Wednesday, January 9, 2013

The Power of our Beliefs and Values

Today, it's difficult to believe we were born into a world that relies on illusions. And from these illusions, we have filled our minds with beliefs on religion, language, philosophy, government, psychology, economics, race, gender, marriage, family, and so forth.

These are the beliefs we used to build our minds and create the individuals we are today. Unfortunately, many of us are confused about the tools we used to complete our minds.

Some of the confusion about our beliefs and values comes from our lack of understanding about the person we have created. We find it strange, almost surreal, to believe our beliefs and values are not our own, but belong to our societies.

Similarly, when our minds are confused, we are unaware of the reasons responsible for our decisions to become doctors, lawyers, social workers, stockbrokers, bus drivers, street sweepers, cooks, ministers, motivational speakers, and even writers. It's difficult for us to believe our choices didn't come from our own individual beliefs and values.

Nevertheless, when we dig deeper into our minds, we are able to see that our choices were already established by others. We simply selected one according to our beliefs and values.

Regardless of the choices we make, we expect them to enhance our egos or individuality. We don't spend time wondering whether or not we are making them in the miasma of our illusions.

Our illusions are invisible. So are our beliefs and values. This means we don't perceive them as being responsible for our actions. And we surely don't think about them when we are learning the alphabet.

Since we can't see our beliefs and values or the illusions, it's natural for us to believe they don't really exist. So when we search for enlightenment, we believe it's found within the illusions. This is why we  rely on our intellect, which was born of the illusions, to guide us on our inner-mind journey.

 The inner-mind journey is an individual one. It is a lonely journey. It's a journey where our greatest fears exist. And it's a journey where those who are committed to powers of mind discover enlightenment.

Our commitment to enlightenment is not negotiable. It is a complete surrender of the mind's existing beliefs and values to the invisible intuitive-unconditioned consciousness.This means we must be "born again." And it also means we must "lose ourselves (powerlessness) to find ourselves (enlightenment)."

Today, some of us on the enlightenment journey interpret this teaching to mean a psychological rebirth. Our minds must die to our existing beliefs and values so that a new mind (person) is born in the world.

When we complete this psychological rebirth, we can clearly perceive the illusions as illusions. In other words, we are no longer searching for enlightenment within the illusions.

This teaching is not a religious one, but a psychological one. It's an understanding of the powers of mind we have over our existing beliefs and values. And it's our confirmation that the power we seek is found in our minds.

Meanwhile, regardless of what our illusions tell us, we are greater than what we have been taught by others. This means we have the power to do more for ourselves than what we are receiving from others. And that our enlightenment is found in our minds, not in the minds of others.

So it is important to for us to remember that we are not here to be penalized or punished by the illusions (beliefs and values); we are here to understand and conquer them.

"Therefore get wisdom; and with all thy getting get understanding."






No comments: