The instructions came out of the blue right into my brain. Very detailed instructions.
A deck. With cards that ask YOU the questions.
Because we humans have a habit of looking OUTside ourselves. Especially for the big things, like love and power and answers to our most challenging questions. And that gets us into all kinds of trouble.
So the purpose of this deck is to turn that around and practice looking INside ourselves for answers and in the process train the mind to ask better questions.
I even saw what it looked like. Hexagonal. The backs purple with a symbol of interwoven question marks. The fronts, beautiful images from nature seen through a teleidoscope (not kaleidoscope). Six-sided mandalas to break up habitual thought patterns and see the world from a different perspective as insightful questions from the cards are being explored.
For example:
Here’s a card with a beautiful design and a question worth asking.
Your conscious mind would never guess that the shiny gold you see in the center is actually the eye of a tree frog sitting on a rose, but the infinite intelligence inside you recognizes patterns and shapes at levels you have no conscious idea about. Instantly you’re seeing a familiar world from a new perspective.
An opening to new possibilities!
So there it was. A clear vision with a distinct purpose, fully formed details and the name
INQUIRY CARDS.
That was in 1995 and I didn’t have a clue. No idea where to start, how to get a camera inside a teleidoscope, we’d barely heard of a thing called “the Internet,” I didn’t have a computer, and the thought of selling anything made me want to curl up into a ball and hide.
But I did what I could, which was start collecting questions, build a rough prototype to play with and keep practicing the art of inquiry and learning the power of a great question in my own life.
Fast forward a bunch of years, a couple of successful businesses later, a discovered passion for marketing and all things entrepreneurial along with some massive inner transformation (that’s another story), and whammo, I fell in love.
The big knock-you-off-your-chair kind of love and this man of my dreams just happened to be…a fabulous graphic designer!
So shortly after we’d pledged our undying love, I dusted off the proto-deck and did some show and tell, to which he said “let’s do it.” And a creative partnership was born.
New technology has made it easy and love has made it fun. Just goes to show you, it’s never too late for a dream to be fulfilled. In fact, it may have just been ripening all along.
So here they are. Inquiry Cards. The deck that asks YOU the questions…because the answers are INside you.
Happy questioning,
The Team
Sylvia Nibley
Jim Hayes
Jim has been graphically designing for over 30 years–longer than the lifespan of a horse, even an unusually large one. He also conceives and writes ads, illustrates in various styles, writes songs devoid of any rap characteristics, and confuses young and old alike with odd cartoons and other humor.
He met Sylvia briefly in 2006, but it wasn’t until 2011, when she offered an INtriguing afternoon of marketing advice, that he became smitten, despite—or because of—her supernatural powers. Jim is grateful to Sylvia for her INsight, INfatuation, INtelligence, and special way with INdian food.
Jim and Sylvia thrive in Salt Lake City, Utah with two eccentric dogs and 3 koi of questionable integrity while they celebrate three largely grown, beautiful children who have flown the nest.
Kaz Speirs
Kaz uses reclaimed wood from old floors to handcraft the stands that come with starter decks. He’s an amazing drummer, drum maker and teacher of West African drumming and we’re thrilled to include the work of his gifted hands in every box of Inquiry Cards.