Doubt
Doubt shows up a lot in spiritual seeking. Am I doing this right? Is this really it? Have I got it? Have I lost it? The mind loves to question everything, especially when it comes to recognition.
We usually treat doubt as something important - either an obstacle to overcome or a tool for keeping ourselves honest. We fight it, analyze it, try to use it wisely. But what if doubt is just another thought passing through? No more significant than thinking about what to have for lunch.
When you notice thoughts of doubt arising - Is this it? Am I missing something? Am I fooling myself? - you might find yourself getting pulled into a whole story about your spiritual journey. Before you know it, you're trying to figure out if your doubt is helpful or harmful, if you should push through it or listen to it.
But here's something simple: doubt only has the power we give it. Like any thought, if we don't engage with it, it naturally dissolves. No need to fight it or make use of it. No need to figure out if it's good doubt or bad doubt. Just let it come and go like background noise.
What we're pointing to here doesn't depend on certainty or uncertainty. It doesn't require you to resolve your doubts or achieve some doubt-free state. It's already here, completely unaffected by whether doubt is present or not.
Think about how many thoughts pass through your mind each day without taking root. Most dissolve on their own because you don't give them special importance. These questioning thoughts can do the same. They only seem significant because we've learned to treat them as meaningful markers on a spiritual path.
And I mean this right now - not as some technique to store away for future use. Notice these questions appearing in this very instant. See how insubstantial they become when you don't feed them with attention. Watch them deflate and dissolve on their own, like morning mist in sunlight. This isn't about planning to handle uncertainty better next time. It's about seeing, right here, right now, how these thoughts naturally fade when we simply stop making them important.
