Question Your Life: Naikan Self-Reflection and the Transformation of our Stories

When we travel, we have limited space in our bags. We try to take only what’s important and leave the rest behind. We would be wise to treat our stories the same way. We carry around our stories in our mind and heart. Some of these stories don’t serve us very well. They weigh us down. The renowned Indian pandita, Aryadeva, said, “To merely question that things might not be as they seem can shake the very foundation of habitual clinging.” Pythagoras questioned whether the earth was flat. Aristotle questioned whether the earth was flat. This questioning spirit changed the way we understand the shape of the world we live in. This book provides powerful examples of people who had a turn of the mind as a result of quiet self-reflection – a method from Japan called Naikan. People handcuffed by their past. A woman who hated her mother, a man estranged from his father, a pregnant woman in a train accident, a couple struggling with their marriage. Even a rabbi who neglected his shoes. If you’re willing to question your life, it may change the way you understand your own world . . . your own life. Lighten your load. See the world with new eyes. Find a path with a heart.