Yeshua’s Primary Question - Part 1

Rex Spear, a physician from Bozeman, Montana, and a fellow-pilgrim, has sent me some good material on the questioning that we have been doing of late. Here is Part I of some of his important insights.-- LB

Reflecting on this theme of questioning, I believe (using rather broad strokes) questioning in our practice work can be seen in two general flavors. The first is a very necessary cognitive assessment. With it we try to look at, among other things, our levels of maturity, perspectives, biases, goals, value spheres, and how we generate meaning. For me, some very helpful questions in this arena have been:

· What is of ultimate concern?
· What or whom do I value most?
· From what level or voice am I deriving meaning at this moment?
· What beliefs am I consciously or possibly subconsciously entertaining at this given instant?
· What endpoint am I striving for, and how are the means to that endpoint biased?
· What am I trying to protect, and what am I trying to prove?
· What am I avoiding at this moment?

Each of these questions does have a tangible answer, though the answer may be quite vague and hidden at first. As mentioned, this type of questioning is a very necessary but, in isolation, an insufficient part of praxis/living. If left here, our growth halts at this parsing of our inner selves. To move into the Mind of Christ, we need another form of questioning. Fortunately, our rich Semitic traditions offer inroads into this second type of inquiry.