?? The Right Use of Belief ??

Hello, my friends!

Today, I thought I’d share with you a bit about belief.

Belief is an incredibly powerful force, and it’s often used in unhealthy ways.

Whenever we believe in something tangible (formed, specific) that we haven’t seen, this belief is a choice, and it rests upon a foundation of doubt.

Because on a deep level, we know we’re choosing to believe this thing. We know that we do not know it to be true, and we’re trying to believe it so hard that it becomes true.

Traditions which believe in a specific afterlife or a story of a specific individual that must be understood in according to specific interpretations and believed in in specific ways…

…these traditions misuse belief in order to manufacture consensus.

They are based on constructed stories which are portrayed as Truths, and every such tradition, on a deep level, is aware of its precarious foundations.

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Belief can be used correctly when we believe in the value of certain virtues. The virtues of hope, or kindness, love, compassion, service, freedom, just to name a few.

A belief in the value of these things, independent of context, leads one to practice these virtues without witness and without reward.

Not for some invisible reward in the future, but from a belief in the inherent value of these things.

Belief in the value of something is healthy. Belief that the world is this specific way, or that this is the right religion, this is inherently damaging to society and blinding to the individual.

It establishes a fixed interpretation of reality that is shared and reinforced among a community.

And, as a result, it hijacks the dreaming, the unconscious influence we have on unfolding reality.

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Belief is very tricky to work with for many reasons.

First, it is often invisible to the believer, appearing to them as the obvious and unquestionable reality. Challenging these things is asking for reaction.

Second, people choose to believe things, in part, because they wish to ward off uncertainty. And it is much easier to manufacture certainty in groups where it can be shared and reinforced.

However, this leaves the entire group moved by shared stories that they do not personally understand, subject to all manner of superstitions and distortions borne of ignorance.

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All it takes is for one person to introduce the right seed idea, and it can spread through the community and gain support.

Once a belief is established among a community, it becomes part of the identity of that community, and to challenge the belief is to challenge the validity of the community itself.

On a deeper level, you could say that these beliefs, these stories, once they reach a critical mass among the community, begin to act as if they have a life of their own.

Beliefs will move those who share them to fight with others who have different beliefs.

All because, on a very deep level, both sides are trying to ward off uncertainty, and the stories that they are using to do this don’t line up with one another.

But, from the perspective of the story, of the identity, to change it is to die. So we are, in our unconsciousness, moved to preserve the beliefs that we have invested our personal power in.

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The deepest and truest growth comes from unbelieving. And then not finding something else to believe in.

Instead, we can engage with the wordless core of our Being more directly through faith, which is very different from belief.

Faith is unformed. A trust that, no matter where we may find ourselves, that there is a way forward from there.

A trust that we will always be met in the highest and best way, even if it doesn’t look that way from our perspective at the time.

Faith is not a belief that "this is right" or that "this is how it is", but a trust that wherever we find ourselves, is exactly right.

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Faith, in my own journey, is synonymous with presence, and acceptance, and gratitude, and grace, and freedom.

Whenever I stop and pay attention to this one moment, I see how blessed I am. How amazing it is to be alive and to have this precious moment of experience.

That is enough. This one moment.

And any moment that I receive is a blessing. A precious moment of experience, to be engaged with as I choose.

Nothing is guaranteed. We will all die, and this journey will end.

But one moment of life truly lived in full feeling and full aliveness makes the entire journey worthwhile.

When we really feel this, then we can be fully present, in full faith that this journey is exactly right, just as it is, right here, right now.

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We each find our own way to faith and Spirit on a long enough timeline. There’s no one right way.

And this journey will take, for each of us, just as long as it takes. We each learn and expand at our own pace.

But the key is that if we hold fixed belief, it will interfere with our growth and the cultivation of consciousness.

We must surrender all of the filters and stories and fixed forms in order to free up our personal power and engage from a more conscious and intentional place.

And, in the absence of belief, we are suddenly able to see much more clearly.

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In psychological terms, Beliefs are Stories.

They are fixed energetic forms, structures in our mental space, colored with emotional charge.

It's exhausting to maintain a fixed form in our mental space, and we enjoy far more clarity when we can release it.

We can see things that, no matter how hard we looked, were invisible to us before.

Every time we are certain about something specific outside of our immediate experience, we are simply clinging stubbornly to something we do not know, and our energies are divided.

No matter how cherished or meticulously reasoned, no story is True. All are relative and conditional.

And, once we stop trying to uphold a particular “truth”, we find that Truth has no need for our efforts. In surrender comes illumination.

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Since all beliefs have an emotional core, this means processing these old emotions as well.

And that happens in the body, allowing it in and breathing through it. Letting it come and pass.

As we clear these old blocked emotions and reexamine these stories, they mature in the light of consciousness and become more flexible.

Beliefs then transform into conceptual frames that we are fully aware of, and that we can use if they actually serve us in the moment.

We gain a choice about whether or not to use that frame, and it can be challenged without us feeling like our identity is being threatened.

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Reclaiming personal power, processing old stuck emotions, clarifying values, these are the practical things that lead to inner freedom.

And all of that comes, not from learning more words or believing more stories, but from getting more into our bodies and hearts, and engaging more presently with our lives.

If we can believe in the value of that, and take action informed by that belief, that’s a healthy thing.

We could believe that we have the power to live in a way that respects all of life, where all of our needs can be met while we have a positive impact on the world, in all ways we can.

And while we’re believing all of that, we can actually do the work in the inner spaces that lets us embody these principles and anchor this vibration in the world.

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Thanks and blessings, fellow Travelers!

In lak'ech!