Why Are You Here?
-and why that might be the wrong question.
–and a friendly nudge toward asking better ones.
Let’s get right to it:
Why are you here – reading this right now?
Are you seeking external solutions for internal growth?
You probably think that’s the only way to learn, but this isn’t ordinary stuff.
You are thinking the wrong way.
You believe that external help is needed to find your way inward.
But before setting out to solve any internal problem, it’s worth asking:
Do you even know what problem you’re trying to solve?
That’s not a rhetorical question. It’s quite simple – what is your problem?
Answer – your problem is your mind process. The way you think is your problem – your mind process creates your problem.
Before You Leave to Find an Easier Answer…
Take a moment to think about this.
Each of us must identify our own problem (internally) before we can go looking for solutions (externally).
Otherwise, we risk letting someone else define our problem – and then follow their instructions to solve their version of our struggle.
But Mind works that way. Your mind process loves that stuff. It loves naming things, measuring things, and fixing things.
So at this moment you’d probably like to hear something like this:
“I know what your problem is. Here’s some advice.
Do this. Do that. Follow my 7 steps. You’ll end up where I’m going.”
But how do you know you want what I have? How do you know I actually have what you want?
Simple – Start Inside Yourself
Before you try to gain anything from anyone else, start inside.
Be curious about you! It’s just you, nothing to be afraid of.
Ask yourself:
- Why am I the way I am?
- What patterns am I repeating?
What am I really trying to change about me, and why?
I promise you – life becomes simpler when we stop chasing conclusions and instead learn to explore the process.
The process (life) involves questions and mystery and it doesn’t need answers.
Is There Even a Final Destination?
We act like life has destinations. But do we ever really arrive?
Even death will be experienced in the moment it happens – as another process.
And if there is no “you” to experience that moment? Well, then there’s no problem to solve.
From this angle, life really does seem like a journey without a conclusion.
So if there’s no ultimate end, can there be any ultimate answers?
What Are We Doing Here?
Let’s zoom out – or in, depending on how you view things.
Here we are.
In this moment, you are reading, I am writing.
Why?
Well, I guess on some level we searching for meaning?
But let’s be honest – is there any question that has been explored more? Or any field of study that has less probability of finding an answer?
Of the billions of people through all human history – every one has, at some point, wondered what it is all about.
From what we can tell, only a very few are believed to have “figured it out.”
… and in some cases, their reward for this understanding (or sharing) was being killed.
… or having a religion named after them. Which may sound nice until you consider all the killing that was done in the name of that religion!
So the odds are against us here, and yet we continue to ask questions.
Viral Gurus & Holy Marketing
Today, the stories of the past Greats have been filtered through centuries of interpretation.
How do we know Jesus didn’t have a PR wizard in his circle of twelve?
Maybe he was just trending in his time? Maybe it was his followers that sent him viral for their own status bump?
If history teaches us anything it’s that human nature doesn’t change. Stories get retold. Messages get molded. Cultural biases sneak in. Personal agendas take over. And here we are, surrounded by so many “answers” – sacred books on nightstands, weekly sermons, newsletters and daily teachings. So why are we all still so lost and searching?
I’m Not Religious (I Hope That’s Okay)
I try to remain open. My own search feels more like a Star Trek mission:
A strange journey to the final frontier of consciousness – uncharted, unknowable, always expanding. Assume nothing.
I study spiritual texts – they contain insights, there is no doubt about that. But so does the fortune cookie I crack open on a Tuesday night. So I say, why limit yourself to divine truth only on Sunday mornings when you can enjoy sweet and sour chicken and fried rice any night of the week? You never know where a teaching will come from so worship everything (which is the same as worshiping nothing at all)
All the Lessons Suggest the Answers Are Inside
So Why Do They Keep Coming From Outside?
This contradiction nags at me.
Most religions reference a Truth that sounds something like “The answers are within.”
And yet they continue to teach lessons – a pastor, a teacher, a book, a video, a website.
How many tell you to go away and figure things out on your own (internally)?
Study the teachings – what they say about the lives of the greats who truly explored deeply –
Rarely was the answer given to them.
They found it, themselves.
They lived it. They felt it. They realized it. They did it, themselves. They were not taught.
Be more like them. Learn from them. Stop looking for a shortcut. You don’t get to the Truth by learning, you get it by living.
So, Back to the Beginning – Are You Looking for Answers… or Better Questions?
The most accurate conclusion I’ve come to is this:
I’m searching for answers because I am human and I desire,
but the insight I gain depends on the quality of my questions.
So I’m left to ask of myself:
What is the problem with the experience I’m having?
I bet you have many answers to that – you have real problems – but every one of your real problems can bring you back to searching for the right question: What is your Real problem?
In Defense of Zen Teachers
It is frustrating when spiritual teachers answer every question with another question.
(Zen masters, we’re looking at you.)
But what if that is the answer? Maybe they really do know and that’s all they can do – turn you in the direction of the right question.
Maybe questions aren’t problems – maybe they are the only tool that gets us closer to understanding?
So maybe there are no answers – just increasingly honest questions?
You Already Know a Lot. So Why Are You Still Searching?
Think about your life thus far – all that you’ve read, studied, experienced. This includes everything – religion, spirituality, science, psychology, Instagram quotes, YouTube videos…
With so much “wisdom” literally everywhere, why do we still struggle?
Heck, even nature is whispering insights – the tides, the rotation of the Earth, gravity, the seasons and the falling leaves – they’re all wisdom – messages that give us the answers, if we’d just stop and question them properly.
If you feel that you are lacking the answers, perhaps you need to look at what is right beside you?
Maybe Your Neighbor Has the Answer
Maybe your neighbor already has what you’re looking for.
She smiled at you this morning. She smiled because she was blissed out – fully enlightened, no problems, just present.
But you were too caught up in measuring to notice. Shame.
Is it really so impossible that someone nearby could have it figured out?
How do you know?
Example – does your cat have any problems? Could your cat be an example for how to live without desire?
Or, maybe it’s all fiction.
Fan fiction, for the fanatical.
Maybe true wisdom is as alien as ancient green beings from galaxies far, far away who say things like,
“Do or do not. There is no try.”
(Side note: that was a Star Trek AND a Star Wars reference in the same piece. Yea, I’m proud of that.)
How do we know?
Start Here – Answers Are Overrated
Seriously – what good are answers? No answer keeps you happy for long so try working with questions instead.
A good question is like a great map – it shows you the lay of the land but let’s you decide how to explore.
That my aim with MyndGuide – to share what I have explored in a way that encourages self-directed exploration.
I believe that questions lead you deeper. They don’t connect all the dots, but they give you glimpses of the bigger picture and that allows you to explore on your own.
Real Wisdom Is Personal
A self-imposed question and discovery will always carry more weight than someone else’s answer.
Why?
Because personal experience is all that matters!
Experience is where understanding becomes wisdom.
You Can’t Download Insight
Questions aren’t easy.
They require turning inward and it’s dark in there.
You have to go slow, explore Your problems, not anyone else’s.
And if you find something that feels true – you’ll have an immediate desire to share it.
I get that.
But have you ever been on the receiving end of unwanted advice?
If you’re a parent, or ever had a parent (which should be everyone) you’ve been part of this sharing of insight.
It is well intended. “Wise people learn from others’ mistakes.” That sounds great – but that is not how humans work, unfortunately.
Fact – Humans Learn the Hard Way
We don’t want to be told the answer.
We want to live it.
This truth isn’t good or bad – it’s just how mind-process works. We are experienced based – we are here to gain wisdom through direct experience.
And while blindly spreading answers has brought both progress and pain (think missionaries, atom bombs, and social media), the risk is real:
“When the wrong person uses the right means, the right means work in the wrong way.”
So, Be Careful With “Truth”
Most humans are not ready for Truth. We tend to distort good things in odd ways.
Example – let’s say we develop a miraculous technology – the kind that multiplies food or heals all illness with a touch – how long before we weaponize it? It be used for some but denied to others. Or, at the very least, someone will focus on multiplying bread and ruin it for the gluten-free crowd. We humans are wild that way. We just can’t win!
What To Do?
Turn within. Recognize that you have this incredible power: You can understand your own experience.
Armed with that,
before you rush to fix someone else,
before you chase someone else’s formula,
before you share what you think is “The Answer”…
Ask more questions.
Explore your own inner landscape.
Go deeper and further within.
Map it out if you’d like, but don’t push it on others.
Start there.
Oh, and for God’s sake, stop listening to me!
