To help you further identify and address your thought patterns, as well as the ways in which you react to situations, The Five Questions journaling process will show you how to get there. These significant questions are the focus of the book, The Seven Lessons for Living, Learning and Working with Spirit. Taking the time to answer each one will provide you with a clear-cut roadmap that will transform your life, as it has for many who have walked this road before.

You have permission to print these questions for your journaling purposes, and by doing so on an ongoing basis, it will enhance every aspect of your life’s journey. You may choose to utilize the question format as a way to address your past through present patterns, everyday issues as they come up, or as a daily journaling ritual.

If you would like to have support in walking through the complete journaling process, email info@sevenlessons.org. Our mentors, having completed this process, will then contact you to guide you through each step of the way. There is no charge for this service, as our only desire is to give back what we were so freely given.

Please check out our Seven Lessons Facebook Forum, if you would be interested in sharing any of your thoughts about The Seven Lessons or The Five Questions with like-minded others!

To print The Five Questions journaling process, you can download one here, or simply use this online version below.

1. WHAT DID I NEED? (noun)
   

   Our natural tendency is to answer this question with either a material possession or a situational change. Instead, it is critical to uncover your core desire, which is often interpreted with statements similar to, “I need respect, I need peace, I need caring, I need equality, I need joy, I need love, I need friendship, I need recognition, I need a purposeful direction, I need financial security, I need safety,” etc.
   
   

   ---

   
   

   ---

   
   

   ---

   
   

   ---

   
   

   ---

   
   

2. WHAT DID I WANT? (verb)
   

   Here we list what we wanted to happen in a given situation or the manner in which we had hoped another person would have responded, such as, “I wanted him to respect me, I wanted to get the promotion, I wanted him to return my phone call, I wanted to be thin, I wanted to stop this addiction or compulsion; I wanted to control this situation, I wanted to be happy, I wanted to get the job, I wanted to be financially secure, I wanted her to listen, I wanted a different family, I wanted to feel included, I wanted healthy children,” and so on.
   
   

   ---

   
   

   ---

   
   

   ---

   
   

   ---

   
   

   ---

   
   

3. HOW DID I HANDLE THE SITUATION? (verb)
   

   This assists us in uncovering our core patterns and the ways in which we react to situations.

   Examples of answers to this question might be, “I became fearful, I screamed, I became angry, I became depressed, I stuffed my emotions, I lied, I was dishonest, I withheld a truth when it would have helped to improve communications, I judged others, I prejudged others, I judged myself; I became negative, I gossiped, I was envious, I was jealous, I had self-pity, I perceived that I was a victim; I became compulsive or addictive with food, alcohol, drugs, relationships, work and chaos; I belittled others, I belittled myself, I blamed others, I didn’t ask for clarification, I bragged, I tried to control another person, I tried to control a situation, I was a martyr, I was suspicious, I was passive-aggressive, I was negative, I used all-or-none thinking, I avoided people or responsibilities, I withheld an apology when necessary; I enabled others, I projected my fears onto others,” and so on.
   
   

   ---

   
   

   ---

   
   

   ---

   
   

   ---

   
   

   ---

   
   

4. HOW COULD I HAVE SEEN THIS SITUATION DIFFERENTLY?
   

   Answer this by breaking the question down into these five parts:

   1. I didn’t see that there is a better/solution-oriented plan for each and every circumstance. This helps us to see if we are more solution or problem-oriented in this situation..
      
      

      ---

      
      
   2. I didn’t see that I owed an apology when necessary.
      
      

      ---

      
      
   3. I didn’t see that I had no control over the behavior and thoughts of another person.
      
      

      ---

      
      
   4. I didn’t see that
      
      

      ---

      
      

      ---

      
      

      ---

      
      (Enter here what you may not have seen from the other person’s point of view or perception.) For example, that our thoughts about them or a circumstance involving them wasn’t accurate. In addition to your own perceptions, issues may have occurred in another person’s life, past and present that affected them as well. You can also apply this to resentments against institutions, principles and situational occurrences.
      
      
   5. I didn’t see that
      
      

      ---

      
      (Enter here when you didn't utilize your own protective boundaries and ignored or enabled someone’s abuse toward you.)
   
   

5. WHERE WAS I FEARFUL?
   

   Here, we break the question down into various parts to assist in uncovering the origins of our fears. Your answer might take different forms, such as the three examples below:
   
   

   1. I was fearful of the opinion of others, I was fearful of failure, I was fearful of success, I was fearful of being abandoned, I was afraid of being physically abused, I was fearful of being hurt, etc.
      
      

      ---

      
      

      ---

      
      
   2. I was fearful that there wasn’t a better plan that would work out for the best for myself or for another. This also question and answer, along with Question 4, helps us to see if we are more solution or problem-oriented in this situation
      
      

      ---

      
      

      ---

      
      
   3. Next, answer this question by filling in the following blanks:
      
      I was afraid that

      ---

      
      

      ---

      
      would occur if

      ---

      
      

      ---

      
      (For example: “If I didn’t worry, If I didn’t take control,” and so on)

NOTE: It is then important to ask yourself the following questions to assist in discerning any courses of action:

What necessary step(s) should I take in order to be at peace in this situation?

How would I feel if I had taken the necessary steps to act on these questions appropriately?

Would those steps have helped me in the long run or the short run? (People often make their decisions based on short-term gratification, rather than considering their desired long-term results.)

How would I feel if I had not taken the necessary steps to act on these questions appropriately?

If I hadn’t taken these steps, would that have helped me in the long run or the short run? ______________________________________________________________________

If this situation didn’t work out when and where I had expected, could I have let go of the attachment to the outcome? ________Would I have let go of the attachment to the outcome? ________

Why would I let go of attachment to the outcome?

Why wouldn’t I let go of attachment to the outcome?

To learn more about this life changing process, click here, or visit Amazon.com for further information about The Seven Lessons for Living, Learning and Working with Spirit.