A 100 days or thoughts on doubt
When writing a section in my book introducing people to the idea that they can communicate with their animals I found all the positive reinforcements being written about and then came the word doubt. Days later I woke up with examples of animals that have doubt when humans are involved. Animals never seem to doubt their abilities only the human judgment.
A horse will stop at the small narrow bridge a person is asking it to cross over refusing to walk over it. The horse does not doubt its abilities to walk over the bridge just the human’s decision and until it gains a greater understanding of the bridge it will not cross. The horse reads the riders energy field as they sit upon their back and the energy surrounding the bridge.
When arriving home from doing errands my mastiff, will refuse to get out of the car, she reads the look on my face seeing my energy she doubts that I am done using the car. She will happily wait in the back seat for the next ride she is certain now will come. Many a time she is right and other times I have to convince her that what I have to do has nothing to do with the car.
A cat on the other hand has no doubt in its mind. Right now, PeaNutty is certain that his antics while I’m typing will make me stop giving him the attention he wants and I will walk into the kitchen and feed him. My brother’s cat Corey had no doubt in his mind that he would catch the squirrel he was chasing. Even as he went up the tree fast on its heels, he never looked back or down to see where he was he just kept his eye on the squirrel. So it came as a surprise as the squirrel jumped from one tree branch to another tree that he had no foothold as he followed but he never doubted his skill. His success rate was so high in the skills of catching squirrel, chipmunk and mouse that he repeated the tree chase over again.
Humans give off the signal to other humans as well telling them that we doubt our skills and abilities. That doubt is then mirrored back in the look and energy that the person in front of you is giving off. Change your thoughts and you will change your energy field. The more confidence you give off the more the natural world accepts and sees you as a strong person.
Enjoy the observations below.
A 100 days
The news this morning was all over President Obama’s first 100 days in office. I watched long enough to see photos that the official photographer had taken. Then I found myself pondering does the President stop to ask everyone around him, “So how am I doing in my first 100 days?”
I don’t quite accept the notion that it is human nature to inquire of others how they themselves are doing. I think that we have been trained over the years to look to others reactions and comments to gage if one is doing a good job or not. We are taught to set our goals and timelines marking off each plateau when reached to be successful and achieve greatness in our lives. We have been trained to search outside ourselves to find fulfillment in our lives.
Over the weekend, I saw the movie “Doubt”, set in 1964 it relates a time when not only political change was occurring but also moral changes were sweeping the nation. As a verb doubt has several meanings: To be undecided or skeptical about, To tend to disbelieve; distrust, To regard as unlikely and To suspect; fear. The movie took us through all four definitions. The priest gives a sermon and the nun voices out loud that perhaps he is talking about his own life, his own doubt. The young nun who voices her concerns about the first black student in the school when he returns from seeing the priest. The principal, the nun who’s questioning of a person whom she has an allegiants to, the priest, taking action against without knowing all the fact only your own moral assurances that you are absolutely right in your judgment of the situation.
Doubt, it can creep in slowly or it can be one look or comment that makes us second guess our own judgment. Do you hold your head up high with your shoulders down chest erect? Or do you find your body caving in, head down, shoulders rounded and slightly forward? Body position has a lot to do with your self esteem. When you carry yourself up right with head held high looking people in the eye you give off the aura of being in control of your own destine. The energy within your body easily flows through you and around you. This in turn helps to ward off those times when you feel doubt about yourself or your actions.
Other people react to our energy and word through their own up bringing and mind set. What you say today with love might set off fear and distrust in them. Tomorrow is another day, another time to assimilate the energetic change that occurred within your own energy field. One of my favorite lines in the movie was the scene where they are discussing the song “Frosty the Snowman” for the Christmas pageant. The priest and the young nun love the idea of including an up beat fun musical number. The principal sees the song as totally in appropriate with its “magical thinking, you place a hat on a snowman and it comes to life” It is that magical thinking that intrigues many of us and encourages us to place the hat upon our heads.
Animals use the language of body positions all the time. Two dogs met one with head and tail up wagging, the other with head lowered, eyes wary and tail at half mast. With a few sight movements the dogs will determine if they are friends or foe. In a pack the same thing happens the pack will determine if this new dog needs to be taken down or accepted into their fold.
Just as in the dog world we want to belong to the pack and to be accepted by the pack as having value. The priest saw his open friendly caring way with the students as being threatening to the nuns (the pack) the old system. He was angry with the nun and the way that she approached him. It threatened his well being not his believe in him self. He told her that there are things that she didn’t understand and he was not at liberty to share with her. He chooses to move on and not take on her doubt and fears.
Doubt in ones actions and word can be used as a useful tool to step back and reevaluate where you have been and where you are going in your life. Goals and timelines add to you wellbeing not to your self image. The best way to combat those times of doubt is to bring into your mind and physical energy field someone whom you admire. A person who displays the traits that you want to emanate in your life at that given moment, feel there life force flowing through your veins giving you the courage to follow your dreams. Doing this exercise time and time again will help you to develop your own way of walking in this world.
A 100 days, a thousand days does it matter? No for each day is as different as a snowflake and you never know the hat you wear now will be a different hat in 100 days. Ask inside yourself, open your heart and say “So how am I doing today?” then wait for the reply.
Joseph Campbell said “You must have the courage of your own belief and leave it to somebody else to verify your authority for himself.”