The Questioning Mind

When they ask a question, answers like “because history supports it,” or, “because I said so,” or, “because God said so,” are never sufficient. They always want to know what’s behind the decisions, teachings, or guidance that people have attempted to give them over the years. 

While thinking their own thoughts has always led them to question the beliefs of others, they usually find both the evaluating and the listening involved in the process to be an excellent practice.  But they are also usually heavily criticized for it.
 
You see, the questioners have come from a long line of folks who downplay personal experience and the individual discovery of truth, and instead take pride in their own perceived role as “God’s mouthpiece” in the world. So these questioning folk rebelled.  They’ve learned that just because someone says they “know what God is saying to you” in a situation doesn’t mean that they really do.

In fact, the questioning mind has found that following other people’s voices can result in a very non-personal, non-experiential spirituality - it steals the joy and excitement of discovery away, and can cause you to feel stuck and unable to grow as your trust in your own inner knowing begins to fade.

While a historically significant practice or belief may have served its people well, that doesn’t automatically mean that it will have that same effect in your life!  Thankfully, these questioners are learning to hear, with an open heart, the messages they need to grow and thrive.

I encourage you to choose some aspect of your spiritual journey that may cause you to feel conflicted or puzzled and let your mind explore the many possible viewpoints or creative solutions that arise – write them down without censoring them. Then pause, reflect, and listen to your gut.  Yes, your gut. How does each possibility make you feel in your inner being?  

Your own inner voice and intuitive sense were meant to empower you and bring you joy as you make discoveries on your journey, but that voice and that intuitive sense may have been dulled, or even silenced, by too many years of listening to others, who think that they know what’s “right” for you and who offer only second-hand solutions that don’t resonate in your heart at all. 

I encourage you to renew your ability to hear your own inner voice; pay attention to it – it may take a while to untangle the messages you hear and recognize the voice of your own inner knowing, but it’s worth it, and it will bring you the deepest joy as your journey unfolds. Many before you have certainly found it to be true for them – but if I were you – I’d question that!