Whichever set of beliefs you are choosing will produce outcomes that correspond to them. A set of beliefs built on competitiveness and vindictiveness will produce its correlated outcomes as will a noble set of beliefs that places yourself in the service of all life. Most of us take a very long time to realize that we are free to choose any belief system we like. Our initial belief system we are, in some ways, born into (to that regard, that we are programmed by those around us), but all of us will change it to some extent. The important thing to realize is that you can choose to modify beliefs as much as you want. The only consideration should be ethics and what behaviours a new set of beliefs will create. A set of beliefs cannot be proven or disproven either way. For example, you cannot prove or disprove if the world is ugly or beautiful or if people are good or evil. It depends on your perspective, which is another way of saying it depends on your belief system. But your set of beliefs will create the world in which you live in that your brain will always highlight the data that corroborates your existing beliefs, and it will suppress the data that is conflicting with your existing beliefs.
Why is that so? For the purpose of survival, our minds are equipped with perceptual filters that filter out most data apart from the one that supports our existing reality tunnel. We have a tunnel view of reality because to (permanently) see the full reality would make us dysfunctional (however, it can be helpful to get occasional glimpses of the totality of reality to increase your horizons). Our perceptual filters let us see just enough so that we can function and survive. For this purpose, the mind will highlight all data that supports already existing beliefs. This function exists so that you do not have to invent the wheel every single day. You wake up, you know who you believe yourself to be, and you can start your day right away without having to make a 10-hour inquiry into the nature of reality before you can brush your teeth (which, in itself, could be fun, but we leave that to another day).
If you, for example, chose to believe that the world is ugly and people are evil, your mind will simply highlight all data that supports these beliefs, and they will become further entrenched. This means that your mind will cherry-pick all data that supports the belief that the world is indeed ugly and people truly are evil. The outcome will be that you are in a very unfortunate and painful state. Our principle, “Any set of beliefs consistently held will produce correlated outcomes”, says that we should not choose sets of beliefs according to their level of truth (which is a question of perspective and previously established premises) but according to their outcomes. We are attached to our belief systems because we consider them true. But their truth consists only in the fact that we first implemented them and then cherry-picked data to support them. Choose another set of beliefs, and your brain will cherry- pick a different set of data to support the new belief system.
If the outcome of your belief system is to make you miserable then choose a different one. Once you do have a workable set of beliefs, you need to now consistently maintain it. If you change your set of beliefs every few days (it is possible to even change them every few hours), then the outcomes will be so mixed that they cancel each other out. Consistently maintaining your beliefs means that you do write down a set of beliefs consistent with your vision and contemplate and cultivate them once or twice per day. Once you have internalized them you may do this less frequently. But you need to check what sort of data your mind cherry-picks. Let this be the test for how deeply you have internalized your chosen beliefs.
Before you install a new system of beliefs, check that they are in alignment with divine intelligence. This will be discussed in much more detail, so here is only a quick check list. Beliefs should be based on:
- Bio-symbiosis, the harmonic cooperation of life forms for mutual benefit
- Non-competitiveness, non-comparison and non- ambitiousness
- Respecting of the sacredness of all life forms, natural and geological formations
- Bringing about the flourishing and blossoming of all life
- Supporting the spiritual development and evolution ofall beings
- Being instead of having
- Respect for indigenous people and cultures, minoritiesand all those we consider “others”
An excerpt from my recently published book How To Find Your Life’s Divine Purpose.