beliefs

Beliefs are one of the hardest things for us to examine for ourselves. Like faults, beliefs show up in bright colors on another, but appear muted and faint on ourselves. Examining our own beliefs is much like attempting to study our own noses, without aid of a mirror.

This morning I stumbled on a belief system that I have held, and am glad to reconsider. I was thinking that if someone believes that eating something will kill them, maybe hamburgers, that it just might. I went into that thinking because of drinking a healthy juice that tastes nasty... and realizing that I was putting up with the taste in the belief that the juice would keep me healthy. I tend to be pretty skeptical about so-called healthy eating and diets. My particular belief stems from the old idea that it was all called good in the beginning, so it’s all good, in moderation. In my thoughts, I was attributing truth to the idea that belief in something deemed negative (hamburgers) leads to negative results, while I was labeling as bunk the belief that something deemed positive (juices) leads to positive results. That’s a negative belief system I have set up for myself that limits the good in my life and creates a labyrinth of negativity.

But, how do I change my beliefs? It’s my understanding that we develop beliefs out of experiences. It might behoove me to do some experimenting. In fact, I may have already done some experimenting. Maybe I’ve found a well-being from the juice that I don’t get otherwise. Or is the placebo effect? My point is that we hold beliefs so firmly when there are many variables and new experiences out there to help us refine them.

Two fellows were talking about gas versus electric model engines. Their belief is that electric engines are underpowered. They held the conversation while watching a powerful electric model in operation. Their belief is based on experiences from a few years ago, before batteries got fancy. In the present day, they are observing electric model engines which are powerful, but cannot see past their beliefs to process the new information. Such sticky thinking is threatening to me, because I so easily do it. How do we regain flexibility?

Maybe a practice of observation, of labeling what we see in each moment as a new thing, not that same old thing, keeps the elastic in our understanding. Not investing in our beliefs would also help. By that I mean not needing to be right, or correct, or the most astute. Maybe we can regain a sense of play and experimentation and toss ideas around. Maybe we could practice defending the side opposed to our beliefs and see what happens. I don’t know. What I do know is that I don’t want to have evidence of a false belief staring me in the face and my preconceptions standing in the way of my seeing clearly.

So, now I’ll play with the ideas that I have held about negative and positive choices. Maybe I’ll have a hamburger for lunch to observe its effects on my body, now that I’ve had the juice for breakfast. I believe that I am safe to say that I no longer hold any unexamined beliefs. Unless I reread the previous sentence.