Questions and Answers (Revisited)

Recently I happened upon an old blog entry that I wrote back in 2006 about questions and answers. It was quite enjoyable to reread as it served to refresh some outlooks and understandings which were more at the forefront of awareness at the time they were initially written. I found the experience so enjoyable that I thought it might be nice to share the ideas once again here. Enjoy!

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4 + 3 = 7 The left hand side of the equation is equal to the right hand side of the equation.

The same principle can be applied to virtually all questions and answers. By understanding the question(left side), we also understand the answer(right side). The question is equal to the answer. One cannot even formulate a question when they are not aware of the answer that the question is seeking. For example, one does not ask if cows are green when one wishes to know about sports cars (How could we know that we had found the answer if we didn't already know, at least on some level, what it should look like?). As such, an extremely useful spiritual practice is to observe, document and analyze our questions(essentially, to calibrate them according to the Map of Consciousness!). Explore the field that they have arisen out of.

Can I face reality? = Courage
Can this be okay? = Neutrality
Can I move forward? = Willingness
Can I be at peace with this? = Acceptance
What does it mean? = Reason
The Question = The Field

Then there are also fields that bring about questions of less integrity:

Am I better/smarter than ___? = Pride
Why don't I get what I want? = Anger
Can I have it? = Desire
Is it safe? = Fear
Can I ever be more than my mistakes? = Guilt

It is extremely useful to examine the field that a question arises from. The only fitting 'answer' to any question is going to be one that arises out of the same field, because of the necessary equivalence of the values on each side of the question/answer equation. For those familiar with the Map of Consciousness, it is an especially helpful reference.

Between 500 and 600 there is a massive drop-off when it comes to the arising of questions. Beyond 600 it becomes apparent that Truth can only be validated by identity with it and not by knowing about it. Complete surrender of one's beingness to the Allness of existence is the process which carries them further. Contemplation occurs spontaneously, but there is no longer attachment to questions or answers. Questions that arise come out of the collective field rather than one's personal field.

One of the main techniques of high level teachers is to simply recontextualize questions so that they become meaningless. On the map of consciousness, a question that arises out of Pride is quite meaningless once one looks at it from the perspective of Courage, or Neutrality, or any of the higher levels. This is a technique that we can practice for ourselves once we have examined the field that the question has arisen out of. We can look at it from the perspectives of (in the context of) the higher levels of consciousness, and subsequently practice the surrender/release of those questions as they appear unimportant in this new light we have shone upon them.
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Blessings,

-Rob