By Wendy Lotter, MHSA, Master Meditation Instructor
Do you have a daily practice of checking in with yourself? Something that helps you feel you are a part of something bigger than yourself while connected to everything? A way to know and feel you are never in this life totally alone? Taking five minutes to yourself each day can be a very grounding experience as you work through the Four Questions for a Kind Mind.
Before we move into the actual questions, let’s think about the concept of allowing or accepting. In this concept, we want to try not to be controlling of situations. Doing so simply adds more stress to your lives. It also leads to worrying, which is another form on trying to control. Take a minute to really think about this statement: Whether you worry and stress over a situation or not, the end result will be the end result. You, worrying about it, did nothing to change the outcome. But it likely ruined your day in the meantime!
A daily check can allow you to think of something bigger than yourself. It also allows you to ask questions without the pressure of needing to have an answer. The questions are more about putting a feeling out into the universe or to whatever higher power you believe in and letting them go. Trusting that what is in your greatest good with be the outcome.
Your greatest good may not always mean rainbows and unicorns though. Sometimes what we need to go through and grow through can be challenging. If we can ask ourselves these four questions and then let go of being attached to answers, it can help us feel lighter and less weighed down by stress. So let’s get into the questions!
The Four Questions for a Kind Mind
Did I Love?
Did I show love for someone today? Did I show love for myself? This love could have been shared outwardly or kept privately in our thoughts. Did you put love out into the universe? We ask this question first as a way of reminding ourselves the importance of love in this human experience.
Did I Laugh?
Was there good-hearted humor in my day? Not humor at someone else’s expense or through sarcasm, but true joy and laughter? Being able to feel some joy every single day is critical to our well-being. Our minds are wired to remember the negative more easily, so this important question is the second of our four questions.
Have I Left a Situation More Positive Than I Found It?
This can be a pretty deep question to ask ourselves. Did you take part in any sort of interaction today that was better, more positive, because you were a part of it? Did you make the world a better place through a single conversation or action? This is an important question that helps connect you, individually, to the greater good in the world.
Have I Treated Myself as Sacred?
Did you know you are a sacred being? You are! Each of us is sacred. We ask this question as a way to remind ourselves every day of our sacredness. This also helps us remember to think about our actions toward ourselves, mind, body, and in spirit. We can ask if our actions today were in line with how we would treat any other sacred being. We should hold our views of ourselves to that same high standard. What was your self-talk today? Did your activities support sacredness? How about the foods you put into your body?
Remember, we are asking ourselves these questions, then letting go of needing to have the answers. We are trusting that our higher power has our back for our greatest growth and good. We are practicing allowing and accepting. Taking time each day to ask these Four Questions for a Kind Mind can help you see, and maybe even begin to treat yourself, with more compassion. You are worth it.