Considering anything, I have a question.
I once thought I was smart – then I learned better.
It turns out I have so many questions about everything.
Whatever I learn, I keep finding more and more questions.
Lately, it seems I am growing more aware of how little I know about so many things.
As my ignorance grows, I find so much in common with so many other people. People who have lived long enough to share the formative experiences that define my life, and yet at the same time I am so unlike any of them.
Small wonder, but it begs a few more questions.
So it goes, in the interstitial awareness of another day in paradise. I sit and I wonder about things.
Like so many before me, and doubtless, so many to follow.
How many of us will find our musings in other people’s heads? Does it make a question more important if more people come to be wondering the same thing?
Questions about questions, and the spiral begins again…
I suppose there is little point in trying to answer most of these questions, even the really important questions. It might actually be impossible. It most likely probably doesn’t even matter what we come up with for an answer. It could be that the subjective nature of the act of each of us contemplating and imagining our own response to the same question is the ultimate cosmic purpose of the entire endeavor.
An unwitting act of collective consciousness, if you will.
Or it could be another random coincidence that really only existed in your head, and then if so, how important can that be?
Maybe that thought in your head is actually very important, if it leads you to more awareness.
So it is that questions are not always signposts of stupidity, but often tools in developing one’s awareness.
Awareness?
Awareness is a fundamental aspect of consciousness, and there is little else anyone can conclusively tell you about consciousness.
Not that you’ll likely be bothered with people trying to discuss consciousness. Most people get rather uncomfortable if you try to get them to consider consciousness.
I think that is a little more than ironic.
Our society finds it hard to exploit such thoughts for a profit, so they are generally discouraged. Pity the spiritual devotees, philosophers, poets, and artists – bunch of useless hippies, the man says as he gives them the collective boot.
Gypsies, Vagabonds, Bohemians, Zealots and Heathens alike, over the ages and across the globe, the tribes of willful and spirited people test their essential truths and seek divine experiences to enlighten their awareness with questions of reality, space, time, and love. They find and create beauty because they intrinsically demand it, just as our lungs demand air.
As much as they may be despised by the bankers of our society, these capitalist outcasts bring essential beauty to the world through their questioning. The world becomes a more desolate, cruel, ugly, and unlivable place in their absence.
We NEED awareness more than we realize. That’s the whole trip in a nutshell!
Something Completely Different
Consider India for a moment. While far, far, away from being a perfect society, the continent of India provides an example that contrasts wildly from the United States and western world.
The people of the Indian continent have fostered a diverse culture devoted to exploring the vastness of consciousness, through all the different ways of being and perceiving.
For thousands of years, the questions of consciousness and awareness have been explored, and this practice is accepted as a normal part of life.
This rich heritage of awareness documents many different thoughts and observations that are the antithesis to western culture. Most of these schools of thought are not profitable nor helpful in maintaining an obedient citizenry, and therefore they are not seriously considered by western academics.
The fact that such schools of thought even exist is often a startling surprise for many westerners. For so many, it is difficult to even imagine a society where spending time questioning consciousness is not only accepted and respected, but openly encouraged and supported.
But of course, thought and awareness are dangerous elements when it comes to capitalism. Too much thinking and awareness, and the next thing you know, people start finding other reasons for living that don’t center around toiling on the factory floor making rich men richer.
Naturally, this line of thinking is dangerous, as it only encourages one to question the current status quo even more.
Dangerous Thoughts
I find my awareness heightened as the world becomes more interesting, as the imbalances of wealth and power are threatening to capsize everything. It is a good time to practice awareness and be thoughtful.
I also believe that awareness is different from thought. Thought can be random, unhinged, manipulated, false, and completely fabricated. Some good advice I’ve seen is to learn how to recognize your thoughts, and question them with your awareness of what is happening beyond the thoughts.
Thoughts will come nonstop if you let them. They don’t have to make sense, be true, or have anything to do with what is going on around you. That is the power of thought, it can be bent to so many different purposes.
Awareness simply is what it is, as much as you might notice it – or not.
Awareness is a result of focused consciousness, a state of observation which might be frequently clouded in various ways. Even so, when awareness is engaged, it usually leads to a better understanding of things. Awareness can also bring beauty to the forefront of your mind, and enrich your world with understanding, which in turn brings new meaning and significance.
Questioning your thoughts can help strengthen your awareness and sharpen your focus.
Focusing awareness is a vital ability for anyone seeking to excel at something. Focused awareness helps alleviate the competing distractions of random thoughts and impulses.
Focused awareness can help bring us closer to truth. Many say it is as easy as breathing.
Awareness is focused through questions, and you then cultivate more questions with what you learn from your awareness.
Awareness might not lead to many questions by itself, but awareness combined with the endless thoughts and shenanigans of most people can certainly get a person to start questioning things.
Every day the world sets a stage for new mystery, intrigue, and drama, with over 8 billion individuals playing the different parts.
Witness and wonder.
I believe a questioning mind is an important thing to develop, even more than finding answers.
Questions are important, and questioning our own limiting assumptions is probably one of the most common things people wish they had done more of, when they grow old and look back on their lives.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions, is my advice.
Asking the right questions can make all the difference in life.
~