5 Big Sources for Creating Your Unique Belief System

You’ll find it very helpful and informative to understand why you believe the things that you do. You will surely be surprised to realize how ill formed some of your beliefs are.

The fact is that the majority of the core components for the building of a belief system are based on unsound input! That’s right! Only 1 out of the 5 methods of building beliefs is based on logic.

The 5 major information sources feeding your beliefs are:

1. Evidence
2. Tradition
3. Authority
4. Association
5. Revelation

1. Evidence

   Evidence shows that one thing causes another. The quality of causation appeals to the methodical and diagnostic part of your mind. Developing your belief system through this means is very rationale and calls upon the use of logical thinking.

   Two ways we gather evidence:

   1. Scientific investigation supplies results from critically tested hypotheses to support evidence based believing.
   2. Personal experience of cause and affect. You might continually witness a dependable outcome from your actions. For example:
      • If you eat properly, you feel energized and healthy.
      • Cooking for appreciative friends makes you feel great.
2. Tradition
   The traditions taught through generations and societies are a major contributor in creating your belief system. Familes are often bombarded with traditional celebrations day in and day out when growing up. Therefore traditions can be extremely easy to take on board, without even analyzing. It’s great to appreciate that traditions have served some generations well. However it does not mean they are necessarily based in truth, nor necessarily have continued usefulness for your life.

   Many people adopt their primary ‘global beliefs’ and certain ‘topic specific beliefs’ through societal tradition. Family biases, social culture, and societal discrimination are all major factors in the formation of personal ideas about:

   • God and which specific religious practice to support
   • political theory and who to vote for
   • ones own personal value
   • which sporting team to cheer for

   Beliefs about God, politics, personal value… can you identify which aspects your family and culture have shaped in you?

3. Authority
   Loads of beliefs are assumed from people that have a role of authority in our lives.

   Often these people of influence also appear in the group of tradition, as I’m sure you can picture. For example, parents usually assume a significant role of authority while growing up and they are endlessly passing traditions down to you.

   It’s also possible that those in positions of authority do not represent tradition. For example some of those who may sway, could be:

   • a new age guide that declares having an exclusive line to ‘God’
   • a doctor who insists that they are certain that any ideas on health that conflicting with theirs, are rubbish
   • a school leader who you have looked up to
4. Association
   Who are your best friends?
   Whether you can be found with the ‘in crowd’ or hidden away with the ‘nerds’, you will be nurturing beliefs that are compatible with those people around you. Think of the saying ‘you rub off on one another’.

   As you are constantly faced with unique ways of thinking common to your crowd, you learn to ‘go with the flow’ and reinforce the shared thinking.

5. Revelation
   Here, the definition of revelation referred to is an enlightening experience of truth through divine or supernatural communication”. The experience might be described as:a feeling or sense about something… or seeing something in your minds eye.

   Two primary understandings offer insight on how this divine disclosure of information occurs:

   1. Those who lean more heavily on current science claim that the data had previously been fed into your subconscious through external stimuli. It was just rumbling below the surface. When the correct trigger was hit, (likely some
      vague occassion), the info was brought to your conscious mind.
   2. The more inquisitive entertain the idea that perhaps it is due to a sixth sense of perception that we have. This 6th sense is revealing unlike any other, baring new info in ways not yet measurable.

   Revelation can reveal itself at any moment. You might be; busy in the office, in the shower, meditating on breaking waves. Where ever it may arrive, might be interesting to ponder. However, a more pertinent question may be, is this information valuable to you?

   There was certainly one inspiring person who highly valued the wild ideas he grabbed out of the invisible ethers.

   Albert Einstein! He intimately knew the power of imagination, and how it is interwoven with the magic of believing. A few of his words of wisdom on the subject:

   “The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.”

   “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”

Have fun exploring the origin of some of your beliefs.

1. Bravely ask, “do they have a solid basis and do they serve you well?”
2. Recognizing that many or your beliefs are ‘adopted beliefs’, have another look at them in a new light. See if you can find holes in them. Maybe it is time for some personal development and a change in your belief system… and this could be a good thing!

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