Where do our beliefs come from? Follow me on this..
What we have been told, becomes what we “know”.
What we “know” becomes what we are “comfortable” with.
What we are “comfortable” with becomes what we “accept”.
And what we “accept” becomes our “beliefs”....
...So that which is “known” becomes our beliefs. But what if what we have been told is only half of what we could understand? What limits our beliefs..and what beliefs, limit our growth? When we stop growing is when we start dying. Growth requires getting uncomfortable.
Being uncomfortable is not desirable for many, but it delivers us another understanding and different point of view that we didn’t have before.
How do your “beliefs” frame your life? Do they encourage you to grow? Do they hold you back? Do they cause you to judge what you don’t understand or aren’t comfortable with? Do they root you in love? Do they create unobtainable expectations in your life?
I personally, have had to take a step back and take a self inventory this year. To put it bluntly, my “beliefs” changed. To give you a back story, I was raised in a multigenerational Catholic family. I attended 12 years of private Catholic schooling. I went to church every week, rain or shine. I later “converted” to Christianity as a young adult and took part in multiple Bible studies. I felt very connected to the people and the church. More importantly, I felt very connected to God.
To be honest, I was desperate. I was in need of a miracle. This was during the thick of my infertility journey/trauma and I needed a savior. I was told to give it all to God. Lay it at his feet. That’s what I had always been taught to believe, rely on something outside myself. Look outward for peace. Whereas now, I feel like I needed to be looking inward.
Let me switch gears for a minute, at this point, my “beliefs” were that God was a masculine figure or sorts, who sit in the heavens above waiting to see what choices I’d make. He would either be pleased or not with my thoughts and actions. Heaven, a place I would hope to be granted access to, after death, by accepting God as my savior. And hell, we all imagine the fiery pits of eternal damnation.
I was raised to believe this as most of us are. Then one day, something clicked. Well, maybe it was more a matter of months. Nonetheless, I started having a mental clarity of sorts.
Asking questions about things that I’ve always had confusion about. This was instead of just settling on the old “because the Bible says” or “because God doesn’t like that”. For instance, why is the masculine energy more accepted and placed above the female? Did Jesus not treat male and female with equal importance?
Let me be VERY clear with this next part. If you take anything away from this, know one thing. I BELIEVE in “God”. I say that with parentheses because my concept of God has changed. I believe “We” are God, every particle of matter than makes up this entire beautiful universe. I believe God is a force that we can’t see with the eye, but feel with our hearts. Every physical creation is apart of God. I believe when I love myself and others, I am loving God. When I respect myself and others, I am respecting God. When I hurt others, I am hurting myself and I’m hurting God.
This changed everything. It shifted my entire beliefs system. I realized that I am connected to everything and everything is connected to me. We are all existing together.
I know this may sound “new age” or “hippie dippie”, but when you read the Bible with a new lens, it changes everything.
While I’m on the topic of the Bible, I will address what I think about that. I believe it is a historical book of stories that did happen. I do also believe that it has been translated, a lot.
—Let’s be honest for a second.. Do you believe every article you read online? Or the news as total truth or part of the truth? Do you believe the media is 100% honest or honest about what narrative they want you to believe?—-
Ok, now let’s go back to the Bible, I believe Jesus was a spiritually enlightened man, who was able to reach a higher level of consciousness. I do also keep in the back of my mind that this Bible was written and translated by many flawed and less enlightened humans that did not have the full understanding that God and Jesus had. Therefore, I use the Bible to help guide me as a tool. Just as I use other tools for spiritual guidance ie crystals, meditation, Oracle cards etc.
Getting back on track, my spiritual journey is my own. I know my beliefs, my heart, and my connection with “God”. I am always glad that I was raised in a spiritual setting to help plant the seeds of spiritual growth, and now as an adult, I have to take accountability for what concepts I don’t resonate with. Anything that invokes hate, or judgement, is not of God.
For me, I just think of it as a finger pointing. If you use your “religion” or “beliefs” to point the finger at others in judgement, that's on you. Through my new spiritual awakening, I choose to point the finger at myself. I ask what can I do to be more open minded? What can I do to be more kind, compassionate, and loving? Sometimes that’s going to look completely different than what I’ve been raised to be comfortable with.
I will leave you with this, I challenge you to look at your beliefs. Are they encouraging your growth in spiritual connection or building walls? What could you learn from questioning things? I know my God is big enough to handle it.
With love, this is my POV, -Kayla
