“I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong.” - Bertrand Russell
Oh boy, this is a really touchy subject, but one I love to discuss. Did you know that there are over 40 religions in the world? Which one is right? Well, that all depends on who you are talking to. If you are talking to a Christian, obviously Christianity must be right, if you are talking to a Jew, then Judaism must be right, and so on.... and yes, there are extremists who will die to defend their beliefs.
What would happen to society if a discovery was made that proved all religions to be wrong in their teachings? Would us humans be able to cope? You see, all religious beliefs are based on faith, none of us were there to witness what actually happened so we believe what we are told, and the sad thing is, this extends beyond religion. I could start a rumour right now and if I could get enough people to believe it, it wouldn't matter if it was the truth or not.
“If you don't change your beliefs, your life will be like this forever. Is that good news?” - William Somerset Maugham
The good news is that we can change our beliefs whenever we want to. (In the past we might have been burned on the cross! Isn't it a shame that humans were killed by other humans because their beliefs didn't conform to the norm at the time....) And I'm not only talking about religious beliefs, I'm talking about self beliefs too.
I was raised as a christian and went to an Anglican church, but I never felt comfortable going to an Anglican church, so I started going to a non-denominational church which I really enjoyed for a while. Now I don't go to church at all because there are just some aspects and teachings I feel uncomfortable with. Does this make me a bad person? The sad thing is, you are probably judging me as you read this, doing the exact opposite of what the bible teaches.
"Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:" - Luke 6:37
Enough about religious beliefs, lets get to self beliefs. If I believe I am useless at something, guess what, I will be. It doesn't matter if all my family and friends tell me otherwise, what I believe is what really matters.
“All personal breakthroughs begin with a change in beliefs.” - Anthony Robbins
Most of our self beliefs come from the way we were raised as children. Fortunately as adults we have the power to believe whatever we want to, the problem is that most of us are unaware of our self beliefs. To find out what our self beliefs are, we need to ask some pretty difficult questions, and even more importantly, answer them honestly!
Do I respect myself?
Does it show in the way I behave?
Does it show in the way I dress?
Does it show in the way I eat & drink?
Do I love myself? (not the arrogant kind of love, the caring kind of love.)
Does it show in my love for others?
Am I a good partner/husband/wife/father/mother?
Am I good at my job?
The list goes on....
If you are in a relationship, ask your partner to answer the questions too, if there are any differences, they need to be discussed. It's no good if I believe I'm a good husband and my wife disagrees. And don't let the discussion become emotional, it's just a discussion, not a life threatening event.
“The outer conditions of a person's life will always be found to reflect their inner beliefs.” - James Allen
"Just because you believe it, doesn't mean it's the truth." - Brynn Thomas
"Believe and your belief will create the fact." - William James
I read some disturbing news yesterday. More humans have died at the hands of other humans than through natural disasters!
What is wrong with us?
2 comments:
Touchy indeed, Brynn.
Luke 6:37 is a guiding light to maturity in all things spiritual. May it be so for you too.
Is it not judgement in itself to avoid church altogether? Did I not make myself guilty of judgement when I condemned all churches and all religions by avoiding them?
"Eat the meat and spit out the bones" and "Forgive them, Father, for they do not know what they do" may allow you to experience the joy of a church filled with the Holy Spirit.
I worship God where I stand, regardless of which church, temple or congregation I visit.
I find God in the quiet garden, the desert and the wilderness, like Christ did ... I ask Him to make me a vesel of the Holy Spirit and silently carry that blessing to every church I can find.
God needs neither our approval of His House, nor does He stay away from places "where two or more are gathered in His Name".
You have been blessed with Wisdom and this site has become the church where you are the minister on the pulpit!
Here too the Holy Spirit will move.
Love
amandA
I love this post and I am sure it touches a nerve with a lot of people but I am even more convinced that reading this can be a revelation too.
For a long time I have known that a lot of my beliefs have been holding me back and I struggled to find a way of changing them. It's only now that I have slowed down my way of learning that it is beginning to surface and answers are coming to me. (Though still not as fast as I'd like!!!)
I used to be somewhat judgemental and reading that line really struck a cord with me. Now I try to see the good in every person I meet thinking that the universe could have "arranged" the meeting of this person to deliver a message or a lesson for me to learn. The interesting thing is that since I have tried to live by this principal I feel much more compassion for other people and people seem much friendlier towards me too! Forgiveness also comes easier to me now, whereas before I could easily hold a grudge for years.
I am slowly working through "You can heal your life" and the exercise I have been doing for the past few days is around trying to find out where the beliefs came from and take an objective look at them, which does mean total honesty with one self in the same way you would have to be to answer your questions.
Best wishes
J
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