The Idea of Belief

The Idea of Belief

https://www.restoredminds.com/5-Rules-For-Recovery

https://www.restoredminds.com/ocd-assessment

Have you ever heard the phrase “seeing isn’t believing, believing is seeing? 

And have you ever stopped to consider what that means for your own life? 

In this episode, we are going to discuss belief. Belief is one of the most fundamental components of change in our lives. Shifting our belief allows our behaviour and attitude towards something to change. 

Your beliefs play a huge factor when it comes to making change happen in your life. Remember that on your journey to recovery, change starts from within by shifting beliefs. And when you change your beliefs you change the way you perceive the world.

TRANSCRIPT

(00:04):

All right. Hello, and welcome to another episode where we're going to talk about the idea of belief and the power of belief. And so, um, you know, really this, this concept of belief is one of my favorite things to work on with, um, with people, right. And it's one of my favorite things to teach. So I wanted to make an episode about it because I just know the power of it. Right. You know? And, um, when, when we talk about belief, what we're really talking about is the idea of underlying stories that we consistently tell ourselves that we never challenge. Right. That's what a belief is, right. There's a difference between a truism or like a law and a belief. Right. So the law of gravity let's say, right. Like I'm not going to, like, we all universally understand that to be true. Right. And it applies to everyone.

(00:57):

That's what makes it a law. Right. Um, where it is a belief is something that we, a story that we tell ourselves that doesn't always apply to everyone. That's why it's a belief, right. Is because it's something that we, you know, we tell ourselves that's not applicable to everyone always. So, um, you know, an example, right. Obviously is the idea of, let's say the belief in Santa Claus, right. Well, at one point in your life, maybe you believe in Santa Claus and another point you don't. Right. And so what's what changed, was it the fact that, you know, Santa was really real or not, it was just the idea of the story that you had about that in your mind. Right. And these stories are these unconscious, you know, stories that we tell ourselves again and again, and again and again, and what's interesting is that what we see doesn't shape our belief, our belief shapes what we see, if we really think about it, right?

(01:51):

When you, when you operate, most of us think that we're logical, rational people. That's why, that's why, you know, we'll sit there and, you know, we'll, we'll go through facts and stuff like this. And we'll think that we're using our logical rational brain. But the reality is, is that in many cases, what we see in the world is going to operate and confirm what we believe, right? The unconscious stories that we just believe to be true. Now we can use, uh, a really practical example of this and look at the political arena, right. Especially in the States. Right. I, you know, I don't think, um, I don't think there's ever been a time where our country has been more divided short of, you know, the actual, like civil war. Um, but you know, we have these extreme divisions, right? And most people will, like, if you ever get into any kind of political conversation with people will tell you that they have an open mind, right.

(02:45):

And that they'll listen to you and, you know, they'll revert back. But for whatever reason, you know, those conversations seems to escalate. You know, especially if you have very emotional people in it. And the reality is, is that most people into the inter those conversations with the, there's not a chance in their mind, they're going to change their mind. What they're operating to do is to change your, because the unconscious belief underneath that is that I'm right. Whatever you believe about whatever topic I'm right. And the other person's wrong. And it's my job to convince them that they're wrong and that they need to believe how I believe right now we say things like, okay, well, I'll have an open, honest discussion. Cause we like, we believe we feel, we feel good when we say that stuff. Right. But when we operate from belief, um, and once you realize that you operate from belief, what you're going to realize is that when you believe something, you're going to see the world through that belief.

(03:37):

And you're going to, you're ultimately going to confirm your biases, right. Even if you don't know you're doing it and we all operate like this me included, right. This is why, um, you know, having conversation around controversial topics is so difficult because most of us go into those conversations with these unconscious beliefs and we, we even lie to ourselves about them. Right. And so we, we think we're arguing about one thing, but really underneath the surface, a completely different things happening. I hope this is making sense because when you understand this, that believing is seeing right. What you believe you will see as opposed to seeing something is, um, and then that's what will actually make you believe it. Right. And, and it doesn't work like that. Right. We work from the inside out, not the outside in, and, um, you know, like for instance, you know, um, for those of you that believe in God, right?

(04:41):

Like me, right. You know, if you're a person of faith, when you see something outside, because you have that internal faith and belief, you will see it through that particular lens. Right. And for those people that don't right. They'll see it a completely different way. Right. And, and what they'll do is you can look at the same event. Right. And you'll, you'll see it two different ways based on what you believe. Right. And I really, I hope this is making sense. Right. And, and again, this applies to really anything because belief is everything. It comes into everything we do. And once you understand that, then it's about, it's not about looking at facts outside and, uh, you know, twisting this and twisting that to confirm stuff. It's about, Hey, what beliefs do I have that I just carry around that I've just never even challenged.

(05:30):

Right? Like, are there stuff, are there, are there things that I'm bringing to the table that I'm not even aware of personally? Why do I have that belief, right. Where did that belief come from? Right. So, I mean, like when I work with, with people with, uh, you know, OCD, anxiety, psychological stress, when we're working on, you know, navigating that recovery process, I mean, let's just think about that, right? Like so many people come in to come in, to meet with me or meet with me over the internet or whatever. And the, the fundamental belief underneath everything we're doing is that recovery is not possible. Now think about what that, what that would do to someone's recovery. If you believe recovery is not possible, no matter what tool you're given or evidence of someone recovering, you'll always have a story that in your mind, that's going to align with your belief and then ultimately it's going to drive your behavior.

(06:25):

Right. So if you believe recovery is not possible, well, do you think your, how do you think you're gonna apply the tools? Do you think you're going to do it a hundred percent? It's like, of course not because it doesn't align with your belief. Right. But once we can begin to identify our beliefs and more importantly, change our beliefs because our beliefs are just beliefs. Right. We have the ability to change them. We have the ability to choose what to believe. And, and that is what real, real freedom and real, you know, deep kind of transformation that, that, that kind of work is what produces, like, you know, exponential transformation in someone's life. It has nothing to do with learning new tools often, or, um, you know, or, or getting this one thing that, you know exactly how you want it. And it has everything to do with looking with it, right.

(07:18):

Looking at Hey, like, what do I believe? Why do I believe that? Is that belief helpful to me? Or is it, is it harming me? Right? And, and that's when you can start to look at your own life right outside and realize that your life is a reflection of your internal beliefs in many ways. Now. Sure. There are things that are outside of your control. Yes. But many things in our life are, are literally a direct reflection of beliefs that we have unconsciously. They're just stories that go on in the background left unchallenged. And those stories can be planted in your mind from teachers, from, from all sorts of people in your life when you were really, really young. Right. Like, I mean, I, I think about beliefs that I used to have about money. Right. You know, it's like, I mean, like that, that's a whole nother, you know, episode just on that, right.

(08:04):

Like money doesn't grow on trees or, you know, there's like, you know, which is obviously the idea of like, money's hard to come by, right. Or money's evil. Right. Well, if you're awkward, waiting like that, and then you're, you're trying to run a business or something like that. Right. It's like, well, of course you're gonna, you're gonna operate from that. Behaviourally right. Because you have that underlying story. And once we begin to change the underlying stories in our life, that's when we can start to see real change happen externally. And it's amazing how quickly it can happen too, because these internal shifts are what create the outturn sh uh, external shifts. I'm sorry, I'm in our outside world. And once we begin to really understand that, it's like, then we know what place to work from. See, most people work by trying to change their outside world.

(08:53):

And that it's just completely, they try to change everyone else's beliefs. And, and the thing is, is they're not even trying to change their beliefs for their own benefit. They're trying to change their beliefs so that they align with their, so that they feel better. Right. Think about it. If someone has a different political belief and why did then you, why did, why do you need to change their opinion? Like the, think about it really? Why do you, why do you need to make them like you, it has nothing to do with you helping them has everything to do with you wanting to feel better about yourself, because you want them to align with your biases. So it doesn't challenge you. But the reality is, is meeting with people that, that hold contrary to belief, contrary beliefs and ideas to you is one of the best things you can do, because it allows you to sh it shines lights on your own belief systems. And if you're operating in a belief system, that's unhealthy and unhelpful for you, it's like what a better gift than for someone to show you that, you know, I mean, like, at least that's how I, I began to look at it. It's like when you just align with people that only think like you all that does is it just keeps you safe in your little box that keeps you safe from growing.

(10:06):

Once we learn to not only listened to, but coexists with different ideas that, I mean, that is where real transformation comes from internally. And when transformation happens internally, it can happen within relationships and grow on and so forth and so forth until eventually it can, it actually can spread through the world. Right. But it, it always starts within. Right. And, and that's the place that we all need to start with. Right. And if we don't, it's like, we're always just going to be in conflict. Um, so, you know, just as a take-home point, maybe this is something that you can start to look at how in your life, right. And, you know, again, um, when it comes to looking at things like anxiety and OCD and psychological stress, like within your life, looking at the belief structures underneath that is, is going to be some of the most powerful work you can do.

(10:58):

And, you know, if you're interested in looking at, for the resources and, um, in further help with that, with that journey, you know, [email protected], we have resources to help you, um, everything from, you know, downloads to, you know, free webinars to, you know, group coaching to our programs, you know, and, and again, wherever you are in your journey, you know, um, we, we want to meet you there to help you. And so, um, anyways, thank you so much for taking the time to hang out with me today. I hope this has been helpful, and we always appreciate if you would like, and subscribe and share this with others who, who might find it helpful as well. So thank you. And I look forward to seeing you guys next week. Take care.