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“To thine own self, be true…” by asking of thyself the questions that only thou canst answer.
As unique spiritual beings, hidden within unique mortal identifications, we all have unique destinies, designs, and developmental processes that shape our existence. Therefore the truths and understandings that apply to our idiosyncratic lives are best explored and discovered through an effective inquiry that only we can and care to pursue.
So we need to ask ourselves the hard questions, and not take the answers too hard, too seriously or as final ultimatums, or give up if we don’t get the answers right away.
Life is a stage, and the dialogue, monolog or narrative, is driven by words, that are pivoting elements upon which our moods, motives, minds, and aspirations turn for better or worst.
It is within our power to make our lives dramadies, tragicomedies, inspirational extravaganzas and much more.

Intuition, the offspring of receptivity, is developed through consciously exercising common sense.
As your mind opens up to truth and understanding, your awareness of your destiny will open up for you. Intuitively you will become cognizant of your choices and how to choose the best one.
When you trust your greater Self, hidden behind your little ego self, the sixth sense, intuition works better and better. Trust and receptivity to the transcendent sense are the greatest alternatives to fear or anxiety.

One exciting thing about introspective writing is that you begin to notice patterns in your thinking, that you can change, and in the changing, you can leave old ruts of reasoning and discover new ideas to explore. Fortunately, a life of writing, reading, listening and learning is full of curious opportunities where you can develop entirely new and different realms and regions of fact or fancy.

If there was an approachable benign helpful intelligence hidden behind our minds, an inner infinite knowledge base that is also all-wise and designed to respond to our inquiries, what would we ask it?
It behooves us to make an effort to use this imaginary or real infinite resource to help us solve our most pressing problems.
Lots of people pray or search within for an answer, and they don’t get the solution to their problem when and how they expect, so they may give up, believing that there’s no one listening, that they are undeserving, or they can’t have what they want.
I know people who use search engines on their computers and when they do not find what they want, they rephrase their questions, maybe several times, until they get a response that satisfies them.
It’s the same with the inner search, research, or knowledge engine, (we can call it ISE, God, Yahweh, Buddha or Dude). We may have to rephrase our request several times until we get an answer that makes a difference. It does and has responded subtly to our inquiries, entreaties, aching questions and confusion. Sometimes we get an answer to our needs, that doesn’t fit our expectations.
Another complaint about prayer is that there isn’t an immediate answer. This delay is similar to waiting at the doctor’s office. If we really want a solution to our ailment, we’ll wait patiently until we get the attention we’re seeking.
Our generation has been called the “instant generation”. We want everything yesterday.
Usually, grass doesn’t grow overnight, unless it’s bamboo. You have to wait, even for bamboo, knowing that your answer will come at the right time for the right reason, in the right way, whether it seems right or not.
How can you learn to use that omniscient presence that knows what you need, although it may not provide what you want? Relentless persistence, creative practice, and a resourceful sense of humor can do wonders until satisfaction is attained.
People believe enough in the reality of omnipotence that we resort to appealing to it when we’re extremely challenged and confronted by death-dealing or calamitous circumstances. Developing a relationship with that omnipresent friend when the sun shines, will create the strong inner connection one needs when the frost bites.

The relentless “Asking” paradigm is a strategy for perfecting self understanding.
When asking, be relentless.
Don’t stop asking. Where can I go with my inner inquiry? What do I want to know? What do I want to understand? What lies within me and around me? What is my chosen path? What is my greatest life choice?
What is my ultimate life purpose? What is my soul work? What can I do today that will propel me into a greater sphere of understanding and vision? What will I do? What must I do? What will work for me and for you?
What makes all of the difference?
What makes all of the work worthwhile?
What makes my moments worthwhile?
What makes my effort worthwhile?
What are my reasons for living?
How can I open my mind to a new dimension of possibility in my life?
How can I get an answer to these questions right now?

Just be sure to listen.
An answer will come, like a zephyr.

A Swami shared the following truth.
“Do you have any control of the birds that fly over your head? No.
But you do have control over the birds that want to land on your head and make a nest.”
The same is true with thoughts.
By writing, we become more aware of our power to acknowledge, choose or refuse the thoughts that come and go in our minds.
We usually react to persistent thoughts with our attention. The negative ones, as if they were gnats, will fly around in our minds and wear down our best intentions to rid ourselves of them. We get annoyed and want relief. We want them to go away, but they don’t. We could get angry, or we could accept that perhaps they are our responsibility, that we created them, and we need to change them, to understand what they are, and give them our attention and the benefit of our creative heartfelt generosity.

What you say out loud is usually a reflection of what you’ve been saying to yourself within.
You’ve heard that, probably somewhere.
And what you say to yourself or others, becomes your destiny eventually. Your self-proclamations become self-fulfilling prophecies. I’m of the opinion that we have cherished, habitual ways of thinking and talking about themselves that reflect opinions of us based on a resignation to persistent behaviors that we’ve engaged in over time that has defied our persistent efforts to change them. Exposing one’s mind to regularly reflecting on the high-minded thoughts of illumined thinkers, can open windows of positive possibilities.

Thinking about Thinking
or
the Moats and
Meadows of Musing.

As you write you may notice that your mind has long been encircled by a moat of mediocrity. Not mediocrity in the sense that you are mediocre, but mediocrity in the sense that you are ideologically stuck, in a meandering monotonous, unimaginative merry go round of sameness, that has left you feeling abandoned. Seeking the lilting light of liberation, you can cast an imaginative eye across the moat of mediocrity, and envision a meadow of peace containing beautiful prospects of blissful relaxation, and lighthearted insights illuminating worlds upon worlds of potential. Every imaginable can color fill the scene, grassy clover covered landscapes can blend into majestic stands of splendid spruces, set against the deepest azure heavenly expanses. The oppressing weight of mediocrity can dissolve as the dream self is absorbed by the beautiful meadow’s healing ambiance. Your creativity can now be unleashed, it can not be stopped, and spills forth with one empowering phrase upon reality-rending clause, upon scintillating sentence, and perpetual paragraphs of splendiferous imagery. You are freed to explore a boundless world of ingenious inventions and deep understanding.

Our subconscious minds are constantly recording our sensory experiences. Most of us are consciously aware of a small percentage of what the subconscious mind records, and the rest we ignore.
Therefore it could be said that we habitually pay attention to a particular range of thoughts that fits our universal view.
Our written thoughts give us a bird’s eye view of our thinking patterns, preoccupations, and belief paradigms.
What if we lived in an idea “gulf stream” of our own making, and we could, at will reach out of ourselves and dip our minds into another dimension, realm, or reality of enlivening unparalleled creative originality.
Anyone who has studied the brain knows about the interconnectedness of brain cells. New connections can be made through learning, awareness, and calmness. We exist in an ocean of knowledge. Attachment to one point of view, however, blinds us to other closely related, yet unrecognizable depths and dimensions of reality or possibility.
The magician of the material world directs our attention to the things that we are accustomed to and since our minds are not practicing a diffused awareness, it sees the trees but not the forest, or is it the other way around?

Just the action of taking a moment or two throughout the day to jot down a few random thoughts or impressions can change your outlook, understanding, perception, attitude, and purpose in life. Today with smart phones, it’s even easier to spontaneously record auditory or text records of your thoughts, and thereby change the course of your day. This can be refreshing on the one hand, if it enlarges your perspective, and improves your advantage, but not so good, if you lose your focus, and get sidetracked from necessary tasks to pursue a creative course of action. Then again it’s all about the attitude. Writing can loosen an inflexible frame of mind, that is oft blind to common sense circumstances and conditions. Stopping our brain in its customary or habitual drive to attack and conquer, could allow our heart to love and heal.