Beloof

A mistaken personal belief about oneself created during a time of trauma resulting in self-limiting behavior.

Example: When I was three and my brothers took me up on a scary Ferris Wheel ride, I formed a beloof that I could not trust those closest to me.

Stay Involved: Join our Online Community

About Beloof.com

Welcome to my blog, beloof.comand my new podcast, “I Know What Rob Would Say.”

I hope you will join us as a new community to explore the concept of the beloof, but more importantly, to examine your own personal beloofs and have discussions to help you understand the birth of your beloof. Through the discussion, we can share suggestions for reframing your beloofs. I am inviting individuals who have done work on their beloofs, and colleagues and professionals to add their two-cents worth in helping to examine and reframe the beloofs that are presented.

But first, let me share how the concept of the “beloof” came about, and the definition of beloof. This is how I described it in the introduction of my new book, Of Endings and Beginnings, A Memoir of Discovery and Transformation:

beloof: A mistaken personal belief, usually about oneself, that was created during a time of trauma, resulting in self-limiting behavior.

Example: When I was three, and my brothers made me go on a scary ferris wheel ride, I formed a beloof that I couldn’t trust those closest to me.

I published the word and definition in The Urban Dictionary. Click HERE to see the listing.

Several years ago, I was sitting in one of the healing circles of our Personal Transformation Intensive weekend retreats, teaching about trauma and its effects on our lives. As I was speaking, I heard a word come out of my mouth that I had never spoken or heard before. I said the word beloof, when I had fully intended to say erroneous belief

I was trying to explain that even before we can talk, we are fully engaged in forming thoughtful concepts about our world and how we should interact with it. Back in the 1990’s, research conducted by a Johns Hopkins University psychologist, discovered that at 32 weeks of gestation–two months before a baby is considered fully prepared for the world, or “at term”, a fetus is behaving almost exactly as a newborn. The research showed that even a premature baby is aware, feels, responds, and adapts to its environment. Another well known study showed that while being observed by sonogram, a developing fetus flinched and drew back when angry words were shouted at the mother.

In my teaching, I am trying to explain that when babies flinch, they are simultaneously forming  non-verbal, conceptual beliefs about their world. Perhaps they decide, “I am not safe”.  Perhaps they begin to believe, “My mother is not safe; perhaps she will not be able to take care of me”. 

Subscribe to my Blog

[jetpack_subscription_form show_subscribers_total="false" button_on_newline="false" custom_font_size="16px" custom_border_radius="0" custom_border_weight="1" custom_padding="15" custom_spacing="10" submit_button_classes="" email_field_classes="" show_only_email_and_button="true" success_message="Success! An email was just sent to confirm your subscription. Please find the email now and click 'Confirm Follow' to start subscribing."]

Recent Posts

Subscribe to my Podcast

Recent Podcasts

Latest from Our Blog

Heartache

My Apple Watch buzzed on my wrist while I watched TV the other night. The screen flashed red and alerted “Atrial Fibrillation.” I felt no discomfort other than the mild indigestion of an aging digestive system. I mentioned the signal to Mary Anne. The first alert...

read more
New Normal? I Don’t Think So…

New Normal? I Don’t Think So…

As we begin to exit the pandemic, many of us talk about how we enter a period of “new normal.” Those of you who know me well know I am careful about the use of idioms. To me, “new normal” is an idiom, and I believe idioms represent lazy languaging—they tend to be...

read more
Mother Nature just put us all in time out

Mother Nature just put us all in time out

The human inhabitants of our world are struggling with a ruthless pandemic, and many are dying while the swans are returning to Venice and the fish are visible again, swimming below in the clearer waters of the canals. Many years ago, as a beginning therapist, I...

read more
Beloofs about the Holidays 2017

Beloofs about the Holidays 2017

Well, it’s time for my annual Holiday blog and podcast. As we approach the season of Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, the New Year, even Festivus for the rest of us first celebrated on theSeinfeld show, I reflect again on all the beloofs created by the major...

read more