The 5 Questions

I used to love Mad Magazine when I was a kid, and I especially liked the “Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions” department. I thought about that recently when I was waiting for the bus and a woman walked up and asked, “How long has it been since the last bus came?”  I refrained from saying, “About 15 minutes, and I didn’t get on it just so I could stay here and tell you”. Someone once said that the quality of our questions tends to determine the quality of our lives, so I had too much compassion for the woman to lay my sarcasm on her. Besides, I know from listening to my own questions and observing the results that I still often ask lousy ones, too.  Through the years I’ve consciously worked to improve the quality of my questions and this has served my spiritual unfolding well.

Every Passover, Jewish people ask the 4 Questions, but right now there are 5 general types of questions that are alive in me. So here they are, the 5 Questions, in order of value for me as a minister and as a human being (which, by the way, the great majority of ministers are):

“Why?” This is the ultimate; the biggie. “Why am I here?” represents my purpose, my mission, my vision for life. It becomes the GPS system behind my every choice. But I only get to ask it once. Once I clearly know my big “why” and have put it out into the universe, any additional “why” questions are counter-productive. I refer especially to those common “why” questions such as, “Why do these things always happen to me?”, “Why does he/she/they always act/think/talk that way?”, and “Why can’t I follow through on my intentions?” These questions tend to keep me in victim mode and usually stop me from focusing and acting on my big “why” as well as on the other quality questions that are listed below. They cloud my vision and they slow its manifestation. They interfere with the divine process of perfect unfolding that I am. They prevent me from being the change I wish to see in the world. Basically, they stink.

“Where?”  So much depends on where I am in my consciousness. So the most important question I can ask myself in any particular moment is “where am I?” Am I in my heart or in my head? Am I right here in this place and present moment, or am I elsewhere?  Am I going with the flow or trying to swim upstream? Am I in a space of serving God or serving me? Am I present and connected to my experience, or am I running away or hiding my head in the sand? I find that things unfold much better and faster in my life when I’m present, especially when I’m in my heart.  When I’m not where I choose to be, by asking this question I can change my “location.”

“What?”  “What do I choose to do right now that will bring me closer to my “why”?” This question is vital, and equally vital is following through on the answers that come, especially if I’m in my heart when I ask. My brain provides all kinds of answers, mostly limited and based on old ego patterns; my heart gives me the one that is aligned with my divine Self and that brings peace, even when it seems impossible to my little head. So another wonderful and intimately related question is, “What can I do to clear out all this brain fog and tap more into my heart?” And another, perhaps easier one for me to remember is, “What am I grateful for?”, because when I remember to be grateful my heart automatically opens and the universe opens to me. This “what” question helps me to be in the right “where”.

“When?”  This one falls far behind the others. The only valuable “when” question for me is, “When should I do the ‘what’?” The answer to that one, of course, is always, “As close to ‘now’ as possible.” “When is it (love, money, whatever) coming?” is a weak question because the time frame for things to manifest is not my responsibility. It also reinforces the idea that I don’t already have it and therefore my illusions of lack and separateness. “When will I start thinking, speaking and acting in accordance with my highest truth” is a decent question, as long as I allow it to motivate me and don’t use it to beat myself up for having to ask it. 

“How?” is last and least. As one of my teachers says, “When the ‘why’ is big enough the ‘hows’ take care of themselves.” So I don’t have to spend a lot of time asking this. The universe works perfectly, and I let it do its thing. How can my body do 600 octillion things in each second? I don’t know, but it does.  How does an entire universe remain in balance, even with all the absurdly arrogant and interferential contributions from mankind? I don’t know, but it does. How do intention and love inevitably lead to creation and manifestation? I don’t know, but they do. So I needn’t concern myself with how. I’ve noticed that when I focus on my big “why” (and continue to ask the “wheres” and the “whats”), the “hows” come to me in the form of teachers, books, people, circumstances and inner guidance at just the right times.

Well, there you have it, and I realize now that I left out “who.”  Oh well, put it in there somewhere with the top 3, especially if I’m asking “Who am I?” or at least, “Who do I intend being in this moment” and not, “Who’s to blame?”

          

           My wish is for us all to ask the most empowering questions and to find the most joyous and fulfilling answers to them. These questions will help vivify and beautify our own lives as well as the lives of those we serve, and at the same time contribute to the ongoing global awakening.

And if someone asks you how long it’s been since the last bus, be compassionate!

Author: Stew Bittman, ISIS Class of 2013

With his wife Hillary, Stew is the Spiritual Leader at Unity at The Lake in South Lake Tahoe, CA. Their blog and full bios can be found here: http://bittmanbliss.com/wordpress/