Take a look at what Osho says: “Try to be simple in everything. If you are simple, you cannot tell a lie, because a lie can never be simple. The very nature of a lie has to be complex. Only truth can be simple.”
When they meet me, some of my clients say, “Hakan, I have so much to share with you.” They get really surprised when I ask them to “please summarize it to me in only three sentences.” They might even get a little mad at me if they feel I am denying them the pleasure of amplifying their sad stories. However, they are unaware of a simple fact: The main reason why they cannot see the solution is because they are drowned in the details of their long story.
Sometimes I ask my clients questions requiring only yes or no answers. Instead, they give me longwinded answers, which I listen to attentively. Instead of answering with a simple yes or no, they tell a drawn-out story, but at the end, once they are finished with their answers, there is still not a yes or no.
Sometimes I leave them alone, so they can express themselves freely. They answer by skipping from one subject to another. When I unexpectedly stop them and ask, “What was the question?” they are usually unable to remember what it was. The ones who do answer usually remember the question that I asked a couple of questions previously, rather than the one I had just asked.
Just as it isn’t easy to find an item in a messy room with many things scattered inside, it isn’t easy to find the solution inside a mind that is full of many different stories. For this reason, I encourage my clients to simplify. Once they simplify things, the realness (reality) starts showing itself, and it becomes clearer.
Whenever I start hearing long answers, Osho’s words come to my mind: “The truth is simple.” When I encourage my clients to think simply, the mud obscuring reality is cleaned away and the solution becomes as clear as daylight.
I observe people who are confused asking themselves similar questions that don’t have answers. In my opinion, these disempowering questions have two types. The first one is, “Oh Lord, why is it me?” and other similar “why” questions. The second one is, “I wonder if I did something wrong?” and other “I wonder if” questions. Once we replace these questions with empowering ones—such as “What is going on here?” or “So, what can I do next?”—they begin heading towards simplicity and a solution.
In conclusion, if you want to get to know yourself, start simplifying. Eliminate all the unnecessary things in your life, including the unnecessary questions in your mind and the unnecessary items in your home.
