Namaste!

As I sit here, eating my breakfast, sorting through the words that wish to flow, organizing them so they can be written best, I am struck by the actual enormity of how many words wish to come to this virtual page.

Recent events have called me to write this article – it begged me to be written. OK, I don’t know if words can actually beg, however, the point is that Spirit is moving me quite strongly to write this. As a Warrior Of Light, this is part of my calling – I now recognize that.

So, now, as I Open to the words, large amounts wish to be written. Unfortunately, they cannot all be written, or I’d never finish this post. So the words will just have to understand.

This article is titled “Why Question?” An interesting title, isn’t it. Why question indeed. Now, before I go further, the point needs to be made that the very title can most likely lead to books, tomes, even volumes of discussion. And indeed it has.

If you look around, fellow Questioners, you’ll see the vast number of books and various writings on the very subject, though it may not be called as such.

So, this article is going to be brief (e’en though it is stretching a little right now). And also a bit more to the point. My aim here is not to write a huge amount (though the Word would like to). Thus, it will also probably be a bit rough around the edges, and perhaps contain some leaps. Flow with it!

So, let me begin by pointing out that the word QUEST is in the word QUESTION. Right there is a clue about an important part of this article – if you are questioning, you are on a quest.

“A quest?” you say. Yes, a quest.

Now, think about what it means to be on a quest. It means you are trying to find something – an answer, a thing, or a path, for example. If you are trying to find that something, what sort of mind frame do you think would be best suited to that?

Would a closed mind frame serve you best while seeking the answer? If you think about that one, I’m sure you’ll quickly realize that a closed mind gets no answer.

So, it seems, an open mind is better suited for a quest.

So, then, what does it mean to have an open mind? Wow, that’ s a question. A great deal has been written about that, I assure you. But, I’ll keep it simple here. An open mind is one that is willing to receive.

Let me state that again: an open mind is one that is willing to receive.

Put another way: If you have an open mind, your question will get answered.

So, now, let’s go back and look at what it means to have an open mind. Specifically, that “willingness to receive” part. That’s is a toughie, and the crux of this article. It is also an important answer to Why Question.

To begin with, if you have a question, it means you are trying to learn something – no matter how insignificant-seeming or vast. And if you are trying to learn something, why would you approach it with an attitude of a closed mind? In fact, many people don’t even realize they have questions. Questions can sometimes come out in various forms: statements, actions, in-actions, settings or scenes, etc. Often these things take the form of some sort of “challenge.”

Many people are confronted with “challenge.” There’s another big one. A challenge. A challenge is a question in and of itself, but usually oriented around some sort of adversity. This is where the “closed mind” comes in. A great number of times we are challenged in our beliefs. And, in becoming challenged in our beliefs, our minds raise a question for us that needs an answer. This is definitely one aspect of Soul Growth. You can see this when you look at our lives as a whole – our whole life is one Great Challenge, a question or questions, to which we formulate or discover the answer. Some of us “win” the challenge, others need to repeat the challenge but need it to be stronger.

A challenge is an important learning tool. Being challenged produces excellent results. Sometimes the only to grow is through challenge – growth would not occur as rapidly otherwise or we require that challenge to get the point across.

So, where am I going with this? Simply this: Peoples’ Souls require growth and oftentimes to produce that growth raise challenges for us to accomplish.

So, now, when you find yourself challenged you know why.

What you do with that is important to know.

So, how do you respond to challenge?

Well, if you respond with a closed mind, you will respond poorly. You will respond with negativity, defensiveness, accusations, hurt, anger, pain, etc. Nothing productive and definitely “no flow.”

When we respond that way, we give in to our Ego. Ego does not like challenge. Ego likes to be Right, Correct, True, In Control, My-Way-Or-Else all the time, and definitely not Loving. Ego likes to Think, Analyze, Weigh, and Judge. It cannot take criticism (for that would admit fault, going against being Right), and so on. Old hat I know.

So, where does Ego get us? Usually, no-where. If Ego is catered to, the challenge will either continue more strongly in the current situation, or, it will be put off until later (“I’m outta here”), and then it will be far tougher.

As you can see the best way to respond to challenge is with an open mind. If you find your inner child getting pricked, you feel anger, shame, humiliation, etc., then it is time to take a self-check and put the Ego in the closet – because that part of you is attempting to assert control and you will not survive your challenge.

Especially when it comes to “thinking.” Ego plus thought equals analysis paralysis. A dead end. “Buzz” – Game Over.

An open mind responds intuitively. It acts without thinking as it “feels” what is right. I don’t mean emotionally responding – that’s Ego again. Your intuition is that part of you that gives you information so that “somehow you know” the “right answer” or the “right path to take” in any situation.

When you closet your Ego, you have only your intuition left. And that is a Good Thing. Your intuition is never wrong and will always lead you the right way.

A good example of this can be found in Star Wars, Episode IV, near the end with Luke is in the trench about to blow up the Death Star. At one point in the trench, he is reminded to Use The Force (his intuition in our terms), and put away the computer. He doesn’t, relying instead on his Ego, and continues to use the computer. We all saw what happened to everyone else who used their computer to target and hit the “right spot” – they all missed. Luke is again reminded to Use The Force. This time, he chooses to listen, and WHAM! He hits the target, etc. Notice, however, that all the people in the Control Room asked why he turned off his “targeting computer” (Ego).

You see, by “letting go” and intuitively responding to the challenge, Luke won. We can all do the same.

Now that I’ve addressed one important aspect of having an open mind, it is time to take a look at another – the concept of emptiness.

To have an open mind means you are ready to receive.

Now, if your head is full of thoughts on a given subject, and they occupy the forefront of your concentration, can you really say you are ready to receive?

The answer is “No.” You would not be ready to receive.

Look at it this way: when you are taught to meditate, you are taught to “empty your mind,” are you not? Do you know why that is? Experienced meditators will know the answer, as will channelers and such. For those, however, who do not have that experience, the answer is that you cannot receive messages, information, etc., without having an empty mind.

What is an empty mind? An empty mind is one whose concentration is on listening, when thoughts pass through without receiving focus, when the disposition of the mind is “receptive.” It is also devoid of attachment to any preconceived notions or previous ideas, etc., concerning any given subject. In other words, a blank slate.

For example, if a teacher comes in to a classroom late in the day to give her lesson, and the chalkboard is covered in prior lessons from other teachers, can she really conduct her class since she must use the chalkboard? The answer, of course, is no. So it is with our minds. If our minds are obstructed by our thoughts, and we cannot therefore let any further information come in, then our minds are not empty and therefore not ready to receive.

Another good example is from the movie Forbidden Kingdom with Jackie Chan. In the movie, Jackie Chan plays an Immortal whose charge it is to find the Seeker of a particular staff which is then to be returned to the rightful owner, another Immortal. This particular Seeker is an Innocent who knows nothing of the ways of the Warrior. The pertinent scene is a night setting – a camp fire, everyone settling down. Jackie’s character is contemplating teaching the Seeker the ways of martial arts. Immediately the Seeker begins to spout off various Kung Fu styles he’s heard of or seen acted out. Jackie asks him to bring his cup over (which was empty at the time). As the Seeker talks, Jackie fills the cup. In short order the cup overflows. The Seeker notices well after the fact. Jackie’s character states that one cannot learn unless one’s mind is empty – the Seeker’s cup was overflowing with false knowledge.

Ego likes to fill our cups with all manner of things relative to any given subject, or challenge. Remember, it likes to “know-it-all.”

When we let go of Ego, our minds will empty and we will become that empty cup.

So, when we are questioning, or questing, to get the best out of the experience we truly need to leave our Egos behind. Otherwise, our Egos will get the best of us and cause us more grief and hardship than we needed.

Empty our minds, trust our intuition – that is the Way of the Warrior of Light.

So, why question? We do that to learn. If we do not learn we will not grow. If we do not grow, then forever trapped we remain.

Empty your minds, trust your intuition – grow in the Light.

Jon C. Munson II

GreenMan