Why Your Beliefs Can Be So Dangerous!

Notable quotes:

“As a man thinketh, so is he.” – The Holy Bible

“Whether you think you can or think you can’t – you are right.” – Henry Ford

“A belief which leaves no place for doubt is not a belief; it is a superstition.”– JOSÉ BERGAMÍN, El cohete y la estrella

“All religious beliefs seem weird to those not brought up in them.” – RICHARD DAWKINS, The God Delusion

Philosophically speaking, and according to wikipedia, belief is the psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true. It is no secret that our behaviour as humans is governed strongly by what we believe. Let’s see…so it is a PSYCHOLOGICAL STATE. Wow! To me this is a very strong statement – meaning that both our mental AND physical (which is what most of us lean on for survival and understanding) have conveniently latched onto the beliefs, enabling them to become our own personal truths. It means that we are now being driven forward by that very thing because it now directs our thoughts and our actions. We all have beliefs of some sort, and if anyone contends that, they are lying to themselves.

Beliefs, in my humble opinion, are very dangerous. Why? Because very few, IF ANY, of the “beliefs” that we hold near and dear to our hearts are authentically ours, and I have found that to be a bit concerning. I mean, we aren’t born with any particular set of beliefs, are we? Do we come into this world knowing or believing anything at all, or is it all learned? Well I guess that depends upon how you look at it, eh? The truth is that we inherit most of what we believe; we inherit it from someone else, who inherited it from someone else, who inherited it from someone else…well, I think you catch my drift. This is one of the most underrated and complicated truths regarding human existence that I have become aware of. If we inherit what we believe from someone else, and we finally become conscious of this fact, what is the motivation to continue believing it? Why would we not even question those beliefs? Are we really THAT naive?? Do we need beliefs in order to define who we are? There is that infamous question again: Who AM I? Is it human nature to have a need to believe in SOMETHING? I have explored these questions and have formulated answers for myself. I am simply posing them to you, the reader, so that you will perhaps do the same. If it matters to you that you have an answer, that is.

Here is an example of that danger of beliefs I spoke of previously. My parents grew up in the deep south during the 30-50’s; really, they spent their entire lives in the same town in Louisiana. My father was born in Mississippi (even worse), but moved to Louisiana as a young boy. My father is deceased now, but my mother still lives in the same town, the same home that I grew up in…today she is 80 yrs old. (I know, what a blessing!) We all know these years were very oppressive times for blacks living in these areas. And even as I would grow up there, the beliefs that were passed down to me included things such as: “you can’t trust white people”, “white people will set you up to get in trouble”, white girls mean you no good at all”, “be careful around white people, they will stab you in your back when you aren’t looking”. Look, to put things a bit more in perspective regarding my hometown…I graduated in the late 1980’s, and our junior/senior prom and homecoming dances were still segregated at that time! I tell people this and they are floored. But it is true. And not because they had to be, but because the segregation was so heavily engrained into the culture and mentality (or beliefs) there. We all got along well for the most part, partied well together, but for whatever reason we held major events separately. I recall seeing some of my friends shy away from white people because of what their parents had warned them against. But I have always been a little bolder and adventurous than most. *Shrugs* Oddly enough, the year after I graduated they held the first integrated prom. Awesome! Now I know my parents’ intentions were good, and they were only trying to protect their son. But I held onto these beliefs as my truth until I reached an age where I could put it all to the test; and did I! Sure, there were a few tense moments that I experienced with white kids, but all in all my experiences with them were positive. Some of my best friends actually turned out to be white. I’ve always gotten along with other races because I chose to challenge the beliefs handed down to me and discover my own truth. Now I’m no fool. I was well aware (and still am) of the disadvantages that people of color still face due to Jim Crow and the psychological thrashing black people in this country were subjected to and still suffer largely from. It isn’t as overt as it once was, but the undercurrent from the older and dying generation is still there. Had I held onto those ideas and allowed them to direct my path and decisions, my Life could have been much different. It isn’t just the people around us who influence what we believe either. What about the media and how it shapes human beliefs and perceptions? This is one of the reasons I don’t watch television, other than sports. Though I feel more and more people are waking up and realising that the media lies to us…like all the time; there still exists an overwhelming influence on human belief by the media – especially in the Western world. Beliefs contain the power to lead us down a blind path.

So I’m saying all of this to say…be careful of what you choose to believe and/or believe in; it IS your choice, ya know. Red pill or blue pill? You pick. Ask questions, don’t believe something just because it’s in a book or on the television; or even if it came from what you have considered to be a credible source in past. Humanity’s greatest leaps forward came at the hands of those willing to question things and push the envelope where others fell back into the shadows. Teach your children to do the same.

The only true truth is inside of you. Strive to connect with your higher Self, your non-physical BEING…that still and Peaceful part of you that observes the thinker. Be led by that BEING, that voice, and not by the voice that has been tainted by the foulness of the ego…or someone else’s ego for that matter. Throughout modern history, hundreds of millions of humans have been “led off the side of a cliff” to their deaths because they were afraid to ask questions, and were easily bamboozled into BELIEVING something they were being told by another. #askquestions #freeyourmind

-20 bradfordspoke 12