We see what we are ready to see, expect to see, and even desire to see. There is some kind of mutual influence between subject and object, says the Heisenberg Principle – so much so that researchers in the medical world have to use placebos and “double blinds” to guarantee the results of their studies, and this is true equally among educated and uneducated subjects. Who would have thought the effect was so profound? Some who do not expect to get sick, don’t; and some who do, do! Thus, you must never start with the negative or begin with an attitude of “no.” If you start with no, you usually get some form of no back. If you start with yes, you are much more likely to get yes back. It could be called Nonviolence Class 101.
Richard Rohr
from The Naked Now; Learning to See as the Mystics See
Chapter: But We Have to Make Judgements, Don’t We?