Relating Differently to Beliefs

Relating Differently to Beliefs

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2:16 If manipulating our beliefs is this powerful—if we can alter our sense of self in the world simply by switching to a different set of beliefs—imagine how powerful it might be to get free of our beliefs entirely. It never occurs to us that this is possible. In the desperate scramble to feel better about ourselves, it’s easy to forget that whether we act from a belief that we’re worthless or important, neither viewpoint is the truth—it’s a belief. In fact, most of what we think of as our selves is simply an amassed collection of beliefs and assumptions. Fabricating a few more optimistic beliefs might help alter some aspect of our behavior, but it does not, and cannot, lead to a more genuine sense of self.

2:17 The good news is that we don’t have to live exclusively in relation to our beliefs. Rather than manipulating ourselves into exchanging one set of beliefs for another, we can look into what beliefs are. At this point, it may be hard to understand what is meant by this. Don’t worry—a large part of our work here is learning new ways to think about some very ordinary things. In fact, the more familiar they are, the harder it can be to see them in a different way.

2:18 Here’s an analogy that’s useful for approaching this belief business: if all you’ve ever done with your car is put gas in it and drive around, it would mean a huge shift in both focus and effort if you decided to start learning how cars work. Each of these activities concerns a car, but understanding the mechanics involved is very different from using one for transportation. Being driven by your beliefs is a very different matter than consciously understanding how it is your beliefs are created and what purpose they serve.

2:19 If all you’ve ever done with your beliefs is just believe them, taking a look “under the hood” at what you hold as true can be a radical shift. It’s an investigation that takes place within your self, so while it may sound strange, it’s not inaccurate to call this direction more “intimate” than blindly following your beliefs. If you’ve been reading mindfully, you’ve probably noticed something of this already. Such “self-intimacy” on an immediate experiential level can be exhilarating, as well as uncomfortable at times—something like getting a glimpse of the unexplored frontier of your own consciousness. So, while it’s wise to be prepared for some sort of reaction, all you need to recognize for now is that it’s possible to make a shift regarding your beliefs, and open up to a genuine experience of this moment.

2:20 Once we truly experience the nature of beliefs, we can decide to keep those that we consider empowering or otherwise useful, or take steps to detach ourselves from all of them if we choose. And while “detachment” from something can sound cold or emotionless, it also aptly describes an experience of freedom, of unencumbrance, and that is what I mean here. I’m talking about opening up to the possibility of experiencing what’s true rather than believing whatever comes to mind based on the same old presumptions.

2:21 Shifting from belief to experience is like the difference between, say, trying to eat the picture on the menu rather than the food itself. Or the difference between memorizing some knowledge instead of grasping the truth of what’s being said. However you can imagine it, the point is that not-knowing allows access to what’s real. Making this shift, your personal experience becomes new and fresh, taking on an immediacy and authenticity rarely felt by most people. And perhaps more important, no matter what becomes known or unknown, you remain secure in your honesty and realness, and this affects you in a deep way that is not easy to convey—it needs to be experienced for oneself. A prerequisite for this transformation is the ability to embrace a state of not-knowing.

Only when we realize that beliefs are not the truth will the door of possibility open so that we can experience what “is” true.

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The Book of Not Knowing, Chapter Two, Moving Beyond belief

Peter Ralston