On the Matter of Belief

From the first moment of our entry into this world, there are so very many things that need to be learned. We become consciously aware in the body of a child in an ongoing story with more history than we could ever hope to discover, moving into a future that is largely unknown.  All of the guidance and instruction provided to us (we find out later) has been developed by persons who don't really have the great mystery all figured out either.  

With all this conceptual wiggle room, it is little wonder that humans have developed the capacity and even an inclination to fill in all these vague, confused, and missing pieces with things that we believe.  Believing is a process whereby someone can call on the immense power of their mind to speculate, imagine, or otherwise conjure up explanations for these many mysteries.

Each individual is in complete control of what they choose to believe and how they choose to believe it.  Some people challenge their beliefs in an attempt to determine their veracity thus improving their overall understanding.  These people see belief as a forward moving process.  Others find so much comfort in their beliefs that they simply cling to them and defend them whenever they are challenged.  These people are complacently content considering their belief as a finished product.

Believing seems harmless enough, but it is actually quite a risky venture that should not be taken lightly.  Beliefs that are correctly assumed and properly vetted become the key to expanding our understanding of the world and our situation, and these correct beliefs are the key to our liberation.  Incorrectly assumed beliefs that are never questioned will inevitably become the very illusions that can impede our progress and generate bondage.

An illusion is the sensation of experiencing something but by virtue of things believed incorrectly,  being convinced the experience was something quite different.  Much of what we know about our everything including ourselves is a mix of ‘I know’ and ‘I believe’.   For example, if someone see something in the air, they might interpret it to be an airplane which is certainly very plausible (i.e. high on the ‘I know’ and low on the ‘I believe’).  Alternately, they might interpret it to be a vehicle from another planet which is a lot less likely to be true (i.e. low on the ‘I know’ and high on the ‘I believe’).  The higher a belief is on the 'I believe' side, the more likely it is to be an illusion and possibly very dangerous.

Illusions are created in this area of 'I know' and 'I believe' when some of the beliefs we hold are incorrect.  Most illusions are not apparently obvious, and many of them can result in a condition of unreasonable attachment called bondage.  Magicians exploit these illusions to entertain, but con-men, false prophets, and disingenuous others use these illusions to manipulate and exploit.  We are particularly susceptible to the illusions we create to fool ourselves.  

Since these beliefs are a critical part of our personal truth and understanding of the surrounding reality, illusions create a very critical vulnerability for us.  To minimize this vulnerability, the belief creation process must be effective and executed correctly.  Effective belief creation  begins with an understanding of the three ways we garner information about our surroundings and situation.

The Senses (i.e. sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch):  As reliable as we would like to think our senses are, they are frequently prone to error or misinterpretation because anything experienced through the senses is followed up by an analysis in the mind where it is embellished into what we believe we experienced through that particular sense. This interpretation occurs immediately after the sense is engaged, but it can go on indefinitely afterward with interpretations occurring way after the fact being much more interpreted belief than truth.

Rational Mind:  This sensory interpretation is but one of many and varied forms of input that our mind is able to rationally analyze.  Another common source of input our rational minds are the many ideas that are shared with us by others. Information shared by others might not be correct.  For one thing, the source might not be well informed, but more importantly, they may have a deliberate intent to deceive. All information from external sources needs to be considered suspect until it can be verified.

Intuitive Mind:  The rational mind is good at building layers onto an existing conceptual structure, but when the existing conceptual structure needs to be replaced, it is the intuitive mind that can step outside the current misconception to pursue radical, new solutions.   Intuition can be the internal insight that solves otherwise unsolvable problems, but all too frequently, wishful thinking is misinterpreted to be intuitive insight. It is all to common that vividly imagined delusions are confused for intuitive knowledge. There is a difference. True intuitively derived knowledge has substance that can stand the scrutiny of our rational mind and can be verified through our senses. Imagined delusions cannot.

Neither the intuitive mind or rational mind alone is sufficient to the task of solving this great life mystery, but together, they are a formidable team for shaping credible beliefs that can ultimately be molded into knowledge.

Belief is not a frivolous matter to be taken lightly.  It is the key to understanding our reality and ourselves, and it is the heart of the very serious matter of our ultimate liberation.  It must be done with great attention to detail, or we will continue to be trapped in our mundane rather than celestial existence.

Believe great and wonderful things, but don't be foolish.