I first wrote this in Facebook Notes on March 7, 2010. Here we are 16 years later…
Facebook has allowed me to connect and reconnect to friends, family, and co-workers and often in ways different than before. My coworkers probably see a different persona here than they witness ay work. Old school friends are seeing a different person now than they remember because I AM a much different person now than then. Many of my family members are probably seeing for the first time what truly makes me click. I was thinking the other night, when I should have been sleeping, that I should take a few moments and reflect on my current belief system. I am in a completely different place now than I was, say, 12 years ago, and I hope I continue down this path for another 12 years, and 12 more after that, etc.
Few of these beliefs are original but I now claim them as mine. I feel like my greatest spiritual growth, and therefore personal growth, has developed over these last 12 years. My wife, Shelley, always told me “When you believe, then you will see.” I always sloughed it off as so much spiritual drivel. In 1998, I was introduced to Life Success Seminars, which presented concepts that allowed me to really look at how I was living my life and why I was making the decisions I was making. I also became more open to suggestions from Shelley, including listening to Abraham – Hicks. They have all been great teachers and they helped shape what I believe today.
I believe that I am exactly where I want to be. The decisions I have made in my life have led me directly to where I am now. I may not have realized the impact of most of my decisions at the time they were made, but every one of them was intentional. I do the things I do with intention, even the bad things. Every result in my life is a product of a specific intention. For example, I really like ice cream. I eat a lot of ice cream, I intend to eat a lot of ice cream, and I do it on purpose. As a result, I weigh much more than I wish I did, I have intentionally put on the excess weight, and I have done it on purpose. This type of scenario is true for all facets of my life, I am who I am because of the intentional decisions I make every day and I made them on purpose. What I believe is: we live with a purpose and we do it on purpose.
I believe that I make countless decisions every day. It’s not just the obvious ’this or that’ decisions, it is the more subliminal decisions that I don’t necessarily realize I’m making at the time. How do I react to this situation, what do I say when someone tells me this, how do I feel when things don’t go as expected? These are all decisions that I make every day. What I believe is: the best decision is the choice that feels better.
I believe that if I want to achieve something different I must do something different. I have found that it is easy to fall into a pattern, often out of habit. So what happens is that I keep doing the same thing over and over again only to realize the exact same results. Deciding that I desire a different result will not make it so. If I keep doing the same thing, the results will always be the same. What I believe is: we must make changes in our thoughts, beliefs, or actions to generate results different from our current situation.
I believe that contrast is necessary for growth. I could isolate myself from any negative influence or I could surround myself with only like-minded individuals, but I would stop growing spiritually and emotionally. It is the contrast in life that challenges me to examine my core values and how my decisions and actions either support or refute those values. Sometimes contrast confirms a previous decision and sometimes contrast encourages me to choose a different path. What I believe is: we can only grow if we are being constantly challenged.
I believe that life without balance is a less desirable existence. Some speak of the 3 human natures: thought, feelings, and behavior. Others refer to the 7 chakras, the vortexes, or force centers, of: supreme light, intellect, spirituality, compassion, will power, sensuality, and materialism. I prefer to concentrate on the four natures: physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional. I have found that when I don’t feel as happy as I would like to feel, I can always find that I am concentrating too much on one of the natures, to the detriment of at least one of the other natures. The important thing to me is that I am getting better at recognizing when I am out of balance. Maybe I become more cynical, or short-tempered, or I don’t take anything serious, any number of things can trigger the realization that I wish I felt better. What I believe is: a centered person is a healthier person and a happier person.
I believe the longest distance is the space between my brain and my heart. Some of life’s lessons are learned and many are taught. An example of a lesson learned is that fire is hot, while one of the lessons taught to me was big boys don’t cry. I’m sure all of my friends, whether male or female, can think of other examples of life lessons that were taught to them. What I have discovered about myself is when I make decisions solely based on reason they are always inferior to the ones when I use both reason and feelings. I am sure that many of my female friends would say that they are likely to make decisions based on emotion with much less attention to logic. What I believe is: reason without feelings is just as dangerous as emotion without logic – reason and emotion must coexist in all that we do.
I believe that all life is a series of relationships. This also is a newer realization for me. This not-knowing was a result of not feeling and always being in my head. A personal relationship was a special tie between a person and family or a person and their deity. I was aware of business relationships, but only as they pertained to business, not the individuals involved. What I believe is: any interaction between two or more individuals should be treated at the personal level.
I believe people would rather feel wanted than needed. This is an affirmation of the previous belief that the best choice in any decision is the one that makes you feel better. The best choice in any decision will make everyone feel better. During a particularly stressful time in my life I once told a friend that I needed their support. I was absolutely stunned when they declined and I asked why they wouldn’t offer their support. I was told that they felt that I was capable of handling the situation alone but they were willing to offer support if I wanted it. When I approached this person a second time and shared that I wanted their support, they granted it freely and completely. What I believe is: we have an unlimited amount of compassion while at the same time defending our sense of space.
I believe we are born good. Look at or think of any infant you have been in contact with. Do they show any animosity, deceit, greed, or any of the other traits we often deem ‘bad’? Negative traits are learned, either by observing others or as a protective device to defend themselves from negative actions. What I believe is: a newborn is the purest of human existence.
I believe that having a winner does not imply that there must be a loser. I first heard the term win-win in a management seminar. It was a philosophy that if I could convince my ‘opponent’ that I was conceding something for their gain, I could probably gain more than if I just tried to get my way, completely. I was really surprised when I was in a group of people and one of them, a lawyer, said that ‘win-win’ is the worst possible outcome. In her environment win-lose was the desired outcome and lose-win was not to even be considered. I realized immediately that this was not an existence that appealed to me. I now find I enjoy non-competitive activities more than traditional games. What I believe is: when I view those around me at a personal level, I don’t want them to be considered a loser any more than I would want to be considered a loser.
I believe there is a central power throughout the universe. I don’t claim to be a religious scholar, but I think it’s a safe bet that the majority of humans believe in a supreme being. Though the different religions may have a unique deity, there are more similarities than differences. They all seem to teach some form of ‘treat others the way you would like to be treated’. Most proclaim some form of everlasting life for their believers. Most proclaim the desire to do the things that are right and to refrain from doing the things that are wrong. I was raised in a Christian home and taught that the Bible is “the word of God, the only infallible rule of faith and practice.” I have grown to question this, as well as the basis of all structured religion. What I believe is: the central power that has always existed and always will be, and is the foundation of everything that is, can be summed up as “Pure Positive Energy”.
I believe that death is not The End. I believe that I came from Pure Positive Energy. I believe that as a newborn I was closely connected to Pure Positive Energy. I believe that my existence in the human form is to provide contrast to my existence as Pure Positive Energy. I believe that when I allow myself to be closer to Pure Positive Energy I make better decisions, I am more balanced, I am easier to be around, I am more intuitive. What I believe is: death is the transition from the physical form back to the non-physical form of Pure Positive Energy.