What were you wearing when the 90's group, No Doubt, had their hit "Just a Girl"?  Remember the telling movie with my fav Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Streep that left you wondering, hum, did he or didn't he.  Maybe, but I doubt it, you think of the Catholic Encyclopedia's definition of doubt as:  "A state in which the mind is suspended between two contradictory propositions and unable to assent to either of them."  Who knew the Catholics had their own encyclopedia.(1)  Ah, and there was Thomas the Apostle, whom due to his need for actual evidence, brought us the term Doubting Thomas.  For many of us, Doubt is there when we wake up in the morning. 

Doubt is fifth of the Five Hindrances.  The 5-H most often refer to those factors (forces in the mind) which limit our ability to pay attention and are said to cause a person to be blind.  I think they're just dang relevant to our everyday lives.  We visited Sloth & Torpor a couple of weeks ago (find it here). 

Doubt can also refer to uncertainty or vacillation.  Like the other Five Hindrances, fear is lurking in the shadows.  Doubt keeps us from seeing the full picture.  It is said to be the most dangerous hindrance to our mediation practice.  "I'm not getting anywhere. What am I doing here?"  This can also apply to those boring and repetitive AA and Weight Watchers meetings, too.  Maybe you've heard these words creep into your mind during your yoga practice.   

Eliminating doubt does not mean we are guided by blind faith.  Doubt is not all bad.  There is the good doubt.  We want to have healthy inquiry and skeptical and inquisitive thinking.  It's OK if your answer is "Hum, I don't know, I'll have to think about that."  The not-so-good doubt is when it interfers with our concentration, focus and our ability to commit (ouch, that hits home).  It can cause us to hesitate or hold back from engaging in what we're doing.  "To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a form of transportation."(2). 

What to do.  Like the other four, the teachings(3) suggest that we first recognize the doubt and look at it straight away.  Notice it for what it is.   Maybe you start to see what your common patterns are.  Is doubt covering up for something you're avoiding?  Maybe there is good reason for the doubt and you need to resolve it by getting advice from a friend, adviser, counselor or teacher.  Then once you've addressed it, have no doubt you can move forward. 

 
(1) http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05141a.htm

(2) Life of Pi

(3) The Five Hindrances refer to the Buddhist teachings of those factors which limit the ability to meditate, among other things.