What is the definition of a belief? A belief is the psychological state in which an individual is convinced of the truth or validity of a proposition or premise (argument). A belief does not necessarily confer the ability to adequately prove one mans contention to the other people, who may disagree. Belief, knowledge and epistemology The relationship between belief and knowledge is subtle. Beliefs in a claim typically say that they know that claim. For instance, those who believe that the Sun is a god will report that they know the Sun is a god. However, the terms belief and knowledge are used differently by philosophers. Most philosophers hold the view that belief formation in to some extent spontaneous and involuntary. Some people think that one can choose to investigate and research a matter but that one can not choose to believe. On the other hand, most people have the impression that in some cases people don't believe things because they don't want to believe, especially about matters in which they are emotionally involved. So the question that arises, are beliefs voluntary? Or do we as thinking, feeling human beings have the ability to change our beliefs, in order to align them with what we want, or the goals that we have set for ourselves? Most of our beliefs are programmed into us at the beginning of our lives. We get our beliefs from our parents, family members, school, teachers and our experiences. When we are children we are given "truths". So what do our beliefs have to do with whether or not we reach our goals or not? Well let's look at it on a particular level, let's take financial for instance. If you believe that you can never get ahead doing what it is that you are doing or that you would require a great education that you may not be able to afford and even if you could what would you do for money in the mean time because if you're not working then you're not making money and besides you have to work hard for money! If you look at how this internal dialogue played out you may have had more or less the same thoughts going on. Maybe you even could have gone on longer coming up with more versions of "perceived reality" as to why you could not get that better job. What if you were told your whole life that your entire family had a history of diabetes or heart disease. What would you think if you were told that all the woman in your family where destined to be fat and that it ran in your family to be a heavy set person. That there was no escaping it that you'd better get used to it. So used to it, you probably got. How about the spiritual aspect of life? Some will say that you can not be spiritual if you do not attend church or meditate and pray a certain number of times a day. Some believe that walking in the park and feeling gratitude will raise your spirituality. Perhaps you have spent most of you life in abusive relationships or you constantly fight with your family or friends. You would find it difficult to find peace in those relationships because you believe that it is and always will be that way. If your brother is always taking your things then why would he change now? You believe that he has it in for you. If you find yourself in a bad personal relationships in a regular basis, you may believe that everyone is mean at heart and that no one could ever love you for you. You heard it enough of as a kid, "you're weird and no one will ever love you". You may think that this is harsh and that you are over the mean words that were spoken to you as a child but if you have not found what you are looking for then you may want to go back and look at how these mean words affected your beliefs. If you believe it then it is true for you. Your reality is made up of the experiences you have allowed you're yourself to have. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. Our Beliefs are the beginning and the end of what we are able to achieve. If you believe that you are the fool then you are. If you believe that you will always be alone then you will be. If you believe that you will never have enough money then you will always experience lack. Changing your beliefs does not happen over night. You have the choice to believe that you are a success or a failure. You have the choice to believe that you will make that next sale or not make the rent. You have the choice to be healthy or sick. The Law of attraction will work with you on whatever you believe in. Change your Beliefs Change Your Life.
Invisible belief: A belief about the world that a person has that is not seen as a belief - but as a fact. You get what you focus on to SOME extent. Everybody else does too...
sounds kind of like manifesting to me...which has limited success as a motivational tool. But hey, whatever works
Aviva Steele: Change your Beliefs Change Your Life. I believe that to be true, based on my own achievements, insights and experiences. But to really understand the meaning of that concept and then effectively apply it to one's life, can be as challenging to the doubter as learning to surf or ride a bike is to the first-timer. It seems impossible at first; however, once you "get it" it becomes a part of you forever. The surfer soon develops a feel for timing the wave, mounting the board, getting into position and staying afloat. The cyclist makes the necessary subtle adjustments to balance on two wheels and simply rides. Of course several things are happening at once; the nervous system, the muscles, the brain, the body and other things are working in unison, automatically, intuitively. We don't know exactly HOW these systems synchronize, nor do we need to know. Once we have developed the skills, all we need to do is simply surf or cycle... and enjoy the ride. Perception is reality. The anorexic sees herself to be fat because she believes she is. We see a skeletal frame. The addict believes he's in control; we know otherwise. We are what we believe. I like to think of belief as something like magnetism, electricity or gravity... an invisible force or vibration that can attract to the believer, those things, conditions and circumstances he or she thinks about the most. It has to do with faith, attitude, gratitude and much more. Hermas
