The Art of Asking Questions

Ever feel like the thing that’s holding you back from what you want is a missing piece of a puzzle? Like if you only had the answer to this particular question, or that little piece of knowledge, you’d be able to make a huge stride forward and manifest what you really want?

I used to feel that a lot. And then I started scribbling down all the questions that I had in a notebook. When I would skim through the questions a few weeks later, I would realize that I know all the answers already. And this would happen EVERY SINGLE TIME. It was a marvelous revelation:

The Universe Already Has All The Answers.

Next thing that happened to me was that I realized it wasn’t enough. Having the knowledge didn’t mean I was using it. It didn’t mean anything to my goals. It was just a very small piece of the puzzle.

And so my Question Asking Ritual began to evolve: it wasn’t enough to get the answer to how to do this or fix that. If the answer isn’t a part of the bigger picture of what I want in life (and why I want it), I’m not gonna see any real progress.

I’m guessing you also have your own stories of the course, book or seminar that seemed to give you all the answers you thought you needed, but then nothing major really changed in your life.

The Question Asking Ritual

1 – What is it that I really want?
Not what other people will find impressive.
Not what you wanted when you were a child, or last year, or even yesterday.
When you answer this question, focus on the now.
Sometimes we go around telling ourselves we want something, long after we have stopped wanting it.

2 – Why do I want this?
At times, you want things because of outer circumstances. For example, you might want a high paying job because society thinks its a good thing to have such a job (or your spouse, or your parents…). But when the desire to get what you want isn’t coming from deep down inside of you, manifesting it will be much harder. Asking this question will often make you realize you either A – Don’t really want this thing at all or B – Have a million other ways to get what you want but you have been fixating on one. Don’t worry if that happens, just go back to the first question and examine your answer in this new light.

3 – How will I feel once I manifest what I want?
Just pause and imagine. Allow yourself to drift away and check your inner feel-o-meter. Does it feel good? happy? do you feel the urge to smile? If so, great, if not, then the next question is even more important…

4 – What are the negative side effects (if any) to getting what I want?
Ahhh. The infamous “negative beliefs” that sabotage our manifesting. If getting what we want comes at a price (real or imagined) or if for some reason we’re not really jazzed up when we imagine getting what we so wanted, then the same fears are holding us back from manifesting. Work those fears before you move on!

5 – What is the next thing I need to know in order to manifest what I want?
Asking the question sets the wheel in motion to getting the answer. All you need to do is ask, and wait. The universe will send the answer, whether it’s in an email, a newspaper article, while browsing your favorite website or next time you meet up with a distant friend.

The key here is remembering the question, otherwise you might skip or tune out instead of listening in and getting that knowledge.