The Power of Beliefs

What are beliefs? 

A belief is merely a perception of reality. This perception may or may not be accurate. Nevertheless, we believe it to be true.  

Knowing something to be true is different from believing that something is true. In knowing, we have either seen the truth for ourselves, or we have strong evidence to support our conclusion that it is true. 

With beliefs, there may not be a knowing of truth, or any evidence to support our conclusion that it is true. We merely believe that it is so. 

However, a belief is not to be trifled with. Beliefs are almost always associated with, or invested with, strong emotions. That is why it can be difficult to get someone to change their beliefs. When their beliefs are challenged, their automatic reaction is to resist or push back. This may manifest in the form of anger or outright confrontation. 

Beliefs are also very powerful. Once you believed in something, you create a potential for it to become true to you. Acting on this belief validates it, and gives you the corresponding results that is congruent with your belief.  

The positive power of beliefs can be seen in spontaneous healing. The negative power of beliefs can be seen in all the fanatics in religions that end up as suicide bombers, murderers and manipulators.  

How do we form our beliefs? 

We form beliefs in two ways.  

The first way is through the way we interpret our own experience. This, in turn, is dependent on our own attitude towards life and our pre-existing beliefs. Our attitude itself is formed by our pre-existing beliefs. So, we can say that how we interpret our experience is greatly influenced by our pre-existing beliefs. Thus, we form new beliefs on top of old beliefs. Therefore, we have layers upon layers of beliefs, most of which we are not even aware of. They reside in our subconscious mind.  

The second way is when we accept what other people tell us as truth, often without even trying to verify or validate them. From young, we have been conditioned to believe that what our parents tell us are true. Likewise, we believe in those in position of authority, such as teachers, police and religious leaders. So, we automatically believe in whatever they tell us as truth. We do not try to, or even bother to verify them before accepting them as truth. 

This is erroneous on our part. The job of verifying the truth is our responsibility, and we should take it seriously. We should not be so gullible as to believe what people say without verification. 

We should also be careful of manipulators who are good at using words to evoke our deep emotions, and to arouse us to act in their interests. Using the right words that resonate with your beliefs, they can easily lead you by the nose and push you to act in a self-destructive way, and often, by staying out of harm’s way themselves. 

A belief does not have to be true for it to work for you 

 This is important to know – that a belief does not have to be true for it to work for you. In fact, that is why beliefs are so powerful, but used wrongly, they are also extremely destructive. When you truly believe in something, you basically hypnotize yourself with that belief, and live its “truth”, oblivious to reality.  

That is why people who are paranoid can behave in ways that are consistent with their paranoia, and may even resort to harming others in their attempt to protect themselves. Likewise, religious fanatics are willing to blow themselves up or kill others in the name of their beliefs, even when those actions are inconsistent with the real tenets of that religion.  

In a more positive way, a belief can cause spontaneous healing.  

So, be very careful what you choose to believe in. They can make or break you. Be aware of your beliefs.