How to Elicit Heart Wisdom - Use These Questions Within Questions

When we want to tap into the wisdom of our heart for guidance, we must learn to ask the right questions.  Barbara DeAngelis, author of How Did I Get Here? calls this process contemplating the "questions within questions."

Linear questions such as "What is my new list of goals?" or "What action steps should I take?" keep us limited to what logic/intellect dictates before we may be fully informed.  The following "questions within questions" bypass the mind, according to DeAngelis, to help us "feel the answers" rather than "think about the answers."  I've included a few from her book, How Did I Get Here?:

Am I living as the person I want to be?

What authentic parts of myself have I been hiding from people who know me?

Do my everyday activities and interactions bring me joy?

What parts of myself have I been ignoring, neglecting, or denying?

If I weren't worried about what other people might think or how they might react, what changes or decisions would I make in my life?
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Here's a process I'd suggest for using these questions, based on my own experience:

- Work with one question at a time. 
- Find a way to quiet yourself, in a private space. 
- Take in some deep slow breaths to relax you, bringing you into the here and now. 
- Ask yourself the question you want to focus on first. 
- Notice what comes up first.  A feeling may come through - follow it to see where it wants to take you.  - Allow the feelings, sensations, words, and "knowing" to come forward.  Jot these down.

Barbara DeAngelis notes that you can also address one of these questions in a meditation, or discuss with a trusted friend, partner, or therapist.

In my next post, I'll share what I learned in response to the question, "What parts of myself have I been ignoring, neglecting, or denying?"

Picture Credit - Tatiana

Comments

[Galba Bright of Tune up your EQ]

Hello Deb: I came across your blog by way of the Creatorship blog. As I read the questions, I get a sense of depth and I can see that the questions can lead to deeper insights, and as your follow up post indicates, positive action.

[Deb Call]

Galba, thanks for stopping by, and also for letting me know who you are and what you blog about - emotional intelligence. Keep getting the word out about that - our livelihood as a nation depends on embracing this concept.