The Questioning Attitude

The Questioning Attitude

A reader comments that everyone asks questions

I have not found this to be true from my experience. Whenever I have been in any class either as a teacher or student there have been two or three asking questions and the rest relatively silent. Whenever I have discussed philosophy with others I have found that few have questions about what they have learned.

All people do ask some questions but they are usually related to the assignment at hand making the question part of following orders to learn rather than original thought.

Scholars and researches ask questions in their line of work but most of them do not question their authorities. They usually ask questions to merely reinforce their belief system.

Disciples and aspiring disciples are found in all fields of human endeavor. If you find one asking questions requiring independent thought then there is evidence that the person is on the path.

The aspiring disciple not only asks more questions, but asks a different kind of question than does the average person.

Her are some examples:

Authoritative Teacher: The sun is the hottest orb in the solar system.

Average student: No question. He just accepted what he has been told.

Above average student: How hot is it?

Aspiring disciple: How can you prove it is the hottest? Do you know the temperature at Jupiter’s core?

Disciple: What makes you so sure the sun is hot – after all microwave energy in an appliance is not hot until it reaches its destination.

Authoritative Teacher: A lone gunman killed JFK

Average student: No question. He just accepted what he has been told.

Above average student: What about the reports of a conspiracy?

Aspiring disciple: What about the magic bullet theory? How do you explain that?

Disciple: Let me ask some questions about the probably root cause of the assassination. I have a question related to his mob connections…

Authoritative Teacher: The speed of light is 186,000 miles per second. Nothing can go faster than this.

Average student: No question. He just accepted what he has been told.

Above average student: Isn’t the exact speed of light 186,232 miles per second?

Aspiring disciple: What about the case of a galaxy traveling 120,000 miles per second away from the earth and then another galaxy traveling 120,000 miles per second away from the earth in the opposite direction? Wouldn’t this mean that they are traveling 240,00 miles per second away from each other relative to the earth? Is not this faster than light?

Disciple: Not too long ago they thought we could not travel faster than sound. Now there seems to be a correspondence between light and sound, in other words light is sound vibrating at a faster rate. Would this not mean that the light barrier could also be surpassed?

Authoritative Teacher: The Stigmata is a sign from God

Average student: No question. He just accepted what he has been told.

Above average student: What causes the Stigmata?

Aspiring disciple: What makes you think it is a sign from God? Is it not possible that there is a natural cause?

Disciple: Isn’t it possible that this is a sign of a person’s intense belief system manifesting reality rather than a sign from God?

I could have added one more category here and that is the pseudo intellectual. This guy asks questions to show off his own intelligence more than with the idea of learning anything. An example would be the above student who corrects the teacher with a more exact reference to the exact speed of light. This correction was not necessary to help in the point the teacher was making.

One thing to notice about these questions is that as we progress from the average student to the disciple we find the questions will be more challenging to the status quo, more independently thought out and less likely to follow the line of least resistance.

This illustrates that when I speak of an aspiring disciple asking questions, I do not mean just any question, but that he acquires a questioning mind which questions mainstream thought.

Isaiah wisely said: “He that believeth doth not make haste.”

The disciple, or aspiring disciple, will not believe in haste what he has been told. He will check it out and question it no matter how unpopular he is for doing so.

Now we move on to the next principle in the discovery of truth which is:

Plant a seed thought in your mind and heart, and feed this thought with contemplation and meditation. Observe the fruit that comes forth, and accept that which is sweet and registers with your soul.

What is a seed thought and why is this a viable tool in the discovery of truth?

A seed thought is basically any thought, sentence, phrase, or idea that you choose to focus on with contemplation over a period of time. Because all words are symbols of some truth all seed thoughts have the capacity to generate higher realization.

Some teachers have emphasized having a monthly seed thought and this is not a bad idea, but I recommend having at least three working out within you at all times.

(1) A seed thought around a great mystery that may take you a lifetime to solve.

(2) A seed thought around an idea that will probably bear fruit within 30 days.

(3) A seed thought around a concept that you will reveal light in the present time.

Now let us demonstrate the use of seed thoughts in the search for truth. I will give you a thought and you contemplate it, think about it and use it in your meditation and see what realizations of truth comes to mind.

The Thought:

“As I focus my attention on the light of the soul I see a greater light still.”

Contemplate this sentence my friends and share with us what comes to you.

Remember the principle of asking and receiving.

What are some questions we can ask ourselves about this phrase to stimulate greater light?

More on Questions

I received an e-mail asking me why I do not use the principle of manifestation I talked about earlier to manifest the wealth I need.. It sounds simple when I present it but mastering the process is quite difficult. To get an idea of how difficult we can look at those who have manifested the stigmata and observe how much they had to go through to create it.

First the dedicated Saint had to visualize the crucifixion and sufferings of Christ with relentless persistence. Then he had to identify emotionally with the suffering, often for many years.

Even though there were many seeking for holiness, those who actually experienced the Stigmata were very few.

If we can thus identify with the energy and dedication necessary to produce this one manifestation then we can understand better how difficult it is for us average folk to master this science of direct manifestation.

Nevertheless, the art is possible to master and, as it is in all things, eventually the impossible becomes possible, and the possible then becomes an easy thing to accomplish.

OK, we have given out the first seed thought and nothing much happened. Then I gave a hint that the principle of questioning should be applied and still not much has happened although I must admit that Rick came up with an interesting visualization.

Remember that I told you that a disciple will ask questions?

How many of you thought to ask questions about the seed thought when I gave it out? As we progress toward discipleship we must remember this. All people will ask questions when they are directed to, but how about when we are not directed to? How about when I just give the thought out with little information? Did you think to ask?

If not do not be discouraged. We are not all here because we are perfect, but to make progress in that direction.

I am going to help you out with the questions on this seed thought, but for the next one I expect that you will need little help.

Let us repeat the seed thought:

“As I focus my attention on the light of the soul I see a greater light still.”

Questions:

What is light anyway and how does it reveal?

What is the source of the greater light?

How could I see the greater light within an already great light?

Does this lesser and greater light create a duality?

Do the two lights produce contrast?

Does the contrast create higher vision?

What is the lower correspondence to the two lights?

August 5, 2000

Copyright by J J Dewey

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Principle 79

This entry is part 76 of 98 in the series Principles

Contemplation & Seed Thoughts

Basic meditation instructs students to contemplate parts of their body, the breath, heartbeat, some object or numerous other things. The purpose of this is to train the student to gain the ability to focus his attention to the point that he can be aware of things that eluded him in the past.

Those types of contemplative exercises do little to gain useful knowledge, but they do strengthen certain abilities that will be useful as he travels the path of liberation.

One of the most productive uses of this strengthened power to contemplate and focus is the introduction of seed thoughts.

A seed thought is some type of concise thought expressed in a few words or phrase on which the student contemplates to expand the thought to gain further light and understanding.

If you contemplate your navel you’re not going to be blessed with a lot of enhanced understanding, but if you contemplate a phrase with deep meaning, such as “the truth will make you free” you may discover significant new insights.

The interesting thing about seed thoughts is that they do not have to be particularly deep, for any word or phrase can branch off during contemplation and take the contemplator into interesting vistas of thought.

I discovered this way back in my junior year of high school in a speech class. I was fortunate to have a creative teacher who was willing to challenge our young minds.

During one class he began by having each student write down one word on a piece of paper. He gathered up all the words and placed them in a box and stirred them up. He then said something like this.

“Today you are each going to pick a random word out of this box and then you are going to talk about that word for five minutes. If, for example, the word is rock, you will just have to use your imagination and talk about that subject for the allotted time. This exercise will help you with public speaking as you will often have to use your creative mind to keep the public interest.”

He then picked several nervous students to come forward and draw a word. I was thankful that I was not among them. As the exercise progressed I noted that some students did surprisingly good and others really stumbled. I had to give the students high marks on creativity on some of the words they came up with – some very difficult from whence to make a speech.

I can’t remember the word I received, except that it was a difficult one on which to base a speech, but after struggling through the allotted time I felt somewhat satisfied with myself that I was able to make a speech out of almost nothing.

I really enjoyed that exercise and was hoping the teacher would have us do it again, but he never did.

One thing I learned from that attempt was that a word is more than a word. Each word is like a leaf on a branch that leads to another branch and then another. That was my first brush with seed thoughts – though I did not know anything about the concept at the time.

I discovered that one can take random words such as rock, water, sky, run, jump or tiddlywinks and make a short speech. But later I discovered something much more important, and that is additional contemplation on certain words and phrases over a period of time can lead to some very stimulating insights.

I have said numerous times that contemplation is the highest form of meditation. Instead of letting the mind go blank and seeking peace and formlessness the seeker finds a phrase, idea or thought to plant in his mind. Instead of nothingness leading to bliss and peace he experiences a stirring of thought leading to higher thought.

Liken your consciousness to a pool of water. If there is too much stillness stagnation is the result. If it is always in motion then the water will never be pure but always mixed with impurities.

It takes the right mixture of stillness and motion to produce the purest water.

It takes the key of judgment in the seeker to balance the stillness and the motion of thought to see the highest light, feel the fullness of love, and to be consumed with the fire of Purpose.

To use the principle plant a seed thought in your mind and heart, and feed the thought with contemplation and meditation. Observe the fruit that comes forth, and accept that which is sweet and registers with your soul.

A seed thought is basically any thought, sentence, phrase, or idea that you choose to focus on with contemplation over a period of time. Because all words are symbols of some truth all seed thoughts have the capacity to generate higher realization.

Some teachers have emphasized having a monthly seed thought and this is not a bad idea, but I recommend having at least three working out within you at all times.

(1) A seed thought around a great mystery that may take you a lifetime to solve.

(2) A seed thought around an idea that will probably bear fruit within 30 days.

(3) A seed thought around a concept that you will reveal light in the present time.

There are many seed thoughts available. Some of the more profound scriptures are very good ones to consider such as

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1

Or

“The last shall be first, and the first last.”

Or, maybe something from Shakespeare:

All the world is a stage

Or, some popular phrase used by the common people such as:

“You can’t put the genie back in the bottle.”

Fortunately, we have an unlimited source of seed thoughts available. Each seeker just has to find the ones that are right for him or her.

Words are things, and a small drop of ink, falling like dew, upon a thought, produces that which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think.

Lord Byron

Copyright 2015 by J J Dewey

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