Beliefs are not facts

We are living in what, at times, looks like a fractured world where, all too often, beliefs become confused with facts. A definition of belief from the Oxford Dictionary is “an acceptance that something exists or is true”. The birth of a belief usually comes from outside us but its confirmation comes after reflection and study. As a child I believed in the tooth fairy, but as I developed a more reasoned mind I was able to ask questions and think about the accuracy of what I had been told and shift my belief. As children we do this but do we continue to examine our beliefs as adults, in a world that is rampant with propaganda and manipulation of information.

We all have beliefs but where do they come from, how do they shape our lives and how do we manage them? Beliefs can come from any message we give ourselves or are given that are not facts. An example from my life as a child is that God will punish me if I am bad. An example from my life as a teenager is that I am not attractive. An example from my life as a young adult is that I am not smart enough. Another person might have had the opposite messages and believed she was attractive, smart and good. From the moment we start taking in information we are forming beliefs. That information might come from the way we are treated as children, it might be what we learn in the process of our education, it might be based on what we observe in our world, it might come from a religious institution or any group we choose to identify with, and beliefs are formed by the culture to which we belong. There are a host of ways that beliefs are formed. In today’s world beliefs and opinions are often confused with truths and used to manipulate public opinion which leads to division and confusion. It is time for us to take responsibility for our beliefs, to examine them thoroughly before claiming them as our own and be ready to defend them or adjust them, if we find them flawed.

Let’s take a closer look at where our beliefs come from:

1. From the moment we are born we take in messages from the way we are treated in our families and from the quality of those relationships. Some examples might be related to our intelligence, our appearance, our ability to succeed, our lovableness. We absorb them into our being through words and behaviors and they form the foundation of our self image and of ourselves in relationship to others.
2. At a certain age we are institutionalized. Each school has its own culture and set of norms, which for the sake of survival, we adopt. We learn to submit to the will of adults because the alternative is almost always too painful. In many cases schools fail to support young people to take a stand for who they are and pursue the learning of their hearts. If we treated a group of adults in the way schools treat children it would be called oppression. They are treated as empty tanks to be filled rather than full tanks exploding with novel and exciting ideas. We assume we can shape them to become versions of ourselves rather than allow them the freedom to explore the limits of their own unique beings. In the course of this journey we fill them with our ideas and understandings about reading, writing, science, history and how the world works without leaving any space to ask whether this is the learning they seek. Consequently we all grow up thinking we need to fit a mold, find a slot in the world where we can live out our lives rather than create our own dynamic, individual journey based on our personal values, skills and beliefs.
3. Religious institutions are in the business of beliefs and most people who are raised in a particular religious tradition adopt those beliefs without question. But then, are they beliefs, or a set of teachings. A spiritual belief is only a belief when research is done, self reflection is a way of life, questions are asked and experience confirms it. A spiritual belief must surely be bound to our personal morality and the values we hold which can only be found by searching within after absorbing a range of information and experience from living. It is essentially what feels right, what feels good. Sometimes this might be in line with our religious tradition, at times it is not. I explored many spiritual avenues before settling on one which felt totally in line with my values and vision.
4. Society can shape our beliefs. The values of a nation, the quality of government, the media, the culture all present ideas that shape our beliefs. It is interesting to examine the constitutions of other countries to better understand how national beliefs are formed. If human rights are built into a country’s constitution people are more likely to feel safe and confident that their government has their back. I looked at the constitutions of three countries whose national priorities are very different and which are clearly represented by the health of their societies. In one, among many other human rights guaranteed to the people by the people, is the right that no child be left without schooling, food and clothing. Indeed this is a country with a safety net so thoroughly covered in its constitution that no one falls through the cracks. As a whole this countrty believes that everyone is worthy of being cared for and supported and thus a society of cooperation over competition is created. In a country whose constitution stresses individual rights over what might be good for the whole society, you will find people lacking security and safety, and believing themselves unworthy if they are unable to engage in the competitive spirit required to achieve material success and meet their basic needs. Another country has built into its constitution accountability for all executive acts and has a court of impeachment which may impeach Ministers on account of their official acts. Again this is a safety net for people that ensures that their elected officials do their jobs with responsibility and integrity and represent them according to the laws of the land. No one in this society is above the law. When looking at the constitutions of a country it is easy to see how national trends towards a specific belief system are formed. Beliefs about our value to our nation is tied to the ability of our leaders to keep us safe, healthy, fed and housed. If these basic needs cannot be guaranteed by our government, then our belief about our own worthiness is easily shattered. Does that mean that anyone is actually not worthy? Absolutely not. It is our belief about our worthiness that is affected. Everyone is worthy, wherever they are from but based on the values and norms expressed through a country’s constitution people develop a set of beliefs about their worth as citizens and this, in turn, affects how a country functions as a whole. Put another way people from some countries have to work harder to establish a solid belief in their personal worth as citizens and to believe that their voice and presence counts.

Whether you have well established beliefs or not, they evolve over time, as our consciousness grows and develops and our experience with life expands. It is our responsibility to our loved ones and our society to do what it takes to explore, claim and adjust our beliefs and to support others in that exploration too. It is never acceptable to expect others to have the same beliefs. We are all in our own place in the spectrum of time and space.