Ask Don't Analyze

This little gem came to me a few days back: Ask, Don’t Analyze. I’ve found that brief, succinct statements like this often hold the most power. Like a mantra, they interrupt my standard patterns of thought and behavior. Years ago, I created signs with phrases like “Notice, Don’t Defend” and “Observe, Don’t Judge.” I hung them where I could see them often, printed and laminated copies to share, and repeated them aloud to myself—and to anyone within earshot. These simple messages carried so much peace and freedom once I started implementing them! I’m sure there are more, like “Laugh, Don’t Compare,” but that’s a topic for another day.

Right now, Ask, Don’t Analyze feels especially powerful because it speaks directly to my present awareness of a severe lack of trust. That’s a harsh but honest way to put it. I’m building trust now—intentionally, patiently—through focus and practice. I’m learning to ask and listen to my own DMGS (Divine Magical Guidance System). I know I’ve mentioned this before, but maybe it’s time to clarify.

I’ve always had a complicated relationship with the concept of God, shaped by my upbringing in a conservative Catholic household. I’ve come to see that it’s not about God per se, but about people. It’s a User Error—a human problem. I don’t trust most humans. No hard feelings; I just sense that, understandably, most people are ultimately looking out for themselves. Without realizing it, I began relying on my DMGS when I started journaling in 1976, inspired by The Diary of Anne Frank. That connection has stayed with me ever since. Through my BYOB meditation practice, I’m now learning how to listen more closely and hear more clearly. I’m discovering how to distinguish between illusion, delusion, and the quiet, steady voice of my DMGS.

This journey has also been shaped by practices like 2-Way prayer, publicized by The Oxford Group in the 1930s. It combines meditation and journaling—two of my favorite things! There’s also a step where you check in with another person, but I’ve found that part less helpful. Even the most caring advice I’ve received has often been wrong or fear-based. Instead, I’ve turned to tools like muscle testing, as described by David Hawkins, to develop a more objective way of checking in. Slowly but surely, I’m learning to trust my DMGS and consult it often.

Ask, Don’t Analyze. It’s such a simple mantra, but it challenges me to step out of my old habits. Thoughts, I’ve learned, are often unhelpful distractions from the core of truth. Asking, on the other hand, is about opening up and receiving guidance. I also have to learn to sit with the answers I don’t like—the ones that make me uncomfortable or push my boundaries. Discomfort tends to send me straight into avoidance, so I get to practice patience, trust, and moving forward anyway.

I’m amazed by how often the answer to my urgent, pressing question is simply, “It doesn’t matter.” Nothing puts me in my place quite like that! It’s humbling, for sure, but also freeing. It reminds me that much of what I agonize over isn’t as important as I think.

This is the beginning of my Ask, Don’t Analyze mantra practice. I’m excited to see where it takes me. This simple phrase puts me in both the driver’s seat and the passenger’s seat of my life. It’s a powerful reminder that I get to take full responsibility for my choices on every level—and that guidance is always there when I choose to ask for it.​