Insight in Inquiry: Investigating Ideas, Instincts, and Illuminating Intuition

I couldn't help myself. Alliteration is awesome.

Inquiring Minds

Initially I thought I wouldn’t instate so much alliteration this early. A thousand apologies, alliteration is an addiction and allowing my authoring of it is appreciated. Rest assured it won’t go much further. There we go, finished a sentence without it.

Inquiry is the topic, so let’s focus, alright?

Great start! Except, that wasn’t inquiry.

What is inquiry, then?

There it is! It is the act of asking, more or less. If we look deeper into it we realize it’s more than simply an act, it’s a means to uncover or discover.

What can we gain from inquiry?

Well, what can we gain, indeed. Insight is the answer. To avoid further alliterative allusions, I may need to use another word for insight. That has the benefit of drilling down further into what we can gain from inquiry as well.

Should we use intuition?

No, that will simply drive my addiction further. We must avoid words that start with I, of course.

How about acumen?

Acumen could work, though earlier iterations of my alliteration obsession relied on the letter A. So we’ll about that too. Acumen may have the added drawback of focusing too much on proficiency over the seeking of knowledge.

Perhaps wisdom then?

Wisdom works wonderfully, though now it seems I may know too many W words as well. Without wanton wordplay, we witness why W won’t work.

Understanding, then?

Understand something, this word is uniquely useful in this pursuit. We want to gain understanding, insight, intuition. That can lead to greater acumen and through that, and given acumen leads to the UNDERSTANDING of what you don’t know, it can lead to wisdom. Wonderful.

So what was the point of that exercise?

That’s elementary, really. Well, not LITERALLY. It was a demonstration of a simple process using inquiry. We arrived at a good answer, a good solution. The way we arrived was through using questions. This can and should be used for most things. This is our superpower.

What have you consistently been puzzled about?

There are moments in our life that give an appearance of familiarity. Akin to déjà vu, they’re accompanied by an eerie sensation. It can be off-putting.

How many times must we run into the same question before we answer it?

That depends on how open we are to change and experience. People differ, of course. Also, it depends on what the question is. There are questions that, if answered, would turn your world upside down.

Allow me to rephrase that. There are questions that, if answered truthfully, honestly, and correctly, would change the way you perceive the world. It would be uncomfortable to do and would be a process to reconcile and accept, but those are the ones we SHOULD be asking and answering.

Why don’t we?

That’s simple. We’re human. Change is scary and uncomfortable. Learning is uncomfortable, but exhilarating if taken upon voluntarily and with genuine curiosity.

So the next time you encounter a situation that leaves you perplexed, puzzled, or prowling prodigiously for proof, be sure to take a moment to pause and ponder. Perhaps this is a time to explore your newfound understanding and partake in some inquiry.

Change is scary, for sure. But change is necessary. I have a hard time myself, but that’s what all this writing I am doing is for.

I mean, I can’t suggest YA’LL do it then omit pursuing it myself, can I?

I’m sure I could, but then I would be a hypocrite. And I’m not a large water dwelling mammal. So now I have to force myself to pause more often.

Respectful Regards,

Rad

I mean Dad.