Beliefs

"An unquestioned mind is the only cause of suffering." - Byron Katie

"The beliefs you hold about reality are not only affecting your life, they are creating it!" - Russell Rowe

The Power Of Beliefs!

My inner and outer life has changed so dramatically as a consequence of learning more about myself, other people and my unconscious beliefs that I want to share some information about the power of beliefs to shape our lives.

Almost everyone used to believe that the world was flat because that is what their senses told them! How many of us still believe that? No one. Almost everyone used to believe that the Sun revolves around the Earth because that is what their senses told them! How many of us still believe that? No one. Exercise physiology “experts” believed that the 4 minute mile was unbreakable until Roger Bannister came along and broke it on May 6, 1954. The previous world record of 4:01.3 had stood for 9 years but within 46 days John Landy broke Roger Bannister’s record and by the end of 1957, 16 runners had logged sub-4-minute miles!! That is the power of beliefs!!

These are just three examples of beliefs that were held so fervently at the time but have since proven to be untrue. It would seem inevitable then that many other beliefs that we hold to be truths at the moment could just as easily prove untrue over time.

So why do so few people question their own beliefs? First of all, because most of our beliefs are unconscious (i.e. we don’t even realize they are running our lives). Secondly, because most personality types rely primarily on their physical senses and logical thinking to perceive reality! They believe what they can see, hear, taste, touch and smell. Hence the long-held beliefs about the world being flat and the Sun revolving around the Earth. Some personality types, however, rely primarily on their intuition to perceive reality. They believe what their direct knowing and gut feelings tell them is true and question anything to the contrary. Because these "radical" free-thinking people are in the minority, societal beliefs change slowly. Everyone has the ability to perceive reality both logically and intuitively but our personality's usually dictate what we pay attention to first and foremost.

Part of the mission of Spiritual Masters like Jesus, Buddha, Krishna and others has been to help us question our long-held beliefs and develop faith in an unconditionally loving Universe. Jesus must have known about most people’s preference for relying on their physical senses and logic for information rather than their intuition because he was repeatedly saying, “Oh ye of little faith!” and “Those who have ears to hear, let them hear!”

So in this section I want to help you understand how your beliefs about reality may be limiting your peace and happiness based on your personality's world view.

Check Back soon!

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? My e-mail address is: grussrowe@cox.net

This page was last updated on 05/29/05.