Self-inquiry is often spoken of as a basic means to get to know ourselves better, but what is it really? How can we carry it out?
In this article we explain what this process of self-knowledge consists of, the key to making the unconscious conscious and, therefore, to developing our freedom and emotional coherence.
Become Aware – Enric Closer
In this video, Enric Corbera explains through practical examples how to become aware and how it benefits us.
The power of Self-inquiry 💡 Conference by Enric and David Corbera
In this Conference given by Enric and David Corbera, what the self-inquiry process consists of is detailed, what implications it has in daily life and how we can apply it to begin to be creators and protagonists of our own lives.
What is self inquiry?
Questioning and taking responsibility for one’s life experience
The self inquiry it is an act of observation through which we can understand that what we have in front of us works like a mirror.
It consists in questioning and our “truth”. To start self-inquiry, It is essential to stop being responsible for what happens to us and, thus, stop looking for justifications and explanations outside of ourselves:
This act of turning the focus towards ourselves, understanding that everything we perceive has to do with our internal state, implies going from a dual focus to an advaita one (not two) and thus being able to begin to listen to the message that the life.
Delve into our mind
It would be like diving inside our mind to understand that our information not only arises from our life experiences, that is, from our memories and our way of interpreting those memories, but also refers us to .
Most of the time, we do not have the experiences lived by our ancestors so present, either because we do not know the events that occurred in our family history or because, even knowing them, we do not relate them to the conflicts we are experiencing today.
the selfoinquiry also leads us to understand that our behaviour, feelings and emotional reactions respond to a collective unconscious that goes beyond the family and speaks of the society in which we were born.
Self-inquiry guides us towards our inner balance
Self-inquiry guides us towards our internal balance as it invites us to believe that the experience we are living is perfect. When we say that something is perfect, we mean to observe without positioning ourselves before it, that is, without assessing whether what happens is good or bad.
This is one of the most important steps in learning to self-inquire, precisely because we are very used to evaluating and judging the events of our lives based on whether or not we believe they are convenient for us.
We can detect how much we are positioning ourselves before an event when we talk about what others have done instead of what we ourselves feel, or if we justify our actions. Either of these two behaviors reveals what we are not willing to assume as our own.
Develop an understanding gaze
Starting to self-inquire is recognizing that with the story we tell ourselves we are covering the unconscious information that really conditions us. Every time we practice self-inquiry, we let go of ways of thinking, feeling, and acting that we have learned but that no longer benefit us.
Only the fact of continually questioning ourselves allows us to develop a look of understanding about our world. It takes us away from our judgments and interpretations and brings us closer to a .
From innocence we can observe as natural phenomena just like night and day, summer and winter, etc. Thus, when something happens to us that we can consider an excess or a defect, we will know how to transcend it to return to balance.
Learn to self-inquire
Our emotional states do not have an external cause
Imagine for a moment that you are watching television, suddenly a piece of news that upsets you appears and you begin to feel irritated or annoyed. Where do you think the cause of your discomfort is?
At this moment, two options arise: to believe that our discomfort comes from outside, from the attitudes or behaviors that we see in the news, or thatat a deeper level, there is one that reacts to that information affecting us emotionally.
At this point it should be noted the difference between the “thinking self” – that voice that we hear within us, that judges and gives an opinion, and is closely related to the ego – and the “observing self” – who is the one who listens or observes that voice -.
Through this “observing self” we can see how the “thinking self” thinksand realize that, in reality, those thoughts and that judgment lead us to experiences in our lives that we project on the news in question.
This is what usually bothers or hurts us, our perception, not what we see outside.
«Our perception of the facts is more distorted by the weight of our emotions than by the weak influence of the data we possess. The entire scope of our knowledge, or our imagination, does not go beyond our ideas, limited to our ways of perception.»
Lockee, 1924
Bioneuroemotion and self-inquiry
Detect internal inconsistency
It starts from any conflicting aspect of the person’s life to investigate their unconscious and discover the inconsistencies that influence their manifestation.
That is why it gives answers not only to physical questions, but also to interpersonal, social, work difficulties and, ultimately, to all situations that can occur in a person’s life.
The result of self-inquiry is always a new understanding that increases our level of awareness and promotes peace of mind.
“Sensations are not part of any knowledge, good or bad, higher or lower. They are, rather, inciting provocations, occasions for an act of inquiry that has to end in knowledge.”
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3 simple steps to start self-inquiry
If you are experiencing a conflict with your partner, with a family member, etc., or you have problems at work, related to someone’s attitude, these are the steps you can take to observe what are you projecting on otherswhich will allow you get to know you better and access new solutions.
1- Observe without judging, without positioning yourself
Identify a specific conflict situation with the person you have chosen. Describe what happens in an objective way: What is happening? What does the other person do or say? What do you do or say?
Pay special attention not to make assessments or judgments, focus on the facts. Doing this allows you differentiate between what happens objectively and your interpretation.
It is not what has happened that bothers one man, since the same thing may not bother another. It is his judgment about what happened. »
epictetus
2- Apply unity consciousness
Everything that emotionally alters us reflects our internal state and speaks of our unconscious information, otherwise that experience would not be a conflict for us.
Applying unity consciousness implies understanding that what affects us is not what happens, but what we are interpretingand we do it based on our beliefs and learning.
you may wonder: How am I interpreting this situation? For example, you may feel that the other person does not respect you, that they judge you, that they take advantage of you, that they do not take you into account, etc.
From the perspective of unity consciousness we can do the exercise of reverse thought and ask us: In what way am I not respecting myself? What do I judge in myself? What limits am I not putting in my life? Do I take my priorities into account?etc.
“If you want to know yourself, observe the behavior of others.
If you want to understand others, look into your own heart.”
Johann C. Fiedrich von Schiller
3- Learn from your projections
Every situation that generates conflict contains the seed of learning that we need to carry out, and in what we judge is the greatest treasure.
You may ask yourself: What can I learn from this situation? What can I learn from the other person’s behavior?
Perhaps we have interpreted that the other person is selfish because they always go their own way. In this case, learning has to do with prioritizing oneself more, that is, with having a more selfish attitude (what we have judged) that allows us to take responsibility for our own well-being.
Self-inquiry as a habit for emotional health
You can carry out a process of self-inquiry in any situation that moves you emotionally, that bothers you or worries you, and especially with the conflicts that regularly recur in your life.
The more you observe and question yourself, the more you will know yourself and you will be able to choose not repeat learned patterns of thought and behavior that currently harm you.
Bioneuroemoción® offers tools and strategies to be able to take responsibility for our lives and transcend the role of victims, to become emotional adults and the captains of our lives.
Turn self-inquiry into a habit, spend some time each day, sit with a notebook, or stand in front of the mirror. Question yourself, challenge yourself to Get to know yourself deeply, overcome your limitations and make the necessary changes to create the life you want.
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