Self-Inquiry, Questioning Beliefs, and Contemplation
Graybeard 1, Kiroli
Self-Inquiry~~~
Self-inquiry is not a superficial process in which you unearth all you know on a topic and then stop. Instead, once you have your ideas out in the open, you keep on going until you learn something new. That is what you are after.
Adyashanti says, “Inquiry is an attitude of curiosity that lives within you, and it is a reflection of your desire to know Truth and the nature of Reality.” From The Way of Liberation: A Practical Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, p. 29. You can download this ebook from www.adyashanti.org.
Choose a quality or topic for the purpose of doing self-inquiry. Examples of qualities to explore are peace, openness, light, healing, true nature, relationships, enlightenment, and so forth. If you have my rune book, you can pick a rune and select one of the qualities that rune represents. You can also explore qualities like fear, anger, depression, remorse, or shame, which we usually push away and call "negative" because they don't make us feel good. Yet they have some gold in them, too, with regard to self-knowledge. And they don't pop up for nothing; they are messages: Look at me! they say. Pay attention; a violation is going on, or some old emotion needs to be acknowledged so it can be released.
You can choose any quality, emotion, concept, or state of consciousness you want to understand better.
Think about the quality, listing what it is and what it is not. Take plenty of time to think about it as deeply as you can.
Also, when beliefs come up, like "If he loved me, he would do such-and-such" ask yourself (Byron Katie style): Is it true? Do I know for certain that it is true? A feeling can be based on a belief you have that may not even be true! Always follow feelings back to the beliefs that generate them and question the beliefs.
Adyashanti says, “Inquiry is an attitude of curiosity that lives within you, and it is a reflection of your desire to know Truth and the nature of Reality.” From The Way of Liberation, as mentioned above.
Consider your quality and ask yourself, "What does this word really mean? What does it refer to? How do I experience it within myself? What are some concrete examples? How do I define this quality for myself? Can I explore it in other ways? Can I see it from other perspectives?"
Write down all your definitions and ideas about this quality. Then ask yourself, "How might my definitions be limiting my experience?"
Allow the quality to speak for itself, like a dream image. Imagine that you are having a conversation with it. Write it down, or record it. Write or speak spontaneously.
Contemplation~~~
The process of self-inquiry is not complete without contemplation, or direct experience of the quality.
In contemplation we let go of thinking and just experience the quality we have chosen. The answer to “What is peace?” for example, is experienced rather than "thought about."
Contemplation involves sensing the quality as it presents itself to you and letting it evolve in depth, scope, and breath. Like shades of a color, a quality has gradients; like geologic layers of earth, a quality translates into strata. Like fragrance, a quality has different intensities of presence and effect. Like an ingredient, it becomes something else when blended with other substances.
Contemplation of a quality refines and builds the quality into our consciousness. Contemplation of peace, kindness, holiness, compassion, beauty, or another quality translates into events, actions, and relationships in the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of our life. When contemplating a painful emotion, such as grief, we evolve our understanding and eventually move through it to achieve a new level of compassion, not only for ourselves, but for others.
Self-inquiry is not a superficial process in which you unearth all you know on a topic and then stop. Instead, once you have your ideas out in the open, you keep on going until you learn something new. That is what you are after.
Adyashanti says, “Inquiry is an attitude of curiosity that lives within you, and it is a reflection of your desire to know Truth and the nature of Reality.” From The Way of Liberation: A Practical Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, p. 29. You can download this ebook from www.adyashanti.org.
Choose a quality or topic for the purpose of doing self-inquiry. Examples of qualities to explore are peace, openness, light, healing, true nature, relationships, enlightenment, and so forth. If you have my rune book, you can pick a rune and select one of the qualities that rune represents. You can also explore qualities like fear, anger, depression, remorse, or shame, which we usually push away and call "negative" because they don't make us feel good. Yet they have some gold in them, too, with regard to self-knowledge. And they don't pop up for nothing; they are messages: Look at me! they say. Pay attention; a violation is going on, or some old emotion needs to be acknowledged so it can be released.
You can choose any quality, emotion, concept, or state of consciousness you want to understand better.
Think about the quality, listing what it is and what it is not. Take plenty of time to think about it as deeply as you can.
Also, when beliefs come up, like "If he loved me, he would do such-and-such" ask yourself (Byron Katie style): Is it true? Do I know for certain that it is true? A feeling can be based on a belief you have that may not even be true! Always follow feelings back to the beliefs that generate them and question the beliefs.
Adyashanti says, “Inquiry is an attitude of curiosity that lives within you, and it is a reflection of your desire to know Truth and the nature of Reality.” From The Way of Liberation, as mentioned above.
Consider your quality and ask yourself, "What does this word really mean? What does it refer to? How do I experience it within myself? What are some concrete examples? How do I define this quality for myself? Can I explore it in other ways? Can I see it from other perspectives?"
Write down all your definitions and ideas about this quality. Then ask yourself, "How might my definitions be limiting my experience?"
Allow the quality to speak for itself, like a dream image. Imagine that you are having a conversation with it. Write it down, or record it. Write or speak spontaneously.
Contemplation~~~
The process of self-inquiry is not complete without contemplation, or direct experience of the quality.
In contemplation we let go of thinking and just experience the quality we have chosen. The answer to “What is peace?” for example, is experienced rather than "thought about."
Contemplation involves sensing the quality as it presents itself to you and letting it evolve in depth, scope, and breath. Like shades of a color, a quality has gradients; like geologic layers of earth, a quality translates into strata. Like fragrance, a quality has different intensities of presence and effect. Like an ingredient, it becomes something else when blended with other substances.
Contemplation of a quality refines and builds the quality into our consciousness. Contemplation of peace, kindness, holiness, compassion, beauty, or another quality translates into events, actions, and relationships in the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of our life. When contemplating a painful emotion, such as grief, we evolve our understanding and eventually move through it to achieve a new level of compassion, not only for ourselves, but for others.
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Adyashanti on Contemplation~~~
From The Way of Liberation: A Practical Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, p. 31: “Contemplation is the art of holding a word or a phrase patiently in the silence and stillness of awareness until it begins to disclose deeper and deeper meanings and understandings. Contemplation has the power to transcend beyond (not regress back from) the limits of analytical thought and logic [Ken Wilber’s term is “transrational”], and open consciousness up to an order of wisdom and Truth that can only be described as revelation.” 
New Life
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Graybeard 2, Kiroli
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Also see the website of A. H. Almass, https://www.diamondapproach.org to explore the Diamond Approach to self-inquiry. From his website: A. H. Almaas is the pen name of A. Hameed Ali, founder of the Diamond Approach to Self-Realization, a contemporary teaching that developed within the context of both ancient spiritual teachings and modern depth psychology theories. Almaas has authored eighteen books about spiritual realization, including the Diamond Heart series, The Pearl Beyond Price, The Void, andThe Alchemy of Freedom. He is the founder of the Ridhwan School for Spiritual Development, an inner work school devoted to the realization of True Nature. The orientation of the school is directed toward guiding students to realize their true nature to the fullest realization and further still to endless enlightenment.
Another source of an excellent and unique self-inquiry method is offered by Byron Katie, at https://thework.com. She gives four questions and turn-arounds to use to investigate the stories our mind is telling us. Asking these questions and playing with turnarounds will lead you beyond suffering! It is amazing to watch the process in action. You can see many Byron Katie videos on YouTube.