Here’s the 55th lojong slogan: Liberate yourself by examining and analyzing. From what do we need liberation? From the kind of unproductive thinking that keeps us stuck in patterns that don’t lead to growth. And while we absolutely need compassion to get out of that vicious cycle, we can’t only have compassion. We also need the skills of examining and analyzing.

Examining takes a 30,000 foot view. We survey the situation and get a general sense of things. We ask big questions. (What is delusion? What is peace?) Analyzing zooms in more closely to our life and asks how we can break that down into actionable items. (Where might I be deluded? What does peace feel like in my body?) Taken together, examining and analyzing give direction to our practice.

Chandrakirti writes, “Common folk are fettered by their thoughts; Without such concepts, yogis are set free. The very halting of discursiveness is fruit of true analysis, the wise have said.” Another way to describe discursiveness is roaming without a clear goal. So many of our thoughts and habits can do this to us. We find we’ve fallen asleep and these thoughts prevent our liberation. They keep us stuck. When we examine and analyze them, we start to take stock and decide what’s next. The fruit of this work leads to liberation.

In all of life, we experience things we’d rather avoid. So we ask, “What can I do about that?” If it’s part of our inner world, we can ask whether these emotions are helping or exacerbating the problem. We can look at our actions and see if they’re going to get us anywhere or just keep us moving in circles.

Other times, we experience things that fall completely outside of our ability to fix. But while we may not be able to change that reality, we can change our attitude toward it. So we again go to our inner world. Can I see this differently? What’s workable here?

At heart, this lojong slogan reminds us that we have tools that can guide us where we want to go. When we feel lost, this is when we zoom in and ask questions. We can rework the map. Our soul’s compass will always lead us toward our true north, but we do have to use it.

Where might your life be asking for examining and analyzing this week?