3 Powerful Questions to Transform Your Life
After receiving a postcard from my teacher, Vaisesika Dasa, I felt inspired to write a reflection on these 3 powerful questions he suggests to regularly ask oneself in order to elevate one’s state of consciousness.
To preface, the question mark is the most powerful punctuation mark in any language. As my teacher says, the question mark looks and acts like a hook… We can introduce a question in a conversation with another to reel the talk in a new direction. Similarly, we can ask ourselves questions to hook our own mind and reel it in a direction which is more conducive to happiness, clarity, and productivity.
Getting into the habit of regularly asking ourselves the following three questions is such a simple, but potent way to transform our lives…
1. How can I be of service?
In Dale Carnegie’s classic book “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living”, he states that a most powerful way to immediately alleviate anxiety is to find someone to serve. Similarly, bhakti yoga teaches that one of the best ways to engage the mind is to think about how to do good for others. Our minds are always running (at least mine is!), and if it is running in a direction which is against our best interest, we feel out of tune. So if the mind is going to run, we may as well engage it in a worthy race (i.e. thinking of how to do good for others). In this way, we can take ourselves out of the center and relieve the pressure and frustration that follows us around when we live as though everything revolves around us.
2. What is the lesson?
As Albert Einstein noted, “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”
One of the most powerful aspects of human existence is we have the choice at every moment as to how we perceive happenings. The spiritualist thinks, “Whatever is happening is happening for me, not to me.” Indeed, the wisdom texts affirm that not a blade of grass moves without the sanction of the Supreme Source. In other words, everything that is happening is through divine arrangement. So, when we align ourselves with this principle by seeking out the lesson behind all that happens ‘for’ us, we develop the right attitude; and our attitude determines our altitude in life.
These principles are summed up so profoundly and succinctly in the following quote:
“People immersed in their conditioning and people who have learned to see beyond body and mind confront the same problems and dilemmas. The difference is how they respond. Those immersed in their conditioning think, ‘Here is my bad luck again, coming to make my life miserable.’ But wisdom cultures around the world teach us to think, ‘Here is my hard luck again, coming to help me cleanse my misconceptions and to grow.” -Radhanath Swami (The Journey Within)
Would it not feel miraculous to live constantly in this state of consciousness??
3. What is the best use of my time right now?
One trait which I see myself as possessing to a greater extent than I would like is laziness. I often feel lethargic. I may have many things I could be doing, even many things I would like to do, yet I still find myself in a state of passive inactivity or aimless social media scrolling. One thing I have observed and realized in this regard is that the mind can become easily overwhelmed at the prospect of all the things we want/need to do. Regularly asking ourselves this question soothes the overactive mind, brings us into the present moment, and allows us to focus our attention in one place. In turn, we utilize our time more deliberately and effectively, and naturally feel more balanced and connected.
So… try this on for size! Write these three questions down on a sticky note and put it somewhere you will see it often. That way you will be reminded to regularly check in and ask yourself: 1) How can I be of service?, 2) What is the lesson?, and 3)What is the best use of my time right now?. You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain from trying out this practice. I hope you find it as practical and uplifting as I have :)
Let’s connect! I’d love to hear any reflections, comments, or thoughts you have on any of this…
Yours in service,
DK dasa (Dan Taylor)
dkdasa108@gmail.com
