What Is This?
The spirit of inquiry is fundamental to living mindfully.
Inquiry is not just a way to solve problems. It is a way
to make sure you are staying in touch with the basic
mystery of life itself and of our presence here. Who
am I? Where am I going? What does it mean to be?
What does it mean to be a ... man, woman, child,
parent; a student, a worker, a boss, an inmate; a
homeless person? What is my karma? Where am I
now? What is my way? What is my job on the planet
with a capital J?
Inquiry doesn't mean looking for answers, especially
quick answers which come out of superficial thinking.
It means asking without expecting answers, just
pondering the question, carrying the wondering with
you, letting it percolate, bubble, cook, ripen, come in
and out of awareness, just as everything else comes
in and out of awareness.
You don't have to be still to inquire. Inquiry and
mindfulness can occur simultaneously in the
unfolding of your daily life. In fact, inquiry and
mindfulness are one and the same thing, come to
from different directions. You can ponder "What am I"
or "What is this?" or "Where am I going?" or "What is