The blatant fact is that the major portions contributing to the building of a belief system are based on illogical input! That’s right! Only 1 out of the 5 methods of creating your beliefs is based on logic.

The 5 main information sources feeding your beliefs are:

1. Evidence
2. Tradition
3. Authority
4. Association
5. Revelation

1. Evidence

   Evidence indicates causation of one thing for another. The ‘cut and dried’ quality of evidence appeals to the methodical and diagnostic part of your mind. Developing your belief system through this approach is very rationale and founded on the use of logical thinking.

   Two ways we gather evidence:

   1. Scientific enquiry supplies results from critically tested hypotheses to support evidence based believing.
   2. Your unique life experience of cause and affect. You might often experience a consistent result from your actions. For example:
      • If you drive a certain route at rush hour, you will be late.
      • Cooking for appreciative friends makes you feel great.
2. Tradition
   The traditions perpetuated through generations and cultures are a key contributor in building your belief system. Familes are often overwhelmed with traditional ideas day in and day out when growing up. Therefore traditions can be relatively easy to adopt, without even assessing. It’s great to appreciate that traditions have served some cultures well. However it does not indicate they are essentially based in truth, nor necessarily have a legitimate place in your life.

   Many people adopt their main ‘global beliefs’ and some ‘topic specific beliefs’ through societal tradition. Family biases, social culture, and societal discrimination are all major factors in the formation of personal ideas about:

   • God and what spiritual understanding is correct
   • political theory and which party to vote for
   • ones own personal value
   • which sporting team to cheer for

   Reflecting on this, can you identify what role tradition has played in developing some of your beliefs?

3. Authority
   Numerous beliefs are learned from people in positions of authority.

   It’s possible that these figures of power also fall in the category of tradition, as I’m sure you can picture. For example, parents usually stand up as a significant role of authority while growing up and they are daily passing traditions down to you.

   It’s also possible that those in positions of authority stand outside of tradition. Examples of some of those who influence your beliefs, could be:

   • a spiritual guide that claims to have a unique  direct line to ‘God’
   • a medic who claims that they absolutely sure that any ideas on health that are contrary with theirs, are rubbish
   • a university professor who you have looked up to
4. Association
   What group are you part of?
   Whether you can be found with the ‘in crowd’ or hidden away with the ‘nerds’, you will be strengthening common beliefs that you share with the group. It is kind of like ‘you rub off on one another’.

   As you are regularly faced with special ways of thinking common to your crowd, you learn to ‘go with the flow’ and support the shared thinking.

5. Revelation
   Here, the definition of revelation referred to is “the disclosure of information to man by a divine or supernatural agency”. The experience might be described as:a gut feeling… or seeing something in your imagination.

   Two main explanations offer insight on how this unseen delivery of knowledge occurs:

   1. Some say that the knowledge had previously been fed into your subconscious through external stimuli. It was just fizzing below the surface. When the correct trigger was hit, (likely some
      vague event), the info was brought to your conscious mind.
   2. Others think that perhaps it is due to a sixth sense of perception that we know little about. This extra sense is revealing unlike any other, baring new info in ways not yet measurable.

   Revelation can reveal itself at any time. You might be; busy in the office, in the shower, meditating on breaking waves. Where ever it may arrive, might be interesting to ponder. But, the really interesting question is, will it help to share this information?

   There was definitely one outstanding man who highly valued the wild ideas his imagination threw upon him.

   Albert Einstein! He intimately knew the power of imagination, and how it is interwoven with the magic of believing. A few of his words of wisdom on the subject:

   “The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.”

   “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”

Have fun exploring the origin of some of your beliefs.

1. With an inquisitive mind, ask, “do they have a solid basis and do they serve you well?”
2. Recognizing that many or your beliefs are ‘adopted beliefs’, have another look at them in a new light. See if you can find holes in them. As you learn and grow, it is reasonable to think that you will change some of your beliefs as you progress with your personal development. Enjoy the process!

© inspired-personal-development.com