The Mirror within. Power questions Journal prompts.

What is the one thing you have postponed changing about yourself? Are you prepared to make that change now?

• Are you a good friend who keeps your word all the time?

• Would you offer a good friend much-needed (uninvited) advice when you can see he/she is headed for disaster, or remain silent?

• Are you open to receiving uninvited counsel from a good friend if the situation were reversed?

• Is it more important for you to win the power game or to know the truth?

• What is more important to you – wealth or love?

• Have you explored your creativity to your satisfaction?

• Do you dismiss your creative ideas based on financial thinking or lack of time?

• Can you actually name a creative project or dream that you would like to pursue now?

• What are three very unusual qualities in you that define who you are?

• Do you feel that the choices you make allow those qualities to shine? If not, what are you willing to do in your life to let the best of you become the strongest part of you?

• Do you consider yourself to have healthy self-esteem?

• What three qualities do you appreciate most about yourself?

• What are your three greatest personal challenges?

• What do most of your close friends consider your greatest personal challenge?

• Do you spend your musing time drifting into past regrets, fear of the future, or present-time concerns?

• How much of your day do you dwell in stress and how much is spent in calm waters?

• Imagine your life twenty years from now. Close your eyes and drift forward to whatever age you would be twenty years from now. Which of today’s problems and emotional issues are still troubling you twenty years from now? Ten years from now? Five years from now? Three? Even one year from now? How significant can they be?

• Would you rather have acknowledgment or love?

• Do you find it challenging to acknowledge the gifts and accomplishments of others?

• Which do you feel more often: That life has blessed you or that life owes you more?

• Do you have to remind yourself to count your blessings or does gratitude come naturally?

• How sure are you of what you believe in? Spiritually? Politically? Personal values?

• Are you someone who stands up for what you believe in?

• Would you challenge a person who is critical of a friend?

• If you knew someone was telling a lie, what would you do?

• Is honesty an important value for you?

• Are you as honest with people as you want them to be with you?

• Are you someone who thinks that having more money is the solution to your problems in life – and if not all of them, most of them?

• Do you often spend from entitlement rather than from necessity?

• What makes you feel as if you are “truly alive?” How often do you feel that way?

• Do you generally feel that your life is good?

• Do you often hesitate to do what you want because you fear what others might say? And how often have others actually said something to you?

• Whose opinion of your life matters as much to you as your opinion of your life?

• How often have you gotten angry at yourself for not doing what you want to do – and then blamed someone else for your lack of courage?

• What qualities do you love most in others? And do you tell your family and friends often enough how much you care about them and how much they mean to you?

• How many of those do you have in yourself?

• We may all die tomorrow. Just because we are not ill does not mean we will live another day. We only have this moment and then the next. We only have each other. We only have each precious moment together. Knowing that truth – and it is a grand cosmic truth – review who you might still be angry with or what issues might still be unresolved and ask yourself if holding on to negative feelings for one more moment is worth it. If you said yes – even slightly – is holding on to your negativity: 1. A matter of pride; 2. Or the thrill or need to get even with that person; 3. Or the need to get the “other” to acknowledge/witness the pain of the wound; 4. Or the need to prove that someone unjust was done to you.

 “The Mirror Within”

In a lush valley where mist lingered on the mountaintops, there lived a revered leader, Amara, who guided seekers on their spiritual journeys. Her wisdom was sought after, her presence magnetic, and her teachings transformative. Yet, Amara had one rule: every seeker who came to her must first sit with their own questions, for she believed that the path to enlightenment was not found in answers but in learning to ask the right questions.

One day, a young seeker named Liora arrived at Amara’s sanctuary. Though eager, Liora carried the weight of her doubts, her unexamined fears, and a gnawing desire to prove her worth. She knelt before Amara, her hands trembling.

“I seek to walk the highest path,” Liora said. “But I don’t know where to begin.”

Amara smiled gently and gestured for Liora to rise. “Begin by leading me,” she said.

Liora blinked, confused. “But you are the teacher. What can I teach you?”

Amara’s smile deepened. “The questions you carry are your greatest teachers. Let us walk, and together, we will uncover the ones that will shape your path.”

They wandered through the valley, the quiet of the landscape broken only by the rustle of leaves and birdsong. After a time, Amara spoke. “Liora, what is the one thing you have postponed changing about yourself? And why?”

Liora hesitated, her steps faltering. “I… I fear that change will strip me of who I am,” she admitted. “What if I am left with nothing?”

Amara nodded. “And yet, isn’t it true that clinging to what no longer serves you leaves you with less?”

The words struck Liora deeply, but she was not ready to answer. Instead, she turned to Amara. “What about you, teacher? Are you always certain of your choices?”

Amara chuckled softly. “No. There are times I question myself, too. But tell me, Liora: whose opinion of your life matters as much to you as your own?”

Liora thought for a long moment. “My family’s,” she whispered. “Their approval feels like the foundation of who I am.”

Amara stopped walking and turned to face her. “And do they truly see all of who you are? Or only the parts you have chosen to show them?”

The question pierced Liora’s heart. She realised that much of her life had been shaped by the need to please, to conform, to be seen as worthy. But was she truly living her own story—or someone else’s?

They continued walking, their conversation flowing like the river beside them. With each question Amara asked, Liora found herself reflecting more deeply:

• “What qualities do you love most in others, and how often do you embody them yourself?”

• “Do you feel that your choices allow your best self to shine?”

• “When you look at your life, are you living more in stress or in gratitude?”

The questions were both humbling and empowering. They stripped away Liora’s illusions, forcing her to confront her own fears, desires, and motivations. Yet, as they walked, something remarkable began to happen. Liora began to ask questions of her own—not out of doubt, but from a place of curiosity and courage.

“Amara,” she asked, “Do you think we ever truly know ourselves?”

Amara smiled. “We come closest to knowing ourselves when we embrace humility and let go of the ego’s need for control. The ego narrates a story of power and perfection, but the soul tells a story of truth. And only the story of truth can guide us to our highest path.”

Liora paused, looking at the sky that was beginning to darken with the colours of dusk. “If the soul tells the story of truth, then the only way to hear it is to let go of the need to be perfect.”

Amara nodded. “Exactly. You see, Liora, today you have been the teacher. Every answer you found came from within you, not me. That is the path of humility—to recognise that the narrator of each story must write it from their own lens of discovery, not another’s expectations.”

They stood together in the fading light, and for the first time, Liora felt the quiet peace of knowing she had begun to align with her highest path. The journey was far from over, but now, she carried with her the power of questions—not as burdens, but as guides.

And as the stars began to dot the sky, Liora turned to Amara and asked, “Will you walk with me again tomorrow?”

Amara smiled, her eyes twinkling. “I will walk with you always, as long as you remember that the truest guide is within you.”

Message of the Story:

This tale reminds us that self-discovery is a process of asking, reflecting, and releasing. True leaders are those who humbly recognise that the path to wisdom lies in empowering others to uncover their truth. Through introspection and the courage to confront our inner narratives, we align with our highest path and write the story of our lives with clarity, purpose, and love.