BELIEFS -- STIMULATING OR STUNTING?

Beliefs -- infrastructure of the mind.

Beliefs act as a kind of scaffolding
To join the dots of experiences that we've had.
They're designed to be temporary bridges
Over the vast area of experiences we have not yet had;
They are gap-fillers over what we do not yet know.
They're very handy for making some quick sense of a new situation,
So that we can find our feet as quickly as possible
And get on with the game of exploring and discovering.

A problem arises, however, when these make-do structures become permanent.
Because they cover over what we could get to know
With what we don't know,
They obscure possibility and opportunity for growth.
Another problem with beliefs is that by far the largest number of them aren't even ours;
They were handed to us, complete with umpteenth-hand dots, as "gospel truth"
By people we respected and loved
Before we even had for ourselves the experiences they were supposed to interconnect.
These beliefs connect experiences we only think we've had.
And the experiences we think we've had
Have been forged by the adopted belief,
Because all beliefs are self-proving.

Whatever beliefs we adopt,
We get to be right about them.
They become "our" truth,
And, while they are in place, we get to experience life
As if they are "the " truth.


I don't yet know whether it's possible for a human being
To get to a place of permanently living without beliefs,
And I  admit I don't even really want to.
Because they have the power to create experience,
Beliefs are fun to play with,
As long as you know their limitations,
And don't stand on them for longer than they're creative and useful to you.

But some beliefs become rusted-on
And weigh heavily on our freedom to be,
Precluding any curious exploration of alternatives,
And defying all attempts to dismantle them.
Listen.
Now and then, tune in to your own self-talk,
And become aware of some of the negative beliefs you have about yourself, others, and life in general.
Pick one -- any one.
Then stand in the question "Is this empowering me, or crippling me? Am I being my own best friend by allowing "I" to talk to me like this??"
An honest person is ruthless in examining
Whether he/she is coming from a true knowing
Or a belief.

And as Socrates said --
"An honest man is always a child......"
Curious and non-judgmental.


I prefer beliefs that I can play with,
That sit lightly,
That provoke and allow the exploration
Of new, apparently contradictory and paradoxical possibilities,
And that are easily re-formed or dismantled
When they reach their "use-by" date.

When I realise I'm positioned on a belief, I ask myself
"Is this belief still creative, or has it become a limitation?
Does it still bring challenge and the possibility of growth?

Does it stimulate me or stunt me?"

If it no longer serves you --
Chuck it.