What’s Believing Got to do With It?

My life did a U-turn the day that I noticed the word belief contains the word “lie” within it. I’m sure people notice that all the time and consider it coincidental. I felt that it was an important clue to the truth left by some wise ones from the past.

Many people share their beliefs as if they are true. Yet, as a listener, it is obvious that their beliefs are just beliefs. The believer’s words are often fortified with conviction, emotion, and a whole lot of persuasion. I’ve often fallen prey to someone who was fired up with beliefs. I thought that their emotion meant they were passionate. But desperate would have been a better descriptive.

Real truth, like unconditional love, is unemotional. No one needs to persuade me to accept freedom, joy, or beauty. I don’t need to believe anything in order to breathe; I just breathe. In fact, if I get emotionally agitated or excited, my breathing is hampered.

When we see someone with emotional zeal and vocal hyperactivity, the person is usually selling a belief, rather than telling the truth. Beliefs require persuasion and trickery because without the fuel of emotion, they have no power. Our body knows that, but our mind has forgotten.

Fueling an idea with emotion was an old occult idea, a trick of the dark magicians. It was mostly used to persuade, curse, or manipulate people into doing things that they would not ordinarily do, such as doing hard labor for the rich magician while receiving pennies. Over time, people saw this as a formula for success. But, it is really a formula for separation and superiority.

Emotion when used in its most pure form is nothing more than a signal that what is being said or being thought in this moment is false. In short, emotion is the effect of false thinking. If one has no beliefs or false thoughts about themselves or others, they are unemotional. Truth always feels peaceful and right.

It doesn’t matter who is doing the speaking. It applies to our inner voices as well as what we hear from others. Quite frankly, our inner voices are just recordings of what we heard from another individual earlier in life.

Ancient leaders with selfish motives planted ideas in people’s minds entangled with fear or excitement. This tactic is still used today. Think about political campaign speeches; the politician fuels excitement by promising hope and great things to come. Religious leaders often push the fear button and promise to take our fear away if we join their herd. These authorities are planting a seed of belief (a lie) in our minds so that they can save us, making them our superior.

You have to watch very closely to see the trick. Let’s look at the “believers” of today talking about Armageddon. Notice that they will be whisked into the clouds while you and I burn in hell. The old black magic trick involved inventing beliefs about others while excluding your own people. This was the “big secret of the elite.” It was kept secret because it doesn’t work if everyone is on to it.

The word belief goes back to the late 12th century as bileave, which meant, “to hold dear, esteem, or trust.” It went through several phases; and by the 16th century (the Renaissance) it was spelled believe, which meant “mental acceptance of something as true.” Today Webster’s top definition defines belief as “a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing.”

Accepting something mentally as true doesn’t mean it is true. Once we accept something as true, our mind looks for evidence, and it eventually finds it. The belief produces our reality. Our mind creates an illusion where we continue to see the effect of the beliefs rather than the truth that lies beneath them.

Around the 16th century, the definition of belief metamorphosized to reveal the idea that beliefs and truth were not synonyms. It seems that some people saw through the big lie. The Renaissance was a time of enlightenment. When people regain their discrimination, they don’t listen to the beliefs of authorities.

But, the egomaniacal leaders in power feared exposure and became violent. They drove these wise ones underground. Many expressed their enlightened ideas in story, art, and architecture. Some risked their lives to expose the truth. But the beliefs of the dark lords still had too much power.

These wise ones of the Renaissance left us a clue by encoding the word “lie” into the word belief. They knew that a time would come when we could finish their work and fulfill their dream of a world where people are free and creative, where unconditional love is the true measure of a human being, and where wisdom, truth, and discrimination rule.

We are fortunate to live in that time when people are regaining their discrimination. Kids no longer want to work for “the man.” Men are honoring their emotions. And many of us are challenging history, religions, and politicians. But that doesn’t mean it is easy.

As my wise true Self returns to the helm of my ship, I often doubt myself. I fall into old confusions and meet the demons I believed to exist in the past. I find myself falling for the lies of the wolves in sheep’s clothing even when I know better.

Cleaning up our mind is in individual sport. Each time we let go of a belief in our own mind, we gain enough courage to expose more. Eventually we learn the biggest secret. As we clear our mind, the prison walls start to fall for everyone. We see the world and others through a cleaner lens until they look just fine as they are. Even their beliefs don’t bother us because we know they are harmless beliefs. We simply don’t believe what they say about us.

Without the fuel of emotion, beliefs have no power. They only affect the believer. And what better way to learn than to reap what we have sown.

Letting go is exhilarating. It feels so good that we don’t want to stop. To let go of a belief about our self, another, people in general, or our world is the most unconditionally loving thing we can do. And it doesn’t cost a thing.

Even those big time believers that have used beliefs to hurt others are in for a great surprise when they finally let go. Underneath all those beliefs is the ultimate treasure of paradise right here on earth.