I Ain’t Afraid of No Ghosts

This week I've had more than a few conversations about the paranormal. Lorraine and her friends are all into ghosts and one of my coworkers is geeky on paranormal activity. Another friend tells the stories she had from a haunted tour of Gettysburg. I love the conversations for sure even though I don't believe in ghosts or paranormal activity. Thing is I don't not believe either!

These conversations have really got me thinking about the power of belief. I remember when Lorraine was just a baby of maybe 8 months up to about 5 years, I would toss her in the air as I high as I could, often to the great consternation of those around. I loved it as did Lorraine and there was never a time I doubted my handling of the situation. (I only dropped her twice! Kidding 😜) I felt completely confident in my ability to bring her down safely. Nor did I ever have the feeling of overconfidence but instead there was nothing but deep focus and belief in my abilities.

I’ve been told that attitude goes a long way in determining one’s success in a thing. So, how does one cultivate the attitude needed to move about the world with confidence? How do we ensure the confidence we gain is not projected as arrogance.
Maybe our answer lies in belief. Many of the great texts expound the benefits of belief and present imagery in what to believe in. I don’t want to get too tied down with what you or anyone should believe in because it is my belief that it is not what your faith is but that you have faith.

That said, this passage from the Mundaka Upanishad speaks to me:

MU Part 2, verses 1-2

Imperishable is the Lord of Love, As from a blazing fire thousands of sparks leap forth, so millions of beings arise from the Lord of Love and return to the Lord of Love. The Lord of Love is above name and form. The Lord of Love is present in all and transcends all. Unborn, without body and without mind, from the Lord of Love comes every body and mind.

To address the question of how. By nature most of us are born with insecurities. Insecurities vanquished through practice and knowledge creates confidence. After base confidence is achieved then we must surrender to the belief that we are more than capable. We must learn to drop our insecurities through deep belief in ourselves. After having established an attitude of confidence through belief we then must be mindful the pitfall. The biggest problem one encounters with confidence is arrogance. Only through self awareness and the practice of humility can we mitigate the negative effects of deep belief in ourselves.