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Daily Question, November 16

How can I question myself and my daily patterns more skillfully?

  • Malag

    We can live by the questions and we don’t necessarily need them answered. The most powerful question for me right now is how can this day be lived so that it aligns with my values.

  • Noodn4

    Noticing the way i feel and my emotions are the main indicators of the quality of thoughts that im thinking. Whenever i feel strong emotions i should be the silent observer and take a look at what is really happening in my mind.

  • Ting Xiang

    I noticed that I don’t smile often. My face is usually stiff. I have started to write gratitude dairy and remind myself to be grateful. I also begin to record my daily emotions regularly. Although I still get irritated by small things my kids don’t do well, I really hope and believe that I can be joyful and peaceful.

  • Dusty Su

    Introspective journaling

  • Melissa

    Near the end of the day if I walk outside in nature and reflect on how the day went and take in what it feels like but regarding it all lightly. Right now it feels best with so many challenges just to be kind to myself and everyone else with each step forward.

  • Don Jones
    I find in me two wills, one that belongs to the pre-mortem life of the one in my mirror, and the other which belongs to the post-mortem life of the one this side of my mirror. The former is quick to say NO! to a good half of what happens to me, while the latter eventually says YES! – SO BE IT! – to it all. And does so with good reason: I see that right here all my resistance is dissolved and I’m burst wide open to receive whatever’s in store for me. Saying Yes! to it is often excruciatin...

    I find in me two wills, one that belongs to the pre-mortem life of the one in my mirror, and the other which belongs to the post-mortem life of the one this side of my mirror. The former is quick to say NO! to a good half of what happens to me, while the latter eventually says YES! – SO BE IT! – to it all. And does so with good reason: I see that right here all my resistance is dissolved and I’m burst wide open to receive whatever’s in store for me. Saying Yes! to it is often excruciatingly difficult, of course, but it turns out to be the recipe for the only peace worth having. And so at last the paradox holds: it’s because I have no will that my will is done. Right here, total impotence and total omnipotence come to the same thing.

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  • Hot Sauce

    Sometimes, when I am thinking about my daily habits, it’s important to ask, “Is anything getting in the way of anything else? If so, what do I prioritize, at least for now?”

  • Mary Bone

    In these trying times I am practicing kindness more as I encounter people in my daily life. During this month of Thanksgiving I am reflecting on my many blessings and I am more grateful to those around me.

  • Lauryn
    By pausing and slowing down to reflect. By realizing you will have bad days - recognizing them - and letting them pass - I guess that comes through knowing and understanding who you are at the core. I think some of us grow up with that understanding, but others of us not so much — due to circumstances, bad parenting, etc. I like the idea of pausing at the end of each day (or the next morning) to re-play the events of the previous day in our minds. I also think relationships help keep us in che...

    By pausing and slowing down to reflect. By realizing you will have bad days – recognizing them – and letting them pass – I guess that comes through knowing and understanding who you are at the core. I think some of us grow up with that understanding, but others of us not so much — due to circumstances, bad parenting, etc. I like the idea of pausing at the end of each day (or the next morning) to re-play the events of the previous day in our minds. I also think relationships help keep us in check with respect to these things.

    Read More
  • Zenith

    I don’t understand the question.. I really don’t feel I lack skill regarding watching my thoughts. And I have decided that a certain amount of judgement is necessary. Awareness is priceless.

    • Mica

      It sounds like that question doesn’t apply to you, Zenith

  • Ed Schulte
    The question was expressed in ancient teachings as the journey to "Know Thy Self'. And it meant using ones inner Permanent SELF to openly examine and correct ones temporary .present-day personality Lovingly ...not in the self condemning way so many current religions encourage The process is "self introspection" and it takes courage and dedicated consistency BUT the rewards are infinite! because we humans are inflate. There are many good examples of exercises so I will just share the on...

    The question was expressed in ancient teachings as the journey to “Know Thy Self’.

    And it meant using ones inner Permanent SELF to openly examine and correct ones temporary .present-day personality Lovingly …not in the self condemning way so many current religions encourage

    The process is “self introspection” and it takes courage and dedicated consistency BUT the rewards are infinite! because we humans are inflate. There are many good examples of exercises so I will just share the one I use.

    THE PRACTICE: DAILY INTROSPECTION EXERCISE
    Each night just prior to GOING TO sleep (when your subconscious is more permeable) inhale and exhale in a 4:4 pattern and relax completely. (Four beats of the heart during the in breath and 4 beats of the heart during the out breath)

    Either lying in bed or sitting up (try not to fall asleep) begin to recall the day from start to finish. Review each event, each encounter; of the day and with full impunity and leniency towards yourself and others ask yourself the following questions:

    What did I think or feel that I should not have thought or felt?
    What did I not think or feel that I should have thought or felt?
    What did 1say that 1should not have said?
    What did 1 not say that I should have said?
    What did I do that I should not have done?
    What did I not do that I should have done?

    The goal is not to blame or to praise yourself or others, but simply to observe your activity and work to correct your behavior. Praise and blame are like two sides of the same coin; they are dualistic and we must rise above the world of opposites. With time you will grow more accomplished at seeing yourself and will find that advancement in your worldly life and spiritual life will accelerate.

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  • Patricia

    It is a gift to be increasingly willing to be self-reflective and not defensive, willing to confess, willing to change … I can best be these things when I feel fundamentally safe and loved – both by God, certainly, and also by my husband…. This isn’t so much “skillful” on my part as it is a gift of relationships both human and spiritual.

  • Papilio

    Practicing meditation and reflecting on Daily Question here definitely helps to zero in on who I am and what I am called for. At the same time I know how good I am at not being honest with myself. So, I talk to a few of my friends who are trustworthy, kind, and open-minded to get different viewpoints.

  • sunnypatti
    If I am doing the work I need to be doing, then I am questioning myself regularly. Morning meditation and reflection are the foundation, but it's what happens throughout the day and how I react that build this practice up. The things that used to trigger me in the past don't anymore because I've learned to pause. I pause and take in whatever's happening while breathing with intention, and then speaking or acting as necessary (or not). It's not a perfect practice, but like with yoga, it's called ...

    If I am doing the work I need to be doing, then I am questioning myself regularly. Morning meditation and reflection are the foundation, but it’s what happens throughout the day and how I react that build this practice up. The things that used to trigger me in the past don’t anymore because I’ve learned to pause. I pause and take in whatever’s happening while breathing with intention, and then speaking or acting as necessary (or not). It’s not a perfect practice, but like with yoga, it’s called a practice for a reason 🙂

    Read More
  • kimthompsen
    I have a couple of tools that help me do this: Remember when I point a finger at someone, 3 more are pointing back at me. Sweep off my side of the street: in other words, make sure my motives are pure. Ask myself these 2 questions: does it need to be said? Does it need to be said by me? That can be tricky, especially when the answer to the first question is YES, but the answer to the 2nd is NO. And lastly, a nightly review of my day, which I often don't get to since I fall asleep in th...

    I have a couple of tools that help me do this:

    Remember when I point a finger at someone, 3 more are pointing back at me.

    Sweep off my side of the street: in other words, make sure my motives are pure.

    Ask myself these 2 questions: does it need to be said? Does it need to be said by me? That can be tricky, especially when the answer to the first question is YES, but the answer to the 2nd is NO.
    And lastly, a nightly review of my day, which I often don’t get to since I fall asleep in the living room chair! Lol

    Read More
    • Mica

      Thanks for the reminder about the 1 finger and the 3 fingers, kimthompsen

  • Trish

    It helps when I’m honest w/ myself😆. If I really want to grow I have to dig deep & take a look at some pretty ugly things. I can be kind & generous to myself because that fosters change. I love myself….❤️

  • devy

    I question myself daily with my early morning ritual of meditation and self reflection. They prepare me for the day so that if a situation or instance turns up and my emotions kick in, I have the skills to stop listen to my feelings and go to the kernel of my real deep feelings where these present feelings come too. I am then better prepared to acknowledge how I feel and disconnect my past situation from my present by and consoling my inner child who was affected when I was very young

  • EJP

    With an open heart and tons of patience.

  • Gregoire

    In one of the Grateful living exersizes, there is the suggestion of reviewing your day before going to sleep. Thinking not just about our gratefulness, trying to see things through new eyes but also about how I listened for God’s voice through other people that day. I am now lucky to still have my wife of 35 years and we do it together. You’ve also go to be willing to admit your faults and how to be a better person the next time.

  • Lioness

    My daily patterns and routine is important to my wellbeing, but I do recognise that to grow I do also need to step out of my comfort zone too sometimes. I think perhaps questioning the why behind what I do may bring forth more opportunities to grow?

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