What is DOUBT?

[abrakamowse]

I am always doubting about a lot of things... where does doubt appear or arise in your experience? What is doubt?

How to eliminate doubt without going toward extremism/ legalism or to a crazy belief? Does it arise from feelings? Or from thought?

I can't seem to find out even when I am meditating a lot about it.

[Preetom]

Its a form of cognitive dissonance when one's previously held belief/assumption is not being met with sufficient evidence.

In other words 2 contradictory messages and it results in psychological dis-ease.

Edited May 11, 2019 by Preetom

[abrakamowse]

Just now, Preetom said:

It a form of cognitive dissonance when one's previously held belief/assumption is not being met with sufficient evidence.

In other words 2 contradictory messages and it results in psychological dis-ease.

Sometimes I feel that there's in fact a lot of evidence to support a new belief or knowledge, but doubt still arises, like trying to erode the new idea.

Interesting, thanks Preetom. Believe it or not, what you posted helped me a lot... I needed it.

[Preetom]

4 minutes ago, abrakamowse said:

Sometimes I feel that there's in fact a lot of evidence to support a new belief or knowledge, but doubt still arises, like trying to erode the new idea.

What we rationaly think or decide is nowhere near powerful than our emotional raw energy and primal tendencies-the stuff that is really running the show.

You might think/feel you got enough evidence but the stuff that is running you almost all the time isn't so convinced yet 

Edited May 11, 2019 by Preetom

[abrakamowse]

4 minutes ago, Preetom said:

What we rationally think or decide is nowhere near powerful than our emotional raw energy and primal tendencies-the stuff that is really running the show.

You might think/feel you got enough evidence but the stuff that is running you almost all the time isn't so convinced yet 

Yeah, very true indeed.

Do you think there's a difference between what we think and that "stuff" that is running us?

I always thought that the stuff that runs us (or me) is created by thought.

Edited May 11, 2019 by abrakamowse

[Shin]

When your girlfriend/boyfriend isn't home at the usual hour,

Without having texting you,
After having told you to not worry about a guy/girl
Past midnight.

That's ...

... REAL doubt

Edited May 11, 2019 by Shin

[abrakamowse]

Just now, Shin said:

When you girlfriend/boyfriend isn't home at the usual hour,

Without having texting you,
After having told you to not worry about a guy/girl
Past midnight.

That's ...

... Real doubt

That's really annoying Lol

 

[Truth Addict]

@abrakamowse

To define something we need to contrast it against something else, which is usually the opposite of it.

Doubt vs. Belief. 

Skepticism vs. Faith.

Doubt is a conflict, an inner battle, that basically arises from insecurity, which arises from misidentification of reality, confusing the map for the territory.

Conflict ends when the veils of experience are removed, and when everything is seen as it truly is.

Or, conflict ends when an idea is taken for granted, so that idea becomes a reality.

Evidence is not always relevant, often times the sources of information play a vital role in choosing between doubt and belief.

Edited May 11, 2019 by Truth Addict

[Heviin]

Doubt arises from the mind, and it is the manifestation of a partial picture. Absolute Knowledge is the full picture, and that is God. Meditation isn't absolute embodiment of Knowledge, nor is any form of awakening. Consciousness is both infinite and finite. You are only partial in comparison to the Truth, just as God is the absolute of Truth.

[abrakamowse]

@Truth Addict  Thanks for that. It's true what you say about evidence. Direct experience is the way to go.

[Truth Addict]

2 minutes ago, abrakamowse said:

@Truth Addict  Thanks for that. It's true what you say about evidence. Direct experience is the way to go.

The point is that direct experience is equal to belief, not superior to it.

It's up to you what you choose, it's dependant on how your mind has been wired since you were a kid.

I assume it also depends on your brain chemistry, perhaps some people are born naturally skeptical and others believers.

You're welcome dude ❤️

[abrakamowse]

10 minutes ago, Heviin said:

Doubt arises from the mind, and it is the manifestation of a partial picture. Absolute Knowledge is the full picture, and that is God. Meditation isn't absolute embodiment of Knowledge, nor is any form of awakening. Consciousness is both infinite and finite. You are only partial in comparison to the Truth, just as God is the absolute of Truth.

We are always seeing a partial part of the whole. Thanks!

[Aaron p]

@abrakamowse for me this is a very distracted question. And very distracting as a question itself. The one who asks the question does not exist. And this isint something to be believed or doubted, both are huge traps init?

Edited May 11, 2019 by Aaron p

[Preetom]

42 minutes ago, abrakamowse said:

 

Do you think there's a difference between what we think and that "stuff" that is running us?

I always thought that the stuff that runs us (or me) is created by thought.

I'll answer it (or not!) when this becomes absolutely clear for me.

Who is really running this show? If i am really running the show as i love to assume, then why is everything always going against me?

If I try to answer this question now, it would be like a chimp trying to  review the signal chain of rocketship launching ? 

 

Edited May 11, 2019 by Preetom

[abrakamowse]

9 minutes ago, Aaron p said:

@abrakamowse for me this is a very distracted question. And very distracting as a question itself. The one who asks the question does not exist. And this isint something to be believed or doubted, both are huge traps init?

Cool... thanks Aaron, you are absolutely right! I didn't think about that. For some reason I used that reasoning for other stuff but in this case I completely bypassed it. Thanks a lot!

[abrakamowse]

9 minutes ago, Preetom said:

I'll answer it (or not!) when this becomes absolutely clear for me.

Who is really running this show? If i am really running the show as i love to assume, then why is everything always going against me?

If I try to answer this question now, it would be loke a chimp trying to  review the signal chain of rocketship launching ? 

 

Who knows? Maybe you hit the right button by mistake! Lol... thanks again Preetom

[Inliytened1]

Interesting side note..they call OCD the doubt disorder because a lack of certainty causes anxiety. 

We all want certainty.  But you only feel complete certainty when you become the Absolute - or Infinity.

For example you may leave your house and suddenly get a thought that you left the oven on.   Then you get lost in what if concepts and did i or not? And it causes the ego anxiety.  But rather than being in what's actual you get lost in concepts.

When they happen try to realize they are just thoughts and dismiss them..stay in the present moment.  Stay in what's actual.

Edited May 11, 2019 by Inliytened1

[Key Elements]

@abrakamowse interesting...

I wonder what you're doubting?  You don't have to answer the question, but to me, you look like you're really doubting something but don't know how to approach and find hints/answers. I say this because I do wonder how to approach to get answers. This is the real work to anything in life. No one thing or person will have the full answer.

[Inliytened1]

@Aaron p from a non-dual perspective yes..but we are talking about from a duality perspective.

[mandyjw]

You don't need to understand doubt. You only need to know faith. 

This morning I went down to a stream in the woods and there was a rotten tree that had fallen over making a bridge. I walked across it, even though I didn't really trust it. If the tree wasn't high up over the stream I could have walked across it confidently. But I wasn't confident. So I grabbed at some little branches nearby. I knew if I really fell they would break right off. But they gave me balance and faith anyway. I thought about how hilarious it was conceptually. 

But faith is not conceptual. Throw your concepts in the wind. 

That's what we are for each other. Just some branches to grab onto, giving you the illusion that you have a lifeline.

You don't need a lifeline, and they/we can't save you. But the illusion is everything. The illusion is what allows us to see love. Once we see it we have seen the face of God, the mirror in the sky. You are love.