Core Beliefs, OUR Foundation What are your core beliefs? Have you ever even thought about them? Have you ever examined those things you believe to be true? Ever asked, “WHY”? Have you ever contemplated where these beliefs come from? How they affect your life? “The life that is unexamined is not worth living.” Plato Most people live an entire lifetime without ever asking themselves these fundamental questions. They do whatever it is they do, say whatever they say, and expend so much precious energy trying to align reality with their beliefs. Self examination can be painful, but it is a necessity for those of us who seek truth. “Only as you do know yourself can your brain serve you as a sharp and efficient tool. Know your own failings, passions, and prejudices so you can separate them from what you see.” Bernard M. Baruch Core beliefs can be self assuring, such as, “Everything happens for a reason.” They can be self limiting, like, “I am stupid.” These beliefs are usually formed early in life, most often in childhood. We inherit them, have them conditioned into us, or just lazily accept without any meaningful scrutiny. The point is to examine them, to question them, to determine if they are beneficial or destructive, to test them against what is known. Maybe Momma was wrong when she told you you should always clean your plate. Maybe you have been wrong in your belief that things just never work out for you. Hell, maybe I am wrong for believing what we believe greatly affects the quality of our lives. “Only as you do know yourself can your brain serve you as a sharp and efficient tool. Know your own failings, passions, and prejudices so you can separate them from what you see.” Bernard M. Baruch These are my core beliefs. These are the things that shape my perception and shade my every judgment. These beliefs largely define who I am and what I stand for. These are the foundation that all my beliefs are built on. In no particular order… Belief is NOT Knowledge If I could beam one concept into the minds of mankind it would be this. So much conflict could be avoided if people would recognize the difference between belief and knowledge.
People do not generally argue over knowledge. Wars, for the most part, are not fought over facts. We are much more animated over our dogmatic beliefs than what we pragmatically know. Know what you know, believe what you believe, but please know the difference. Perception is NOT Reality If I hear one more person say, “Perception is reality”, I think I might just scream. The idea of individual truth, of, “what is true for you might not be true for me”, is beyond me. It is the opium of those who would choose ignorance over intellectual inquiry. "Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions." Martin Luther King Jr. Perception is individual, shaped by the perceiver through life experience, culture, education and accepted core beliefs. Perception is a point of view, limited to a time and space, incapable of experiencing or commenting on more than a single moment. Truth is universal. Truth is constant. Truth does not give a damn what you or I think about it, it remains. What is true for you is true for me is true for everyone. Tony Robins compares it to a map and the territory. The map is not the land, it is only a representation. The more accurate the map, the easier it is to navigate. I also like the story about the blind monks and the elephant. Each monk had a different experience of the elephant, tail, trunk, leg and body. Each thought they could describe the totality of what the animal was. And while each was partially right, they were all fully mistaken. Our goal should be to align our perception with reality. We should always be shifting our view, looking at things from multiple angles. “How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four; calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg.” Abraham Lincoln We are more ALIKE than individual “By nature, men are nearly alike; by practice, they get to be wide apart.” Confucius We have so much more in common than any of our perceived differences. We all have the same basic needs for sustaining life; air, food, shelter from harsh elements, emotional connections. We all have the same feelings, desires, doubts and fears. We all dream. Another startling similarity is our belief that we are different. We believe we are unique, separated from the rest. It is this illusion that causes us so much stress. We feel we are alone. It is akin to drops of water thinking they are separate from the ocean.
“A human being is part of a whole, called by us the Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest--a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.” Albert Einstein My belief actually transcends the thought that we are similar. It is my truest belief that we are the same, we are one. What we see in each other is but a reflection of ourselves. The entire life experience is one of self learning. (But this idea may be too radical, so I will keep it to myself). Everything is an expression of energy Everything that exists is made up of something. And all of that something is made up of something else. And the something else is made up of, well, you get the idea. Eventually all matter can be reduced into pure energy. I won’t attempt a scientific explanation, google it. I would suggest reading Dr. Wayne Dyer’s, “The Power of Intention”. He does an excellent job of breaking it down for easy digestion. Nuclear energy is evidence of this fact. A few more of my core beliefs, to be expounded on latter, are… We are dualistic creatures Words are symbols Actions Produce Results We are capable of choosing our actions I hope you will examine what you believe. I hope you will test your beliefs, and determine if they need to be refined, reinforced, or discarded. I hope you will at least become aware that you have beliefs that greatly affect your quality of life. I do believe we can change what we believe. I believe that it is a simple matter of testing, reasoning, and exercising a little internal integrity. And I do believe that the process can be the most liberating exercise in personal development. “Our subconscious minds have no sense of humor, play no jokes and cannot tell the difference between reality and an imagined thought or image. What we continually think about eventually will manifest in our lives. Unfortunately most of us are completely unaware of this fact and we do not monitor our thoughts with the care needed so that we can create in our lives the results we say we want. Since the great majority of people do not feel worthy and deserving of abundant good fortune, radiant good health and total success in all areas of their lives that overriding thought pattern controls the results people get. The first order of business of anyone who wants to enjoy success in all areas of his her life is to take charge of the internal dialogue they have and only think, say and behavior in a manner consistent with the results they truly desire.” Sidney Madwed
I wish you the very best and look forward to hearing your feedback.