If you have ever asked someone, “What would you do if you were in my position?” or, “Do you think I’m doing the right thing?”, then you have been in a Cerato state.

 

Cerato is for when we know in our heart what we want, but we need someone else to confirm that we have made the right decision. Doubting our own mind like this is a very common thing and happens to most of us at some time, but some of us seem plagued by this uncertainty and it affects everything they do. Cerato “types” then are those whose inner voice is perhaps too quiet for them to hear or be convinced by it. They constantly seek from others the reassurance that their own inner wisdom should (and would, if they really listened) provide.

 

Children of this nature are those who tend to copy others and follow their lead, rather than assert their own personality. Their individuality becomes swamped by the actions, mannerisms and mindset of other children, and instead of expressing themselves they merely imitate their friends.

 

If a Cerato child has a high turnover of friends, he may soon be changing his personality to suit them, just as a chameleon changes its skin colour to suit its surroundings. By the time a Cerato child has become a Cerato adult, he may have lost sight of his true personality altogether. Unable to rely on instinct, he needs to ask for the opinions and approval of others before taking action.

 

In their search for reassurance, Cerato people leave themselves exposed to strong opinions and views held by other people. They may base their decision on the arguments made by those whose opinions they value but in so doing, may be led astray or find themselves in a situation they never wanted to be in. Then they will not only doubt themselves, but lose faith in other people too, and begin to ask themselves “why didn’t I do it that way?” or “why did I listen to him?” or, more to the point, “why didn’t I listen to myself?”

 

When we are in this state of mind the Cerato remedy helps us to gain freedom from doubt. It helps us trust our intuition and know our own mind; to be certain of what we want to do, self-assured and convinced of the right course of action. And it helps us understand that people vary in their approach to life, have different ideas and opinions, and that to be our own person and live our own life we need to listen to the small voice inside and do what we know is right for us.

 

Comparisons

 

All the remedies that deal with doubt and confusion may be compared with Cerato. Scleranthus is an obvious one but the difference between the two remedies is quite clear. Cerato people can decide – but doubt the decision they have reached. The struggle for Scleranthus people is in reaching a decision at all. If we are selecting for ourselves we will probably know whether our problem lies with indecision or with lack of conviction, but for those who are trying to help others, it may be more difficult to tell them apart. A clue could lie in the way the person behaves. Scleranthus people tend to debate the issue in their own mind and seldom discuss it with others. If they do talk about it, they are thinking out loud rather than actively seeking advice. Cerato people though do ask – that is one of the giveaway signs – and often ask the same question of several people before they are finally go one way or the other.

 

Larch is another remedy often confused with Cerato – but again the difference is fairly straightforward. Larch is for people who lack confidence in their ability to do things well. With Cerato people the problem does not lie with whether or not they will be able to accomplish a task. Instead, the issue is about a decision: whether the task they wish to accomplish is the right one, for example, or whether they are going the right way about it. They might be the most confident people in the world as far as ability is concerned.

 

Another remedy which may be confused with some aspects of Cerato is Walnut. Walnut and Cerato are both influenced by the ideas of others and may be misguided. But the essential difference is that Cerato people quite literally ask for it. Walnut people don’t – opinions just come their way without invitation, and they are left feeling that they have been side-tracked or distracted from their mission.