“There is only one cause of unhappiness: the false beliefs you have in your head, beliefs so widespread, so commonly held, that it never occurs to you to question them.” – Anthony DeMello
Man, I love this stuff 🙂
In yesterday’s email, we asked the question:
“What do you know — for certain — is true?”
And the discussion has been powerful, to say the least.
(huge thanks to everyone sending thoughtful replies — I’ve loved reading them so far)
The question acts as a tool that sharpens your mind as you contemplate it, so revealing the answer here would defeat the purpose.
But I do want to give you a few hints, today, because this might be the most powerful question in the inner development game.
(yesterday I mentioned the shockwave that went through the room when I revealed the answer at our retreat this summer — the most profound teaching experience of my life so far)
So let’s take a closer look at the question…
“What do you know — for certain — is true?”
…And take special note of that middle part:
“For certain.”
Certainty is the key, here:
No guesses, no estimates, no theories, no wiggle-room.
Treat the question like a scientific inquiry that requires hard, verifiable proof.
As an example:
I’m 99.9% sure my Mom loves me.
She’s never done anything to prove me wrong, and I’d bet my life on it, if I had to.
But 99.9% ‘aint certainty, and I have no way of verifying it to 100%.
I hope you’re seeing it now:
Extreme, absolute, undeniable certainty is what we’re going for, here, and nothing less will do.
A few more common responses:
“I know for certain that God exists.”
Have you met?
“I know for certain human bodies need food and water to survive.”
Have you ever tested that theory? (or talked to a breatharian?)
“I know for certain the sun will rise in the morning”
Unless the sun explodes tonight.
“I know for certain that I just stubbed my toe.”
Unless it was deja vu, or you’re dreaming.
“I know for certain I will die someday.”
Unless we upload ourselves into an AI program that lives forever.
“I know for certain that nothing is for certain.”
Have you checked every possible answer to verify that statement?
Whew.
Usually, at this point, the mind gets a bit frustrated:
What’s the point of this stupid question, if you can just go and theoretically disprove everything?
But that IS the point.
The enemy of intelligence is thinking you know something you don’t — and humans are famous for it.
We take our theories and beliefs and ideologies and stamp them as truth, when in truth, we truly don’t know.
These false truths then act like cement in our heads:
Reducing reality down to our assumptions about it, creating tunnel vision that blocks any new information that might clash with our current ideas.
So the purpose of this frustrating little question is demolition:
To tear those mental structures to the ground, leaving wide open space for your true intelligence to function.
This is not armchair philosophy, or petty mental gymnastics:
This is a deeply profound inquiry with powerful real-world utility, once you answer it.
And the good news is, there is an answer.
One thing you can know for certain:
One unchanging, eternal truth that cannot be destroyed through questioning.
And when you uncover it — and, more importantly, understand it all the way through — the true game of inner development can begin.
- T
P.S. Two things before we wrap:
One common mistake is thinking that everything is false, because it’s not 100% certain.
No, I’d still put good money on the sun rising tomorrow, food and water being important, my Mom loving me, and God existing (in fact the “God” answer is a lot more obvious than you might think, but that’s a conversation for another day).
So, obviously, we’re not saying those statements are false.
Just that we can’t prove them for certain.
Second, as I mentioned earlier:
The “Unlocking Your Intelligence” session at this year’s retreat explored this question, it’s answer, and the implications of it for three hours.
It was a crowd favorite, and the most profound teaching experience of my life.
So if you’d like to watch it, hit reply and let me know.
The full session will be available alongside the complete package of recordings, and I’m sure we’ll drop a few clips on our YouTube channel as well.