Never form attachments to your beliefs that are unbreakable in the face of a higher, more sensible truth... (Read on a social networking site - don't know who to credit)
The theme that I've been requested to write about this time is BELIEVE. I've spent a lot of time thinking about what to write for this article. At first I thought it was going to be about "believing" in a higher power - or maybe "believing in yourself" and then I went down the path of thinking about beliefs and how they shape us and our world.
What we believe truly does shape us and our collective reality - how we are organized in our families, communities, countries and continents even is based upon systems of belief. There are all kinds of belief systems out there and lots and lots of conflicts can be created because of differing sets of belief. I believe that we are being called at this time in our evolution as a species and as a planet to begin to reflect upon all of our previously held beliefs and to really examine their origins and even more importantly whether these beliefs still hold true for us in our present circumstances.
I'll give you a little example - as I was writing this last year, we are preparing for the holidays and "traditionally" we have always celebrated Christmas with a Christmas Tree (and all the fixins) in our family. Over the last few years though as I have grown more and more conscious of my environment and the impact that my choices have on the planet, and since I've grown ever so much more open to communicating with the nature spirits including the tree people, I have been really not feeling good about the idea of supporting the practice of cutting down trees to decorate for a few days and then throw out. Where did this idea come from to begin with? Why do we perpetuate it? Surely we can come up with a better idea that's less damaging and disrespectful of the "living lungs" that provide oxygen for all of us to breathe.
So I took the time to really look at my beliefs about the importance of honoring our tradition while at the same time honoring my growing desire to walk softly upon the Mother and leave no footprints. What I ended up doing today was finding a LOVELY little tree - it stands as high as my nose - in it's pot! We can bring him in for 7 days - then he must go back outside again and wait until the springtime to be planted.
All too often we become so entrenched with our belief system that we become trapped in a way of being that no longer serves but we can't seem to find the way to get out. Sometimes it can be downright scary what people believe - and the decisions that they make, based on those beliefs can be incredibly damaging to themselves, to others and to our world. I have another example about beliefs and ways that we can possibly consider to loosen up the hold that they might have on us - maybe just enough to make room for a different perspective that might really transform the way we navigate our world. Today I got a postcard from a local church - it said "God's Plan of Salvation" on the top. Then it was followed by four bullet points - the first of which was "All of us have sinned."
Now sinned is a pretty charged word for a lot of people so as I contemplated this little card I thought about how the whole thing could be reframed to get across an important message without all the "charge" and the guilt. So here's what I came up with for the four points on the card:
Card Words:
1. All of Us have sinned.
2. Sin must be paid for.
3. Jesus Christ paid for Our sins.
4. What must you and I do?
ReFramed Words:
1. We all have made at least one mistake on our journey
2. We all have the opportunity to learn and choose differently.
3. Jesus Christ was a great teacher.
4. We can learn from many great teachers & become teachers too!
I, of course, am seeing from my own "lens of perception" but I do feel a whole lot more expansive and open to receiving and contemplating the ideas that are trying to be shared with the reframed words then I did with the original wording. Remember that all beliefs started somewhere, with someone, who had a particular experience. Remember too that WE get to create our reality and that creation starts with what we believe. Take some time to re-evaluate your beliefs - all of them - hold them up to the light of your present reality and see which ones may need to be either reframed or released all together. It's OK to change what you believe - we do it all the time unconsciously - imagine what could happen if you chose to shine the light of your consciousness into that endlessly creative mind of yours to figure out what you really want to believe and make it a reality!
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