This short article is inspired by a comment from Kat. You can read all comments for this post right here: TRACK DOWN: Mayan Calendar 2012 Connection discussion.
Here’s the comment from Kat:
Hello Andi & Jag,
I am looking forward to exploring this course. Also I think an interesting point in regard to what we believe is that if you look back to the origins of the word (the etymology) you will take not that the origins of the word belief, believe are very much connected in meaning to the word love. That which we care for. In the word be lieve and be lief it is stating what we hold within us, as an important part of what it means to be. As these 2 words are strongly related to the word love. Our attachments to our beliefs are very strong you could even say they serve as a self identification.
Anyway this is my conclusion I haven’t had it confirmed with another’s conclusion …… so Andi or Jag please respond as to your take on my conclusions.
—————————————–
REPLY FROM ANDI:
Kat! Brilliant observation and investigation on your part. So true. BELIEF is the very roots of what we “care for” what we “love”. And the use of the word L-O-V-E here is in the most common sense - not the most technical. To “love” generally implies that we adore or cherish someone or something but think about it… we say things like, “I love you.” (to a person) and then “I love these shoes.” Are both love? Yes, with a caveat…
There’s more to LOVE than the idea it’s a feeling. In English we have one word for “love” and use the same word to express many different kinds of feelings. But love itself - the true definition - is not a feeling… it is a creative force.
BELIEFS are the ways we all suffer. A belief is what a “Not-I” (not the true I) believes is the truth, until it is questioned. Bear in mind that not all “beliefs” hurt. Many do. The ones that hurt are the ones to question — but here’s the kicker: you don’t always know or see that it is a belief that is creating the pain. So the pain continues until we’re exposed to a teaching idea. Teaching ideas are of course everywhere but often missed because they’re not seen as teaching. In the InnerCodeSchool (coming soon to this site) we’ll get into this in detail. For now…
There’s much to understand about what it means to be genuinely conscious in the truest sense of the word. While there is a technical aspect to what we’re talking about here - which may turn some people off - once the technical is understood, it leads to is pure freedom of mind. It’s extraordinary!
If you wanted to build a rocket-ship to fly to the moon, would you depend on guessing how to do it? Or would you prefer to build it technically correct? Of course the latter if you value your life and actually getting to do what you want to do…which is fly!
To build an inner life… make no mistake about it, there is a way to do this that dependably works every single time — and there are ways that simply create more work for you as opposed to setting you free. There are vital questions that open the door to freedom and questions that are just well… questions that lead nowhere.
Thank you for sharing this Kat.
- Andi
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Andi, Kat brought up beliefs which I take to mean as what we are aware of (conscious of). You are right on explaining love is a creating force and will support all beliefs. So, when pain or a dead end associates with a belief, it is simply distorted love trying to get your attention to Allow it’s existance(I created it), Appreciate what it has done was perfectly used and Accept that emotion/belief as a part of your own expanded love. Breathe love into it. The Triple A Process.
Thank you for your consciousness.
Love, Don
How sweet it is to be loved by you……..Talking about be - lief, in dutch lief means sweet and ofcourse were there is spoken about love, it’s ‘houden van’ like ‘holden’ dearly ‘of’. Be - lief becomes ‘Wees lief’! (to) Be sweet.
4 Golden rules for Quantum-Touch healing (Your’e love has impact)
1)Be aware
2)Be supportively in your awareness
3)Be trustfull. Trust It!!!
4)Wees liefdevol daar….!!! were you work on….
Be loving and caring there…..To Allow…like Don said.
In combination with the breathingtechnics, they come with it for the higher frequenties as energy-flow.
Garanteed succes in how the body respond just by itself on this intentions when used with focus.
Trusting is ‘knowing’ for the body, no thinking is no fear!! Thank you for sharing your love and care.
Nel.
Hello to all!
So… let’s tackle a few of the ideas in the comments here and “dialog”… yes?
Don you said, “Kat brought up beliefs which I take to mean as what we are aware of (conscious of)”
Actually, it’s just the opposite. BELIEFS are not those things we’re aware of - they’re what’s going on inside that we are not aware of.
A “belief” can occur so quickly, so instantaneously that it slips right past you and then it’s there — in the background actually directing your responses to life and your environment without actually realizing that is going on.
Yes… we like to think we’re aware of our awareness. The reality is, HOW can you be conscious of what you’re not conscious of?
Well, you can’t. This is what “the work” is all about — to become aware of what you don’t see because you’re not looking for it. To do this kind of “work” in your life is very specific and very directed. It isn’t an accident (usually).
Sometimes, there is an AHA! moment - you’ve experienced this certainly for yourself. It’s that moment when you really “get it”; that what’s underneath some unhappiness, difficulty or pain is something you believed (perhaps for years) is true that isn’t!
As a general rule in the conditioned mind these things slip by all the time.
So “belief” is not seen usually. And belief is the only place where pain is possible in life. What you believe is true is what’s driving the underpinning of your life… do you think it’s worth questioning?
You bet!
These things left UN-questioned are disintegrating to your life! They will DESTROY the life.
To question what is “believed” isn’t about trying not to believe it anymore — that’s a waste of your energy to even try. All you can do is question it and once questioned the belief falls away from you! EFFORTLESSLY.
Another point here…
I notice that “love” is not ever distorted. Our perception of love can be but there’s no such thing as distorted “love”.
Can you accept or not accept a belief?
Answer: All you can do is question it. What occurs when a “belief” is questioned with total honestly is the belief let’s go of you.
Beliefs are not as easily dismissed as “thought” will lead you to (again) believe!
Beliefs drive your life from *behind the scenes*.
Every time you hear a suggestion and take it in without questioning it a belief is born - a new personality is born and “it” (as if it’s not even really you!) comes with a complete set of ideals it will begin to fight for - no matter what you think you want - it’s a survival function!
Love is what brings you back home to “you”. And discussing what “love” is, is a discussion worth having… love is not an emotion.
Very interested to dialog with you!
- Andi
I agree with you Andi. Love is not an emotion. It can engender emotion. Where I disagree with you is that love is all about “you”. Nothing could be further from the truth. It’s only in self forgetfulness that we can know true love. Jesus was the ultimate example of this. He needed us like he needed a hole in the head. He faced a fate far worse than death for us. To those he calls he guides gently, patiently, and with extreme attention to detail. He reaches out across all time and space. That is what love is all about. It sounds like you are into self worship. But granted you do have some peculiar definitions to some pretty common words. We might be saying the exact same thing.
Belief is absolutely necessary. It only causes pain when you turn it into an act that will save you. For example, say you are heading off a cliff. There is a branch sticking out from the cliff that has the strength to hold you up. You reach out to grab the branch believing that it will save you. How much belief, how much faith do you have to have in the branch for the branch to save you? Just enough to grab on to it. If you have no belief that the branch can hold you and you don’t grab it you fall to the bottom of the cliff and die. It’s the branch that saves you but it can’t save you at all if you don’t grab it.
I don’t agree with you Pete, it’s only in loving oneself first that we can know true love. It took a long time for me to learn this, particularly as we have always been taught to put others first, but when you realise there is only one in this world, to love oneself is to love everything.
I am trying to find out about beliefs and I am reading and questioning what Andi is telling us. I am also listening to other people who are of the same opinion because I understand that beliefs create your world and attract both positive and negative into it. Do you perhaps think that in the scenario you describe it could be your awareness that there is a branch that hopefully might save you. Not really sure about this,perhaps Andi you could give us your take on this?
Hey Colleen,
I don’t mean to say that we should practice self loathing. What I am saying is that the eyes can’t see themselves. Or, what does your head look like from the perspective of your own eyes? It is nothing. Not even black. It’s just empty, void. What is there to love in a void? We only can know ourselves through the reflection in the world and we can only know the image in which we are made by gazing at the creator. Andi says we can’t possibly know anything about God because God is infinite, but that’s because she has a very peculiar definition of “to know”. Personally, I can see and examine evidence all around me to know about God. I can know all sorts of things to come to a fairly reasonable conclusion that JFK was not killed by a lone gunman and that 9/11 was an inside job. That doesn’t mean I know everyone involved in the murders. It doesn’t mean that I have ultimate knowledge of God.
You say that beliefs create your world. I would say that one’s world view and beliefs are roughly the same. I would say that the truth is the truth even if no one believes it and a lie is a lie even if everyone believes it. We can’t create absolute truth because we as individuals have not been eternally existing. Sure, we can create in a relative sense. A “positive” outlook will create a different experience in life than a “negative” one.
In the scenario I posed I would say it is not primarily the faith in or awareness of the branch that saves me but the strength of the branch. Certainly my awareness of the branch is necessary. And a belief- just enough to grab on– in the branch is absolutely necessary. I can “believe” that there is a branch. That does not create a branch. I can imagine a branch in my “inner awareness”. That does not create a real branch. This is just a metaphor.
I like the analogy of the Flatlanders written by Edwin Abbott Abbott written in 1894. It’s about a 2 dimensional world that receives contact from a 3 dimensional being. The 2D beings can only see clues of the 3D world. They can hear a disembodied voice, a 2D shape that appears out of nowhere and disappears into nothing as it passes through the 2D world. The 2D beings can not conceive of the 3D world in it’s entirety. They also have no way of pulling themselves into that 3D world. In the same way a baby has no power to give birth to itself. It is the mother who gives birth. The branch, the 3D being, the mother, Jesus Christ. The answer is humility, absolute humility. It is accepting the fact that we are 2D beings being birthed into another dimension.
Maybe we are all saying the same thing. Like I said, I know how language is so relative. As Carlos Castaneda might have said, when we start talking about these other worlds we end up babbling inanities, still, we are creatures who talk. Lao Tzu said “Those who know don’t speak, those who speak don’t know.”— and he SAID that. When you see the utter contradiction of that you become convicted, you are a sinner in absolute need of a saviour. And that’s all you need, just enough belief to grab onto the branch.
Hello to everyone here…
In Pete’s post above he said:
I would like to clear this up a little bit.
Actually, I haven’t said we can’t possibly know anything about God - nor have I said that God is infinite. At least not to my knowledge - and I’m open.
What I have said is that all of *what* X is (God if you so desire), is not knowable.
There are things we can know about God. There are obvious things we can see and run an experiment with. For example….
I can see that when “I” reach out and take a cup in my hand to have a drink of water… “I” am not really doing that. I can of course say it’s “me”. It’s common to hear people say things like, “I picked up that cup and had a drink of water”.
As I begin to notice what’s really going on… it is my experience that it’s not *me*.
With this observation, it becomes clear that picking up the cup and taking a drink *happens*.
The doer then, is that aspect within all living humans that is called “X” - the X factor - the LIFE FORCE.
You may call that God or Spirit or the Divine or any one of a million other names to name that which is the doer….
I do not know if God is infinite or not. I am however aware that “I” am not the doer. And since things are being done there is something doing the doing!
We could debate for millenniums about what (or who) is doing the doing.
We can debate what to call *it*. And we can claim we’ve got a corner on what or the who is doing the doing, which has of course sparked many wars throughout history….
However!
None of that changes the fact that without that inner “spark of Life” - God - the Life Force - “X” - you would be a pile of bones and skin lying on the floor. You’d begin rotting in very short order, going nowhere, doing nothing. That’s demonstrable. That’s so simple. And…
…I love simplicity.
As to the question of love…
Pete said:
Connie said:
In my experience… which for each of us is what we can actually do something with…
If I love you, I am loving me.
If I love me, I cannot help but love you.
It’s so simple. There are no two ways about it. It’s all the same thing when you see it without the confusion of a story.
So… you’re both so right on! We come together and find ourselves growing because we’ve shared something of ourselves. It’s amazing.
Now, granted what is often called “love” between two people for example - where one person is expected to fulfill the other person’s need - is not love.
Personalities cannot love. They expect something. IF the expectation is not met, they say the “love” dies.
The reason that we get specific about language in the InnerCodeSchool and throughout this site, is because language - my darling friends - is how we communicate. We can communicate without confusion when we define meaning.
And if you notice… even for a little while… that what’s going through your head that you call *thoughts* are all made up of words and word-pictures! There is GREAT value in defining words. Without doing so those *word* pictures can literally rule your life through confusion.
The work is about clearing up confusion. Not about judging what someone says as right or wrong, good or bad, truth or not truth. We’re all doing the absolute best we can in every moment… only because we can’t help it…
So I LOVE this discussion and would point us all back to doing the work…..
If there is a stressful thought here - bring it out and let’s take it through the work.
Loving you completely,
Andi
P.S. oh my I think I just fell in love all over again today
If I did not have life, would it really be “I” who is rotting in short order? According to your logic I wouldn’t. And yet you say I would.
Is it possible to know anything about Andi Mac? I think part of the confusion in the discussion of God comes from the fact that not everyone knows God in a personal way. Not everyone knows that God broke into this world and was 100% human as well as 100% God. Then the non-Christians get their attitudes worked up thinking, “Oh, you are so special, eh? God talks to you personally”, or “there goes another completely deluded Christian.”
Your world view is rooted firmly in Hinduism, Andi. If I was to guess I’d say it was Kashmir Shaivism specifically. I don’t doubt it is real for you.
Yes, stories can be confusing. They can even delude. The way you talk about knowing God (or not knowing God) reminds me of a story. The one about how the blind men all grab a different part of an elephant and start describing what the elephant is like. One grabs the tail and says it is like a rope. One grabs the leg and says it’s like a tree trunk. Another grabs the trunk, etc.
It’s a story commonly used to show how nobody can know what God is really like. The problem with this illustration is that it assumes an omniscient observer who “knows” what God is really like.
You once wrote to me in an email:
“to know” is to stop discovering, learning, growing because there is nothing else to find out – you know
and right above here you write:
“there are things we can know about God”
In another email you wrote:
In my experience God, which is the immeasurable cannot be known.
Isn’t this contradiction? What precisely is your definition of the verb “to know”?
I would never call God an impersonal “life force”. God is absolutely real to me. I know God and my experience is ever growing. I don’t feel I will ever stop learning and growing in God.
Also, what is “the work” that you mentioned several times?
sincerely,
pete
Yes Pete… exactly.
It is a mystery.
A paradox.
A contradiction.
There is this perception of an “I” (a me, myself or “I”) and to discover this perception believed to be so real… is not real… IS the definition of a paradox. And that’s a place to start.
Yes. There is paradox everywhere… until we question our stories. Once we do paradox and contradictions begin to disappear and a whole new world opens up.
And yes… I love that you see me as you see me. The story you tell of me is what I am to you in the moment.
I could be a Hindu or Catholic or Christian, a non-believer or into ’self-worship’ as you mention above. Hey… you could even think I’m the best thing since sliced bread! *winx* And these are all true according to your story of me.
And none of that is my experience.
Life itself is a parable - a mystery. That doesn’t mean something is hidden or lost or only given to the *special people*. It simply means that until we’re ready to see certain things we don’t. When we are… we do.
I love that you see what you see. I welcome what you see with open arms.
This is personal work — a very personal work. There’s no right or wrong here - no rules to live up to. It’s not about “doing the right thing” or being “good”. It’s about opening up awareness and questioning one’s purpose for living. From there you and I get to move with awareness, rather than fooling ourselves.
To those who have the ability to question the conditioned mind, Teaching is an opportunity to experiment and to discover. Nothing more. Nothing less.
I notice that until one personally questions what mind believes… MANY things are a paradox. That’s true for all of us.
This work is a way to identify stressful thoughts and find freedom. It’s starts where you are. Anyone can do it and it doesn’t interfere with what is beneficial in your life now. It doesn’t require you to believe… in fact just the opposite.
…Andi
Thanks for the forum here, Andi
Is there a special dictionary with which you use to define your words? I have an American Heritage and it doesn’t seem to match up with your definitions. I understand that there are paradoxes all over the place, but as you say:
The reason that we get specific about language in the InnerCodeSchool and throughout this site, is because language - my darling friends - is how we communicate. We can communicate without confusion when we define meaning.
How can I communicate with you or anyone else here if I don’t have access to the dictionary of the language you speak? Or worse yet, the definitions constantly change depending at your whim?
You say:
Yes. There is paradox everywhere… until we question our stories. Once we do paradox and contradictions begin to disappear and a whole new world opens up.
Well, I have questioned your story and all that comes up is paradox. The paradox doesn’t disappear as you say. It becomes immediately apparent the minute I scratch beneath the surface of what you say. Are you saying we should only question our own stories? If so, what implications does that have on communication? Are you saying, “accept what I say without questioning”?
So, if you could direct me to the dictionary you are using I think it would clear up a lot of things, or at least lead us into a whole new area of discussion.
Thanks,
I always appreciate your blog. It’s very thought provoking.
sincerely,
pete
*no problems thus far with Andi’s definitions that I know of*
I remember when I studied a bit of the Summum philosophy I ran into this conundrum of logical paradoxes with words.
There seems to be a definite limit to what words can express, being a form of linear thought process, for what only seems to me to be because of our inherent non-linearity of the mind. In other words, when I define a word, the opposite automatically springs into existence as being equally true. Also when a word is used, mind is automatically referencing all possible and imaginable meanings, holographic or direct.
Eventually, after running myself into a wall with words, I can’t help but notice that some other force beyond words is necessary for real communication to take place between two people, where both sender and receiver are necessary for communication to take place, taking the basic telephone as a metaphor.
:::CORRECTION NOTE:::
Clarifiying what I stated above since reading it again, I evidently ran two thoughts together.
Using words is like a linear form of communication.
The integrated mind which synthesizes the left and right hemispheres together tends to use the linear function in conjunction with the naturally non-linear mode.
So it seems natural to me that seeming paradoxes appear when trying to force what is naturally non-linear into a linear format.
Hope this clears up what I was trying to get at.
You’re up against the Law of Contradiction.
“Anyone who denies the law of non-contradiction should be beaten and burned until he admits that to be beaten is not the same as not to be beaten, and to be burned is not the same as not to be burned.” (Avicenna, Medieval Philosopher)
“It is impossible that the same thing can at the same time both belong and not belong to the same object and in the same respect.” (Aristotle, Metaphysics)
By the way, I would never ever want anyone beaten and burned! Those ancient philosophers were some strange dudes.
To believe in “something” as an idea …. you have to have a sense of certainty about it. For myself I have found that at times I would defend a belief ……. while inside knowing that I’m not 100% certain.
But of course I had already aligned myself with the idea thinking that it gave me a foundation a safe harbor to co mingle with other believers of like mind. Afraid then not to question the belief openly for fear of being ridiculed or not fitting in any
longer.
My identity my foundation would be gone ….. but then I started asking myself the question with the new found learning that all of this is an illusion. Not an illusion in the sense that it has no meaning but in the sense it was created for us. The reasons for this is exploring the possibilities. What is possible … is our gift. But it is not real in the sense of being the sum total of the description of what I am.
To believe …… as in to care for and nuture, and love. We are to be-love for one another. To let us each know that we are what is real here that within us dwells the eternal. It is the essence of each of us that is eternal and lasting. When we nuture something it is to allow it to grow. When we offer our belief in another we are revering what is both dynamic and eternal in each of us.
All the rest ideas, concepts ect …. are things in which institutions structure themselves around. The idea then becomes number 1. People then are no longer the prority.
Life swirls in and around me and if I am going to allow myself the freedom to experience the ride without all the contraints and rules. Then I must let go….to whats waiting for me just over the horizon, what is right around the corner …. or even that which is right in front of.
There has never been any certainty in ideas when held tightly they seem to me to just end up being turned into agendas for which to control.
I rather see ideas as waves to be ridden on ……. I have to be flexible to ride a wave and the wave is ever evolving and changing and I have to allow and flow with it to be able to fully appreciate the experience…….. and then oh boy ….. there is another one coming. How in the world can I ride a wave that is not moving ….. where is the thrill, the adventure, the excitment.
I move in the direction of what I resonate with …. to experience life. If I find myself holding fast and firm identifing with a belief then I cut myself off from the myraid of beautiful harmonic resonances all around….. which is of course …. you and me!
Hang 10,
kat
Hello everyone…
Kat. Loved reading your post. Let’s get engaged
(this is ongoing with everyone here by the way)
You wrote:
Look closer.
My experience is that it’s just the opposite. Believing happens because there is no certainty - no genuine understanding. If there were, no belief is required.
Belief happens unconsciously. Beliefs stay in place until one comes to a point where one checks it out, which is the first step of building a conscious awareness. For example, take something simple like…
Tying your shoes. There was a time you didn’t know how. You didn’t believe you didn’t know how - you just didn’t know how! Then you learned. Now you tie them and belief plays no role in it. You have experienced for yourself how to tie your shoes and you do it. That’s how reality actually works.
Have you ever stood in your kitchen trying to believe you can make dinner for your family? If you’ve made dinner before, then it’s your experience. Belief is unnecessary.
The work that genuinely transforms a life is not a philosophy. This work takes place in the real moment-to-moment living of life. It isn’t something to believe in but to experiment with - to actually try out and see for yourself if it works or not. There’s nothing to believe in. The ideas are simply ways to run your own experiment to find out what’s real and what’s just a story you’ve been believing.
We are slowing down the process of mind enough to actually see how it works — we have to see it for ourselves. We’re making what mind is up to… conscious. We’re making it conscious, rather than automatic.
You wrote:
Of course we cannot be 100% certain because the only time we do believe is when we’re not certain at all. There is no certainty only the pictures mind has created and then found the proof to back it up — it’s all just pictures of life not real living.
Believing may feel like certainty but it’s not at all when you question it.
An example to experiment with on your own, is to watch how you react when something you *believe* is threatened in some way. (as you said in your post).
If there is understanding or shall we say conscious awareness - then there is nothing to defend. Even if someone does everything they can to offend you, no offense is taken…
You wrote:
The root of all suffering - ALL suffering - is believing our thoughts.
Can you give me an example of how a belief in a thought has ever produced care, nurturing or love? Can you think of one example? I’m open and would love to hear it.
The use of the word “believe” may tripping things up here if we’re not clear on the meaning. Let’s be clear what we’re talking about when we say “believing our thoughts” or holding a “belief”.
If I say something like, “I believe I love you.”
Or a common one that sounds pretty wonderful, “I believe *in* you.”
Okay. Both of those sound positive.
So what does it mean when I say, “I believe I love you…” What does that mean in reality?
This is what I call the *ideal* of love. Meaning…
I love you until you do something I don’t approve of or don’t like.
I love you as long as you’re fulfilling my needs, wants and desires.
We’re talking about reality now so… do you want to believe you love someone or do you want to love them?
You wrote:
Is that true?
Do you need me to believe in you to feel (or be) revered, dynamic or eternal?
Can I really make you feel any of those things if it is not your experience?
To believe in someone, I am really believing in my picture of them… not the person standing there — because — if I truly *see* them, there’s no reason to believe.
If we take this from another direction and say, “I believe in you for my sake…” meaning that I recognize you and so believe in you… why? Why would I need to believe in anyone on this entire planet? There is no reason.
I can look and see there are people everywhere in this world. My belief does not give them life or movement. All of humanity is invited here, just like me. BRILLIANT! Extraordinary that your life doesn’t depend on my belief! What freedom!
Now, perhaps I can see you without a story about you. So delicious!
You wrote:
Try replacing the word *idea* with *ideal*.
An idea is nothing but a teaching tool. Ideas are everywhere. With an open mind ideas will teach you volumes about LIFE and everything under the sun…. but an *ideal*…. now that’s a different story altogether.
Ideals are the foundation upon which all the stories in the world are built.
The ideal marriage.
The ideal child.
The ideal car.
The ideal body.
The ideal president.
The ideal government.
The ideal job.
The ideal… fill in the blank.
The IDEAL becomes number 1. Striving for the ideal (whatever it may be) sets up an expectation that paves the way to disappointment, which in turn becomes stress, suffering, pain, conflict and difficulty. The ideal can never be achieved. It is a story about reality and not reality as it is - which in turn puts the IDEAL forever out of reach.
You wrote:
Outrageous. What insight! You’re a treasure Kat. I thank you for the opportunity to allow us all to dig a little deeper.
- Andi
Hey Andi, thanks for the reply
I will try to respond later ……. if not..then tomorrow!
Lazy day …this Kat has been lazing in the sun at the pool with my grandaughter ….. we are ready to fill our tummies right now!
Look forward to the continued dialouge!
Sun & Fun
Kat
Hi Andi,
Ok been trying to gather my thoughts ……. one of those days ….. a lot of distractions. Still I will give it my best!
Ok now where to start …… deep breath …here goes…..
—————————————————
My statement
“To believe in “something” as an idea …. you have to have a sense of certainty about it.”
—————————————————-
When I used the word believe in the beginning of my writing it was in the sense of the old way I related to belief/believe …… my attempt was to show my progression.
I have always been drawn to try to understand the original meaning of words and to relate them to how we use them now ……. which so much of the time has ended up diluting them and some words seem to be so far off it is no wonder we have such a hard time understanding each other when it comes to dealing with things other than the mundane (so to speak).
A couple three months ago I was listening to Ted.com and I chose the video with Karen Armstrong. Very interesting ….. well low and behold she was talking about the word belief and it’s origins and when we actually started to use it in a different way. If you haven’t watched it ….. do do do!
I am in agreement it is used these days in a way that it was not originally intended to. My take on what she said is that it was originally used as a term of endearment and also she stated that it infered a commitment as being engaged in or to something. It was when I heard her that I really looked at the word belief and how I had been interjecting it into my life. That is when I realized that belief and certainty are not two peas in a pod.
Wouldn’t it be interesting to actually read something using the word before it’s use was hijacked!
Now I’m thinking as far as the word certainty …… If I really really think about it the only thing that I can be “certain” of is that “I am” beyond that I could get way out there and say that my sense of anything or anyone else well hmmmmm …… I can’t find the words to refine the thoughts connected to that one so I will leave that statement as is and hope that you can intuit my point.
I rather think that the Truth and Certainty are more likely the two peas in a pod.
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Your statement
“The work that genuinely transforms a life is not a philosophy. This work takes place in the real moment-to-moment living of life. It isn’t something to believe in but to experiment with - to actually try out and see for yourself if it works or not. There’s nothing to believe in. The ideas are simply ways to run your own experiment to find out what’s real and what’s just a story you’ve been believing.”
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I am right there with ya sista …… and elequently put may I say!
It has been such a freedom for me to no longer feel that I have to believe in something ….as the word has been mutilated to mean …….it has freed me for it seemed I felt that in life my objective was to find that something that I was suppose to hang my hat on and then that was that ……but ha never in any of the touted beliefs could I truly hang my hat … but that has never been me and now I’m freed from it’s constraint. Yahoo onward toward the expansion that comes from exploration and experience.
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My statement
“When we offer our belief in another we are revering what is both dynamic and eternal in each of us”
Your statement
“To believe in someone, I am really believing in my picture of them… not the person standing there — because — if I truly *see* them, there’s no reason to believe.”
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If in fact from what I have unearthed that belief means that which we nuture have an endearment toward that which I am willing to make a commitment to…. to take the time to engage with ……..
then yes in that venacular there is room for belief in my vocabulary as an offering to another for I feel that is our bridge to each other.
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My statement
“When we offer our belief in another we are revering what is both dynamic and eternal in each of us.”
Your statement
“Is that true?
Do you need me to believe in you to feel (or be) revered, dynamic or eternal?
Can I really make you feel any of those things if it is not your experience?
To believe in someone, I am really believing in my picture of them… not the person standing there — because — if I truly *see* them, there’s no reason to believe.
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Your mention of the word “need” is the operative word here……. but if you read again ……. I used the word offer.
The word Need would really have to be a whole disscusion unto itself for that one as well is fraught with all kinds of amiguities and confusion.
I offer my belief in you and me….. as a way of honoring ….. extending a bridge to meet above what could be the trubulent waters of what may seem our differences. Being that I see you and I know that each of us may not have not attained that place that we are 100% certain of who and what we are. It to me is a creation of a sacred space where each is allowed to simply be. To let you know that I am committed to letting you know that I am available to the best of my capability to extend myself outward ……. I see that in my life, as the most treasured of blessings whether I am the intiator of the offering or the one open to the recieving.
I like to think that it is not just for my sake that I offer my belief in you …… I intend it from a place that I realize that we are always in and a part of each other.
Now as far as idea and ideal …… thank you for the clarification …….. yes yes yes that is what I meant.
If then the real meaning of the word believe is again that which we nuture, love, commit to, engage with and in …….. then yes ……. I ardently offer my belief in YOU! ….. as my action of love …. the dynamic and eternal force.
PS… I continued to have many distractions while composing this writing …. so if it is repetive ….. I ask your indulgence …… I love these dialouges so if I was still yet unclear or more questions arise ……. bring them forth sister ….. so that we may continue to explore and experience each other.
Did you ever watch the cartoon of long ago called ….. The Adventures of Mighty Mouse….. well anywho ……. that picture just popped into my mind.
I just can’t wait for more…..
kat
Haha. Thanks for the laughs, Pete.
“The Law of Non-Contradiction”. 
On bridges and ambiguities.
Good morning everyone…
There’s only one thing I could possibly add to the conversation at this moment Kat and it’s this…
When we speak the same language we communicate — the language of understanding. It isn’t an intellectual exercise.
For me words are not ambiguous or confused - the unquestioned mind is. The mind when unclear is totally ambiguous and confused about everything. It’s the nature of it when left on it’s own.
You’re always my answer when I question my mind, which leaves no room for a bridge or a need for one. I’m a huge fan of reality! My goodness you’re just gorgeous today
- Andi
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