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INVITATION TO INQUIRY

This column is an invitation to explore Inquiry, often termed self-inquiry, as a way of being that can lead to the realization of who you truly are. Each issue will explore a different aspect of life that offers opportunities to go deeper into the expression of the Self.

All that is needed for inquiry is a longing to know who you are and a willingness to examine every belief, concept thought and idea the mind can create. To quote Gangaji “Self-inquiry is not a path that leads you somewhere. It is the path that stops you in your tracks so that you can discover directly, for yourself, who you are.”

Inquiry is not about fixing anything. It is not about being happy or ending unhappiness. It is not about getting rid of pain to experience pleasure. It is not about getting rid of anything. It is not about changing any polarity that the mind creates. Rather it is so simple that it is radical. You are already whole. That through questioning one can discover as Nisragatta Marharaj states” there is only one substance.” Inquiry can lead to the realization that all, then, is a condensation of that one substance. We too are a condensation of that one substance.

Many of us are seekers. We are seekers of truth, learning, growing and knowing. We have looked for teachers, sages, experiences. The mind tells us that someone or something out there has the answer. We believe there is an answer, though we may not even know the question. We hope that a new technique meditation or relationship will lead us to an experience that will end the seeking. Sometimes we have a brief experience of peace, or oneness and we try to hold onto it or replicate the circumstances where we felt it. If we are fortunate we may discover what we are seeking is always present. The essence of who we are is the trace of the all pervading oneness that is the one substance of the universe. We often experience this oneness yet do not recognize it. Because we believe that we are separate from oneness and rarely question that belief, we continue to look outside for an answer. Awakening to the reality of who you are seems clouded, unattainable, just out of reach. Why then, does it seem so elusive? Perhaps it is because the mind cannot lead us to this direct experience. The mind leads us away from direct experience. We cannot think ourselves there. In fact, there is no there, there. All that exists is the eternal now.

This all sounds very esoteric. What about real life situations?

Your have planned to meet a friend for lunch at noon. You arrive first at the restaurant. For the first five minute you enjoy watching the lunch crowd. Then the mind begins to create reasons why your friend may be late. Traffic, an accident, perhaps a meeting ran over .As more time passes, you begin to feel angry. The mind generates a story your friend doesn’t respect your time, doesn’t respect you. Then judgment sets in, She/He isn’t responsible. Five minutes later you feel forgotten and regress into feeling abandoned and not loved. More time goes by and your friend walks in as if nothing has happened. You accuse them of being late and discover that they have lunch scheduled for 12:30. You check your calendar and there it is, lunch at 12:30. Notice how the mind wove stories about the situation that have nothing to do with the situation in present time. You were on an emotional roller coaster of the past and future, while your friend was right on time.

An exploration of the situation through the lens of inquiry might look like this; the mind is the projector, the creator of the story. The emotional roller coaster is created in response to the mind’s story and then projected onto the friend. Rather than focus on the story and the response, Inquiry would ask who creates and operates the projector?

Additional resources on Inquiry:

"The Diamond in your Pocket" by Gangaji
"I am That" by Nisragatta Marahaj
"Introduction to Quantum Psychology" by Stephen Wolinsky

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