The Power of Questioning

“What is my purpose?”

I vividly remember asking this question before taking my small cup of Ayahuasca medicine while on my travels in 2014. The shaman asked me to set an intention or to ask a question of Mother Ayahuasca and that the ceremony would help provide me with clarity.

The indigenous tribes of the Amazon say the medicine is intuitive and that it will “give you what you need” – it certainly did. The experience was profound and life-changing.

The journey I went on that evening changed the direction of my life and career forever. It sent me down the path of helping others and allowed me to tune in to a source of energy that now guides me as I navigate this crazy journey we call life. My intuition was switched on that evening and life began unfolding in a mystical and magical way - so much so that it is difficult to convey in words.

The morning after the ceremony, the shaman told me I was to “follow the path of a healer,” and that my purpose was to help others and to heal humanity. My response was “what does that even mean?!”

Six months later, I’d left my post as Operations Director for a company I loved and adored on every level, to follow what felt like a “calling”. I think most of my friends and family thought I was “losing the plot” and on more than one occasion so did I, however, I had an inner knowing that was pulling me in a new direction and I had no choice but to listen.

The power of the question I asked before that pivotal moment in life, opened the doors to a whole new world and realm. I faced my deepest fears and I became aware of the unconditional love for everyone and everything that resides within me and that I know resides within Everyone and Everything.

Ten months on from that experience, I found myself training as a coach. The title of “healer” felt too esoteric for me and I was unsure how my new clientele of CEOs, founders and senior leaders would react!

Whilst training as a coach, I gained an even greater understanding of the power of questions, how they can cause a paradigm shift, create a new-found level of awareness and offer a porthole into the conscious, unconscious and sub-conscious minds, often providing a new perspective on life.

Can you remember a time when you were asked a question that impacted you on a profound level?

What was the question?

What feeling did it provoke in you?

What was the insight?

How did it change your perception of life in that moment?

Not only can questions be used to create a shift in another person, they can be used to shift your own perspective, providing you with insights that enable real personal transformation.

“The quality of your life is determined by the quality of your questions.” -- Dr. John Demartini.
If we ask the same questions over-and-over about our life, business, relationships or purpose, then it is likely we will receive the same answers. If, however, we are to ask questions that change the way we look or think about things (the type of question that stops you in your tracks and requires a deeper pondering), then it is likely that the answers that “show up” will point you in a new direction and provide you with some clarity on how to move forward.

Questions can open the door to creativity, problem solving, improved relationships, empathy, compassion, ideas, healing … and even Love. One of the most impactful questions in the world is “will you marry me?” – I find it incredible that four simple words can provoke such a powerful and emotional connection between two souls.

Words and Questions are powerful.

When I trained as a coach, I asked myself “why isn’t everyone trained in the art of questioning?”

It seemed crazy to me that we are never taught how to ask powerful questions. The only experiences I’d had were on sales training courses, where I learned how to ask questions in a way that could be used to manipulate or influence someone to get onside with my own ideas and agenda. At least that’s what it felt like to me.

What if our questioning was to come from a different angle? What if our questioning came with no agenda, no expectation and no bias? What if we asked from a place of love and curiosity, where our only desire was to help another human being access a deeper part of their own intuition? Where ideas, creativity, innate confidence and intelligence resides… the place where a world of pure potentiality exists?

As I trained as a coach, I learned so many different types of questions; wisdom access questions, incisive questions, Socratic questions, thinking questions, questions to generate responsibility, questions to challenge or change perspective… the list goes on.

Can you imagine the power questions could have on you, your team, organisation or business? Can you imagine the transformative effect it would have on your relationships, your parenting skills and your life if you levelled up on your questioning techniques?

As Albert Einstein said;

“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.”