Have you questioned your unhappiness?

July 25, 2007
BE HAPPY ZONE
By Lionel Ketchian

I have been interested in the profound changes the right question can produce within a person. A good question can be like a clear mirror that reflects back to you what you really need to see. Sometimes we can see what is wrong with others with no trouble at all. It seems hard to find the right light of examination in order to see our authentic self.

Seeing ourselves as we really are is one of the most difficult things we can experience. If you want to reduce the time it will take you to experience a realization that may add to your wellbeing and eliminate a great deal of difficulty and suffering in your life than asking useful and accurate questions can be a good way to a more enlightened life experience.

You're reading this article wondering if you have time to read the rest of it. You are thinking, I wonder if this article will do anything for me? You might as well invest a few more minutes if it will help you stop worrying about a problem you have or the unhappiness that you have been living with. Socrates has said, "An unexamined life is not worth living."

To experience a happy life we need to examine ourselves so that we can really understand ourselves and appreciate our lives. Think about a problem that you have had on your mind for the last few minutes. It may be a thought, a judgement or something you can't forgive that is gripping your mind and making you unhappy. Okay, do you remember what has been bothering you? Good! Now, ask yourself the following question:

1. When I am thinking of something that makes me unhappy, how do I feel?

Really examine how you feel when you focus on the particular thought that is making you unhappy. Now, ask yourself the second question:

2. How would I feel if I did not react to that thought?

Examine yourself and be sure you know how you would feel. If you did not behave the way you normally do, think about how you would feel. Ask yourself the third question:

3. If I knew I would be happy, is it worth giving up this thought?

If you are going to get what you really want than it would be worth being happy and not letting this thought control your mind. I know you would agree. Now ask yourself the next question.

4. If I did not have this thought, if I could let go of this story, how would I feel?

This is an important question to think about. Allow yourself to release the thought and disengage from the story. Letting go of your personal story, no matter how bad, how old or how true this story may be will become a liberating experience. Try it, you'll love it! Another question to ask yourself:

5. What can I do or change now, to be happy?

Ask yourself, what can you do right now or change right now. If there are things you could do or change now, write those items down on a sheet of paper and get it off your mind. If there is nothing you can do or change right now that is fine, just notice this fact. Now examine the next question:

6. By being happy now, do I see the situation with enough clarity to make a choice?

Think about what your choices are for this moment. Consider the options that are available to you right now that would be useful to you. Right now you can solve all your problems if you use your thinking to examine the choice you have available to you for now. Think about the next question with all the honesty you can command:

7. How has unhappiness affected me?

The answers you give to this question will lead to your personal freedom and understanding. You can take a sheet of paper and make a list of things that have overwhelmed you and ultimately controlled you. Has it been worthwhile to allow unhappy thoughts to control our thinking and negatively impact your life?

What questions do you ask yourself? Are the questions you keep asking brining you down in life and making you feel bad? The right questions can empower you to grow intellectually, advance spiritually and experience happiness for the rest of your life. As Ella Wheeler Wilcox said, "The truest greatness lies in being kind, the truest wisdom in a happy mind."

The real answers to life depend on the questions you ask yourself. Use these questions to deal with any negative thought, judgement, criticism, or unhappiness you become aware of. This will become your liberation toward freedom and joy.