Now, before I get into the questions, I need to explain how this works. Actually, it’s VERY exciting, and hopefully you’ll see why very soon.
The only premise you’ll need is trust here. You’ll need to trust me that what I’m saying is true and it works, because I’m talking from direct personal experience here (remember: I’m that ex-suicidal, ex-manic-depressive, ex-drunk that is now enjoying a blissfully happy life). So, that out of the way, lets get on with it!
Have you ever been simply curious about something? Maybe think back to school days when you were learning things for the first time. Can you recall a favourite teacher? Imagine or recall a time where you asked that teacher a question about something new and interesting. Maybe it was asking your science teacher how Hydrogen and Oxygen can merge together and make water…
Perhaps something simpler and more relevant would be better, like “What does *insert-interesting-word-here* mean?”. When you ask that sort of question to a teacher, you naturally expect a good answer… And if they’re a half-decent teacher, you would naturally expect to understand the answer too. You’re asking for a transfer of knowledge, and that’s exactly what you get. It’s very simple.
So, what if I told you that life is just like that too?
What if you could get a transfer of knowledge about how to feel great, despite everything that’s going on for you right now?
Well, you can.
In fact, I’ve discovered that it’s actually MUCH better than that. Because I’ve spent a lot of time in the last few years asking questions (like “how do I overcome depression?”) and getting these sorts of knowledge transfers in many forms. Often it’s something simple like picking up the right book at the library, or someone crossing my path for long enough to share a new thought or approach to life.
However, the problem is that I often still have to spend a lot of time making those new approaches work for me, and make them a habitual part of my life. It takes work, and sometimes it takes a LOT of time (years in some cases).
The key is in the TYPE of questions you ask.
There’s a few parts to this, so I’ll try and make it as clear as I can…
Firstly, you MUST focus on the positive, not the problem. For example, don’t ask “how do I overcome depression, anxiety and stress?” — instead ask “how do I find happiness?” (or similar type of question). Always put your mind in motion to zone in on what you DO want, rather than have it still thinking about the problem at hand. It’s just how our brains work, like sniffer dogs — if you give your brain a question about the problem, it goes seeking more of that problem along with ways to understand it. If you give your brain a question about the solution, then it brings that into your experience instead. Cool huh?
Secondly, the BIGGEST problem as far as I’m concerned is that people mentally and emotionally separate themselves from the solution. In the past I often found myself trying to head towards something good but all the time sabotaging it with my own thoughts, because I felt it was somehow beyond me — out of reach, unobtainable, or impossible even. We can easily find excuses why something good should NOT just fall in our laps. Unfortunately, society often teaches us to be “realistic” about things. Now that’s fine if you’re thinking of buying an expensive new car, but only earn a few dollars each week. But when it comes to the workings of The Universe, it’s incredibly debilitating to have that mindset.
Thirdly, our questions can sometimes bring more confusion than anything else, because some questions have an endless number of answers. Asking “how can I find happiness”, you might end up with a million treasure maps, all leading you in slightly different directions. So which one will work for you? Which path should you take? How long will it take to get there…. Woah!! I’m getting exhausted just thinking about it!
So what’s the solution? The solution is to ask a certain type of question that bypasses the opportunity to self-sabotage. The solution is to ask questions that have only one possible response. The solution is to find a question that is full of curiosity and wonder — just like when you were a small child, learning things for the first time. The solution is actually very simple…
You just need to ask how something feels.
The reason that this is the most important aspect of life-changing questions is that our life is ALL about how we feel.
There are millionaires who are depressed as hell, and there are people almost starving to death who are happy. There are people with hundreds of friends who feel completely isolated and lonely, and there are people with no friends who feel completely loved and supported. So what is of utmost importance is how we FEEL about our life, not the actual events, circumstances and situations we find ourselves in. It’s all about perspective really (which I cover in detail in my book).
Incidentally, just in case you’re wondering… These are not really questions to ask anyone else (although that can definitely help too). What I’m really talking about here is questions you ask internally (out loud is fine too — I actually find that it helps me to ask it out loud like I’m pondering something very interesting). You’re really asking The Universe, the Greater Good, or God if you prefer.
The key is to make it playful. Keep it light. Don’t get serious about it. Don’t put a time-frame on it. Be specific but keep it simple. Just be curious and trust that there is an answer out there — or, more specifically, a new FEELING — waiting to be transferred into your experience.
Imagine these two scenarios:
A. You ask “how do I find happiness in life?” and get given a copy of the Dalai Lama’s “Art of Happiness”. You then have to read it and put his advice into action. (This might take a while).
B. You ask “what does happiness feel like?” and wake up the next day feeling happy. (Not everything happens immediately, but it really is this simple).
The latter is something I’ve been experimenting with lately (and proving to be true), because I realised that even when life sucks, you can still FEEL great with the right perspective. Even if you’re poor, you can still feel rich. Even if your lover leaves you, you can still feel loved. Even if everybody is screaming at you, you can still feel still and quiet inside.
And that’s so VERY important, because sometimes it takes a long time to get where we want to go, but you can feel good about the destination while you’re still travelling. In fact, you can feel good about it even if you never get there. I’m not kidding. This is exactly what has been happening to me lately in some areas of life…. But perhaps you won’t believe me until you experience it yourself, so lets move on to the list!
This could be an infinite list…
Okay, so I have to admit that the number 10 is arbitrary. It could be any number of questions, and I’m sure you’ll think of many, many, MANY more once you get started. But here are 10 that will definitely rock your world if you trust in the process and stay in a playful, open, curious state of mind…
- What does it feel like to experience happiness everyday?
- What does it feel like to have friends that love and encourage me?
- What does it feel like to wake up each morning feeling inspired?
- What does it feel like to have plenty of energy every day?
- What does it feel like to be able to think clearly all the time?
- What does real abundance feel like?
- What does true, natural bliss feel like?
- What does inner silence feel like?
- What does gratitude for life feel like?
- What does joyful laughter feel like?
Try it yourself!
You can see that it’s very easily to come up with your own questions here — just remember to initially focus on a good feeling, not so much a particular outcome. However, it’s definitely worth considering outcome-based questions too once you’ve proved to yourself that it works (and you will!).
For example, it’s the same principal to manifest money as it is to manifest the feeling of abundance (you could try “how does it feel to have $10,000 in my bank account” or something like that), but please remember that the feeling is far more important because it might take a while for the money to manifest (and you might feel miserable while you wait!!). You’ll probably find that the money will come to you automatically BECAUSE you’re focussed on the feeling of abundance anyway, which is the real beauty and power of the process.
You’ve got nothing to lose here. In fact, the only thing you can lose here is your depression, anxiety or stress… So give it a go!