Beneath every stressful emotion sits a thought—a thought that may or may not actually be true. Once you question the validity of the thought, the accompanying stress in the mind and body starts to fall away. That’s the basic insight of inquiry practice.
The power of inquiry arises from the fact that our experience of life is shaped by a thick web of interconnected stories and beliefs. We judge ourselves: I’m not good enough. We attach: Nothing ever turns out right. We resist what is: It’s too cold out. These stories and beliefs play in our minds like background music at a restaurant, so familiar that we are no longer conscious of them. But we hear their message anyway. Without calling these stories and beliefs into question, we tend to just assume their truth. My neighbor is being irrational. My child’s soccer coach is unfair. My boss is controlling. These kinds of everyday stressful beliefs become our holy doctrine. And the more we cling to them, the more we experience stress, anxiety, and unhappiness.
The power of inquiry arises from the fact that our experience of life is shaped by…
