Starting with the certainty that I am 100% responsible for my life being the way it is and it is not – it is essential to recognize that my belief systems are the core cause of my life experience.
A belief is the result of a personal, culturally conditioned perception. Belief is the psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true. Beliefs are at the foundational interpretations of events – fostering the meaning inherent in human perception.
Beliefs are expressed as opinions, assumptions, insights, assessments, explanations, reasons, judgments, and evaluations. Each expression of beliefs is built upon the past. They are stacked on top of each other and the light of experience flows through these many layered lenses of beliefs. New beliefs are formed from former beliefs and experienced in a matrix so complicated and so insidious that it becomes almost impossible to distinguish a belief from reality. Therefore, reality gets confused with belief systems.
Beliefs are the backbone of all stories told. They give the substance, tone, style, genre, and color to the telling or sharing of an experience. My life story becomes “my personal spin” on life.
Experience is an internal event and it is unique to the one having the experience. “When I speak from experience, I speak my truth.” When I speak for another, I can never speak truth. The truth spoken of here is the personal truth, not THE TRUTH.
Limiting beliefs are the source of much suffering and lost opportunity. The symptoms of experiencing limiting beliefs are many. For example: fear, anger, sadness, guilt, shame, apathy, regret, resentment, bitterness, rebellion, etc. With these symptoms there is a loss; a loss of power, peace, possibility, happiness, joy, and vitality. Fear suppresses the experience of love and it is this loss of love that causes suffering.
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Communication is dependent upon a shared understanding of the beliefs inherent in language. When beliefs are identified by their obvious language markers, one can easily navigate the conversations and determine for oneself what is to be sifted out or kept as accurate. Some examples of the language markers of beliefs are:
Experience interpreted as fact has a more definitive form in its language markers:
- It is…
- I am…
- I know…
- I saw…
- I felt…
- I heard…
Each statement reveals the individual relatedness of belief to fact. It could be said that everything is a belief and no belief is true. So I say to myself what I say to you; “be suspicious of what you believe.” Challenge any belief you hold that causes you suffering. I have been asking; “does this belief bring me joy?” If it doesn’t, I am willing to let it go.