems from an entirely different perspective. We can live in more internal peace and ultimately like ourselves and others better. Inquiry allows us to put mind in its rightful place as a servant and tool rather than the director. It allows our hearts to open and receive what we were previously unable to see. We can then live in Reality without the war. An open mind is a state of Grace.

Inquiry isn’t about trying to get rid of a belief or about going into denial or trying to change our minds, rationalize our way out, replace it with some spiritual concept or shame us into trying to believe something different.

It is important to remember that our internal answers to the questions are where our freedom lies. When we get quiet and listen, the truth that comes from a place beyond what the mind can answer can be heard.  We just need to get still enough to allow the heart to speak and to honor what it is being said.

 My job as a facilitator of Inquiry is to support you in identifying the beliefs and concepts that are getting in the way of your living life with more clarity, peace and creativity. I hold the safe place from which the questions arise out of curiosity and support you in discovering your own answers. I listen deeply to your answers and support you in hearing what you might miss, what the mind would prefer you not hear and see.

Are you willing to “lose the moon”?
If you really want to be free, you have to be prepared to lose your world, your whole world.

 “The world doesn’t exist and we just come to see that clearly. It’s all an illusion. It never did exist. There is no way it can exist – it’s all the reflection of a concept attached to inside. There is No One and Nothing. It’s literal. Are you ready to live without a world? Is that what you really want? Are you willing to lose the moon?”  Byron Katie

The Work of Byron Katie ~ A Profound Process of Inquiry

In 1999 I discovered an Inquiry process called The Work of Byron Katie. The Work is one of the most simple, yet profound processes of Inquiry that I have discovered. It involves four simple questions and a turnaround. It is the tool that I use as the foundation for the Inquiry I do with clients, in my workshops and retreats. For more information about The Work of Byron Katie click here.

Having a little fun with The Work
Click here for a fun set of images taken at Ghost Ranch.

Inquiry ~ Sitting in the Questions

Another form of Inquiry involves “simply sitting in a question” that has no immediate answer. It involves noticing a question that has come to you from that place of curiosity. It might even be more of a statement of realization that needs time to unfold. This type of Inquiry has a silent, open, curious quality to it that allows the heart to answer when the time is right for me to hear. The answer may not come immediately. It may come in a few hours, days or years and always on time.

“Have patience and love the questions. Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. Rather, live the questions and perhaps someday you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.”
Rainier Marie Rilke

The questions I am sitting with at this time:

• What do I know that I am pretending not to know?
• What is wanted FOR me?
• What do i need to “see” that I haven’t seen yet?
• What is the Truth in this situation?
• What is the invitation for me in this?
• It’s not personal!  It’s just not personal!
• Am I willing to know the Truth no matter what it “costs”?
• What would happen if I just STOPPED?
• Can I be with you and not want anything from you?
• Can I sit with you in the midst of discomfort, yours or mine, without wanting to change anything?

Stay tuned – the questions change as I change.