EMPOWERING QUESTIONS
Card deck with 52 cards
The cards were first published in Finland in Finnish in 2015. The pictures on the cards are photos of colourful doors in Tallinn, Estonia. The questions can be regarded as doors that are opening; they give insights the chance to come in.
Examples for using the Empowering Questions card deck
Method 1: Meditation
You can use the cards for meditation and focusing: pick one card once a day – or whenever you feel like it. Shuffle the cards and pick your question. While meditating, you can close your eyes and keep asking the question in your mind again and again. When you direct your attention inwards, you begin to receive answers, and the limits of your own world begin to become clearer. Initially, you might feel uncertain and think that ”I really can’t answer this”. If that happens, just give yourself some time. Let the answers come up naturally.
Method 2: Writing
You may discover more depth in your process with help of writing. Take out some paper / a notebook / a diary and a pen or pencil. You can create a peaceful space for writing, for example by lighting some candles, putting on some music you love, and even making yourself a cup of tea. When writing, you can benefit from the so-called flow writing:
Basic elements of flow writing:
Forget everything you’ve ever leant about writing. Forget about the use of commas, grammar rules, creating a storyline, understandability – absolutely everything. This text will never be finished, it is not a performance or something that you need to achieve.
Describe things and your feelings as exactly as possible, as if you were using a magnifying glass to look at tiny details. Describe things as clearly as you can.
You’re only writing for yourself, so while you’re writing, you can temporarily lay off your inner critic – something that we all have residing inside ourselves. Everything is right, correct and perfect just the way it is.
Turn your attention inward. Don’t try to force the answers, allow them to come up and keep your pen ready and waiting for the moment when you feel the need to start writing things down.
Write by hand (and make sure that there’s enough paper available or enough space in the notebook you’re using). Maintain a relaxed attitude to writing, let your handwriting be free, even airy. The pen or pencil you use acts as if as an extension of your subconscious mind. At times, you might even get a feeling of ”where on earth is this coming from”. That feeling is the state of flow, a state of consciousness where the knowledge comes from deep within you.
Method 3: Shared reflecting
You can use the cards for shared reflection in a reliable and confidential group. As everyone in the group will approach the questions from various different viewpoints, this may help you gain new insights also about yourself and your own life. The cards also open up new roads in relationships and among friends – give it a try, for example over a cup of coffee or tea, or a glass of wine!
Various processes
One-year-process, 52 weeks: Each week, pick one card to meditate on or to write about it. During one year you will gain a deep insight into yourself.
One card a day:Â Pick one card each day to focus on. Let the answers come to you during the day, and write down your thoughts, emotions and the things you noticed in the evening.
When you feel like it:Â Pick a card when you feel that the external world has taken most of your energy and attention.
A diary:Â Buy yourself a book where you begin to write down your own answers. You may notice that the same question will begin to open up new dimensions when you return to it on more than just one day.
Part of your home / workspace: At home or in your workspace, put the cards up, for instance in picture frames or by pinning them to a notice board, to remind you of the essential questions – and answers. Life is a joyous patchwork of questions, answers and colours!
Give them out: Give the cards to your friends, one by one. Only one question, when it’s the right one, might be the crucial one to open new doors to something new and beautiful.