Hold questions and answers as equal.
A key concept in contemplation is that questions are just as important as answers. In contrast, non-complentative modes of thinking often hold answers as "better" than or the goal of asking questions. ~ Recognize the most hated things in your life: not loved but still hated (all mixed-up), because the things you really hate are the things that hold you back from keeping an open-mind. For instance: Let's say one is an Atheist. Then one cannot understand why so many people believe in a particular God, or any gods for that matter. Why would they? It may seem ridiculous to think that there is any afterlife, any selfless forgiveness -- or to think that a God could love you no matter what you have done and would be providing for and waiting for you to accept His gift of grace... or is that so ridiculous -- that belief serves people well? ~ Examine single-mindedness in a situation like this to try to recognize the opposite side of the argument/equation/what-have-you. Clearly there is no hard evidence to completely support either side of this kind of belief except how it affects your life by considering what lies inside you. Still, to be fair, you may admit that: While you have an interesting point, the other side does also. This may be called "Seeing the bigger picture". Having an open mind doesn't necessarily mean accepting opposite viewpoints as true, just fully recognizing how other people may arrive at their conclusions.
Use logic.
You must make this your best friend. Asking yourself "why" is the most key question in your arsenal. Why am I here? What is my purpose, and am I fulfilling it? The chain of questions actually never ends. Think of it as a rope you are climbing but you will never reach the top -- yet the farther you go upward, the better the view to see the boulders on the ground below becomes. Making deductions is an inexact science -- so you may come to unhelpful conclusions, or you may come to no conclusions. (Now, while some people might be saying: "Some people cannot be logical -- and just because of who they are, their logic will be flawed", that is questionable; this isn't necessarily the case. We all are subject to some of the same decisions based on a legal and moral codes as well as various pressures of peer groups in a given social group (America, Ohio, New York City or Texas). People choose their own path in life, and in doing so they must identify what they like and dislike as beliefs. So discards are made to their internal moral structure, and new additions are put in place at times of trial and error in accepting other views. The logic may be accurate or inconsistent and based on well reasoned or faulty premises or not... but it is still valid for/by the person who accepts it...)
Consider a spectrum of possibilities.
When you start thinking about a situation or a problem you may be having and you come to a conclusion that you think is rational and true, then you may have also recognized some conclusions or answers that are "untrue" or incorrect. These are valuable because often times the answers aren't in simple black and white, they may be among shades and hues of gray and other colors. You should compare an untrue conclusion, and a true conclusion on a line of thought and then try to see whether you can make sense out of any answer to be found between them. It may be a better way or not. Regardless, it will help to make you a more accepting and understanding individual. (Think of this like dyeing eggs. You like the color blue. So you dye the egg blue. Now you can dye all of your eggs blue, but perhaps you could instead dye them all red. You've never tried that color -- and although you believe red to be sub-par to blue, it's worth a shot. So you dye them red. You find out that you don't like it, but that's not where it ends. You might find all the possible colors in-between of blue and red. So you dye the red egg with blue dye. You come up with an amazing purple. You never knew you liked this shade of purple. It's completely amazing -- and It's now your favorite color!. Now you can see new merits in red and blue.)
Accept your conclusions.
You may come to different conclusions via contemplation than you'd expect. Often, what arises as true from deep contemplation is different from what your logical mind might have guessed pre-contemplation. So, for an Atheist, this may include accepting the ideas of Christianity as useful and worthy of serious consideration. For a Republican, this may include accepting some ideas of the Democrat views. You must feel that it was indeed you that came up with the new idea, and therefore (with a sense of power and self-importance), you know that you are not wrong. People who are effective at this aren't necessarily unmovable and iron-clad in their mindset; they are just very comfortable with what they believe because they believe that they've thought it through thoroughly. It would take really good ideas and arguments to persuade them otherwise, but they aren't opposed to other considerations.
Know that you may be wrong.
That is the most simple contradiction that you may find in the universe. You are wrong, but you don't even know it. It doesn't matter who you are. If you accept and understand this -- then everything you think and believe will become all the more important to you without being a crutch to just "get by on." When you begin to realize that we are all wrong in some area, and no one knows enough -- or much at all -- then you may become more appreciative of how the knowledge inside your head allows you to enjoy living and struggling amid a world full of chaos.
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