When I speak here about belief, I am not talking about any of the great beliefs of the religions of the world but rather our own little subtle beliefs that encompass our thoughts. Though some thoughts of the great beliefs might be mingled in, this belief I speak of is very intimately personal. Though I do not subscribe to the law of intent or the power of intention, I do believe that there is physics to spirituality that intent leads to belief and belief supports what I have become.
There is more to it than that, and it doesn't necessarily go in that order, but they are all interlinked with one another (intention, belief, who I am). Frank Zappa said, “Everyone believes in something and everybody, by virtue of the fact that they believe in something, use that something to support their own existence”. Our own existence of who we think we are creates a belief to support our existence. Someone once said, "Remember that what you believe will depend very much on what you are”.
In my own experience of studying human nature, I have received glimpses of this physics of the law of intent and belief. One example is that I have observed that the consciousness of individuals change and conveniently adapt to their behavior. This occurs when we experience our behavior, then intent (as in what to do about this behavior I am facing), and then a belief is created that is embedded in our subconscious that supports our behavior. The following is a closer possibility of the order of this domino effect of this physics in play; “What we do is who we become and who we become is the author of our beliefs”. So discussing or debating beliefs is really just touching the outer surface and the tip of the iceberg of the real issue at hand within ourselves.
This is why at times disputing each others beliefs can become such an emotionally heated situation. It is not belief that we are defending, it is what we have become that is warring against a threat of its very existence. Belief superficially sustains the illusion of our perceived existence. Maya is not an outside entity. It is an inside happening.
And as the old saying goes, “Take the Maya out of your own eye before you try and take the Maya out of your brother’s eye”. I must ask myself, why do I believe what I believe?
This is why I like Zen. It not only questions what I think (believe), it has the audacity to dig deeper and question who I think I am. It goes to the root of the matter. I argue and debate with Professor Zen all of the time. This Zen keeps telling me to look underneath my own cloak of beliefs and philosophies and look within to see what is there.
Why do I believe what I believe? What within me authored my beliefs? What is its origin? If its origin is found out, and what this “I” is really about, what will happen to who I am? Will I still exist? If my perceived perception of myself no longer exists, what then will exist?
The path of our journey to returning to our natural spontaneity has many roadblocks to uncover, one being discovering the intent and motivations of our beliefs.
Know Thyself.
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As I often say, "Faith is not in fact; belief is how you act."
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