What do you believe? 

We all approach life with a belief system which influences everything we do.  Much of what we believe comes from the people who raised us and as we grow we adopt some of the beliefs of friends and others who have made an impact on our lives, whether negatively or positively.  But how are our beliefs framed?  How often do we stop to examine our beliefs and see if they are still valid, or if they were ever valid?

I remember growing up and believing that the world was a great place, full of wonder and excitement!  It was a fun place and a safe place.  This is true on many levels, however life-experience has revealed additional information.  And when I further consider a growing world-view I realize that there are scores of children who live in surroundings of constant war, poverty and abuse. 

And so, I have observed that the world is a rather dangerous place.  Yes, it is full of beauty and wonder, but it is also full of horror and injustice.  There are people living without food and clean running water.  There are people being abused on a daily basis.  There are individuals whose bodies are afflicted by a disease which can’t be tamed nor dismissed.  There are escalating areas of crime and hatred…  And while we celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas in our country, our brothers and sisters of humanity suffer unbelievable atrocities in other countries located in the Middle East, Asia and Africa and other areas of the globe.

I believe that all of our actions and inactions are based on beliefs, even though we try to separate the two like trying to separate our brain from our body.  I know many “believe” our lives are segregated into categories where our beliefs can be suspended: business, family, politics, religion, ethics, and entertainment, as well as other areas.  But belief colors all we do, especially on a subconscious level.  Even choosing NOT to believe is choosing to believe in something else. 

Check your belief system regularly – see what has been added and what has been deleted.  See what beliefs need to be kept and which ones need to be upgraded.  Why should we do this?  To combat beliefs not based on truth, which we create to deal with difficult situations; and to discover hidden beliefs which influence us on a subconscious level…  A person believes God is absent or impotent because of world tragedies; a mother tells her son his absent father is dead because she doesn’t want him to take after a mean and bitter man; a girl tells herself she’s in control when in fact she does drugs to fit in with her peers; a child creates an alternate identity to not be present when they are abused; a man becomes a bully to cover the fact that he lives a scared existence; a person quits when challenges arise because they have a poor self-view; and the list goes on and on… 

What do you believe?  Is your belief system based on truth or falsehood?  Fear or faith?  Knowledge or fairytales?  How do you discern between what is truth and what is error?  How do you differentiate facts of a fallen situation from the potential of a new reality? 

Leave your comments and let me know what you think.

Filed under: Self-Help • Spirituality

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