As the saying goes “People believe what they want to believe”.
That is true right?
But what about when you believe one thing and the opposite of that belief slaps you in the face? Does that happen?
But what about this? What about when you act “as if” what you believe is true? What I have discovered is the “as if” principle is very powerful. For example acting as if everything is going to work out and making decisions and plans from that place. Whenever I have done that it has worked out and I have done it with big life stuff not little stuff.
Right now I am faced with doing something I have never been good at and never wanted to even try. Yet, I do know I can do it, but it will contradict a behavior pattern I have had all my life. I know that sounds cryptic, but here is the deal. You attract more flies with honey than with vinegar, yet sometimes the vinegar is what I want to give to certain flies, even the flies that can help me in some way.
One of my spiritual mentors used to tell me things like, “ You are letting the honey pour out of your beehive.” Or “ You need to put honey in the hive so the bees will come.” The honey being self contentedness and creative activity. I always liked that…put honey in the hive and the bees will come.
MsAnthrope
But M'amselle, it's the bees who make the honey. I think they come back to the hive because the queen is there. That's why beekeepers move the queen, if they want to move the hive. I just mention this because your mentor doesn't seem to have known much about bees. So to be correct, you need to be the hottest, healthiest queen in the meadow and then all the worker bees will slave for you and make you lots of honey.
And you titled this the "Looking Glass Self", which is an old sociological concept, but didn't address it. It means, as we have discussed, that a person sees themselves in a mirror held up by others; that their perception of themselves is what others reflect back to them. I would like to read your thoughts about that. And of course, there are strong people, like yourself, whose self image is not affected by the projections of others, but few of us are like that.