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Belief in Superstition
A simple example of a
belief system is superstition. Superstar ball players
believe that by wearing a certain jersey, using a go-to
piece of equipment and performing certain rituals will help
them win. They believe it, therefore it is true.
The superstition starts
as a conscious thought. When the superstar wins a game, he
emotionalizes the experience and it becomes a part of
his subconscious mind. His HGS sends it out to the
Universe so that whenever the superstition is
performed, he wins. If the superstar changes
the superstition, he ignites the subconscious mind and he
emotionalizes a different experience. The HGS then
goes out to the Universe to validate the new
superstition.
The Formation of Your Belief System Belief systems are based
on your upbringing, parents, environment, personal
experience and emotional state. Every life experience to
date has shaped your beliefs, especially if that
experience was emotionalized. It started with your parents—how
they cared for you and met your needs. If they did it
with love, kindness, and nurturing, then your belief system
may tell you that you deserve love, kindness and nurturing.
If your parents felt poorly about themselves, then they
probably projected those feelings onto you and your belief
system may tell you that you don’t deserve the abundance of
the Universe.
As you grew and your
world expanded, additional people and experiences
impacted those beliefs. As you moved through life,
religion, pop culture, the media and government also affected
your belief systems.
At some point, we decide
to buy into a belief system either as an individual or a
group. (This normally happens when you hit your teen years
or early adulthood. But it’s natural to question your beliefs
at any time and at any age.) Beliefs are ingrained
deeply in your subconscious mind.
In the beginning of this
book, we learned that 85% of the mind is controlled by the
subconscious mind. When you have deeply ingrained
beliefs, even the best intentions to move forward become more
difficult unless you change the beliefs in your
subconscious mind first.
Whatever you give the
subconscious mind, it accepts as ultimate truth. Gather a
group of people who share similar beliefs, and you’ll find
nuances of those beliefs.
Your beliefs have also
been nuanced, or possess slightly different meanings to you
personally. Think of them as another form of your
DNA—they are designed around you, for you and only you.
So, exactly why are my Beliefs important? “Put your ear down close
to your soul and listen hard.”
— Anne Sexton
Every experience in your
life, every person you meet and every emotion you feel
has shaped who you are today. You choose to believe what
you believe. Your life is what it is today because it feels
true to you.
Your belief system
affects every aspect of your life, positively or negatively.
If you believe that you are a talented musician, then you’ll
play music. If you believe that you’re not good enough to ask
for a raise, then you won’t hit your earning potential.
Beliefs fuel your
thoughts and your thoughts fuel your life
— a kinetic energy that
bounces through every aspect of your experiences.
“Be not afraid of life.
Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help
create the fact.”
— William James
Changing Belief Systems “Failure is not fatal,
but failure to change might be.”
— John Wooden
The Law of Free Will or
Choice says that you can change your belief systems. (Or,
you can choose to keep them.) That’s the beauty of
belief systems—they are never set in stone. It takes work,
but the fundamental truths you’ve maintained can change.
But you first must decide
why, then how, to change them. Remember, 85% of your
brain is controlled by the subconscious mind. To
change the beliefs, you must start in your subconscious mind
first.
To change your belief
system, first construct a conscious thought. Then start to
emotionalize this thought, igniting the subconscious mind and
bringing the new belief to life. Use all your senses to
induce feelings and emotions. Once your subconscious mind is
working, your HGS will kick in and will work with the
Universe to attract situations and people to you that will
validate this new belief. It’s important to note
that in order to achieve the goal, your belief system must be
aligned with your journey. Take the time to examine, re-think
and, if necessary, transform your beliefs to match up with
your desires.
The PML has exercises
that will help you evaluate and change your belief
systems, if this is something you’ve identified as a component
of your journey. Remember to do the Driver’s Daily Oath
and the Three-Minute Advancement Routine every morning and
evening to re-enforce the verbal messages you’re sending
to the subconscious mind.
Your Values
“Strive for
integrity—that means knowing
your values in life and behaving in a way
that is consistent with these
values.”
— Author unknown
Your values drive your
life. If beliefs are your own personal truths, then values are
how you communicate those truths to the outside world.
Take a look at the people
around you. Can you tell what their values are? How do
they live? Does family come first? Is intimacy
important to them? Is making money important to them? Do
they place value on having personal relationships?
Values are important—they
help to dictate your relationships, your
decisions and your satisfaction in life.
Values guide you to like
minds and kindred spirits, whose lives are on the same
path as yours.
Remember when you first
started dating? After exploring the surface life of the
person sitting across from you at dinner, you delved deeper
into values and what they hold true. By comparing and
contrasting your date’s values to yours, you got a good
understanding of whether or not the relationship would work.
Sometimes, you find
values in another person that you want to emulate. Other
times, you find values that you repel you, and it’s time
to leave the relationship.
“Go confidently in the
direction of your dreams. Live the life you have
imagined.”
— Henry David Thoreau
My son is almost 13, and
by all accounts, is on his way to a
successful career as a baseball superstar. And like all
superstar pitchers, he follows certain rituals before
each game—a favorite meal, a special jersey, his
go-to glove. I don’t question or laugh at these
superstitions. Working with emerge, I know that these
characteristics and rituals come from deep within his
soul. He believes he can win, therefore he does. If he
changes his rituals, he’s changing his belief
system. I shared this story with
our emerge team because I wanted people to know
that every belief system is sacred. For many, belief
systems deal with religion and dogma and the idea of
right vs. wrong. But that’s not the case in
all circumstances. Beliefs are deeply personal and
should not be judged by anyone but the person
holding them.
I’m almost certain that
his rituals will change as his belief system
grows and matures. But for now, I’m happy that he’s
tapped into his spirit, that he’s playing a sport
that he loves and that he understands his value to
the team and the game.
— Lori, Boston, MA
The most astounding
concept I have learned from the emerge program is
that Belief Systems can be changed! Exploring and
understanding where your belief systems originate
sheds light on this concept. emerge prompts you to
evaluate your beliefs and decide whether you like
them or not – and if you find one you do not like,
CHANGE IT! There is no right or wrong answer. It
is what YOU believe to be true that is important. |
