I have recently revisited the film, “Doubt”. This film depicts a powerful message about accusation without all the facts. Doubt creates the havoc of illusion when looking through the lens of the ego.
Doubt. What is that … exactly? I like to think of it as illusion based on what we think we know – void of the truth.
One element that greatly contributes to the issue of doubt is gossip.
Gossip creates the great illusion
Gossip rears its ugly head when two or more minds feed off each other to create greater illusion. It’s like a vortex, growing with a ferocity that spins fuel into the illusion, giving it more power. The fact is, we do not know what anyone is really about – their motives, feelings, and what is behind their eye. Our interpretation is just that – our own interpretation.
I find that even though gossip may seem harmless, the aftermath feels like a bit of a hangover from a couple of bad cocktails. It is judgement that only adds up to doubt.
I think we all know that to be on the receiving end of doubt has repercussions that can cause pain that is destructive on many levels.
The world in doubt
And what has doubt done for the world over? As I see it, the world-wide ego has grown in monumental proportions to cause the illusion of separation.
We often color our perception with fear which is the opposite of love. This is the hell we can create for ourselves. I once heard a definition of hell to be the absence of God. Well, if you live in fear, you may feel separate from the Divine which can feel like hell.
Trickster is a fine one for tripping us up. When we are caught up in ego, trickster gets the better of us by fooling us into believing we know, and we are in hell. The world is in a fearful state by its beliefs brought about by illusion that is created by doubt.
What about innocence?
In the film, the younger Catholic sister was more innocent and naïve than the more mature Mother Superior. In her innocence, she felt the priest had done nothing wrong. The Mother Superior on the other hand who acted on what she said was experience, was convinced the priest was guilty. Was it that she “knew” he was guilty, or was it that she looked through her own lens of illusion of what she assumed to be the truth? The fact was, she did not have all of the evidence which made the picture incomplete.
Is there something to be said about innocence, untainted by personal experience? Perhaps on some level. I believe what we are really striving for is in returning to innocence by attaining spiritual maturity. Perhaps what this really means is to come back to spirit – to return to the garden – knowing who we truly are.
Clearing the fog
In the spiritual field, we need to cut through the illusion and clear the fog. Many people are now waking up as we are becoming more aware of the world succumbing to doubt and bearing false witness against each other.
I agree our purpose is to wake up and become conscious. I believe our aim is to realize our connection with the Divine which is innocence in enlightenment – to come back to our spiritual essence – to realize we are the Divine.
Perhaps this is the work we need to do to see what truth really is and how it abolishes doubt.
Blessed journey.
Julie A. Vermette 