I believe a lot of things. From religion to politics to everyday life, I feel like I have control over what I believe. It SEEMS to me I can change a belief as I feel the need. I suppose you could say I believe that I can choose to change my mind and so change my beliefs.
This, of course, rests upon yet another belief: that I am consciously in control of my beliefs. I wonder just how much conscious control I actually have over my beliefs?
Studies at the Max Planck Institute in Berlin demonstrated that as much as seven seconds before I am consciously aware of a decision, my subconscious mind has considered options and selected a choice. My body prepares to go into action, justifications begin to solidify, and emotional responses line up seconds before my conscious mind is aware of making a choice.
Is there something I can do to consciously take charge of this process?
Although I may NOT be quite as consciously in charge as I suppose, I’m not completely without resources.
My Beliefs Map and the Territory It Represents
Let’s entertain for a moment the notion that what I’m experiencing is a reflection or representation of what I believe – a sort of beliefs map, in which the truth is something other than the “reality” presented me by my senses and justified by my mind.
Like indicators on a map, perhaps what I’m seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling are mere representations of my underlying beliefs. I’m witnessing the map of my belief territory! And as any NLP practitioner will tell you, “The map is not the territory.”
In that case, might it be useful to…
- Realize I’m looking at a map of reality rather than actual reality, and…
- Get some useful meaning from the map – true understanding!
In other words, it may be useful to know I’m looking at a map when I am looking at a map. And it may be useful to understand what the elements illustrated on the map MEAN!
Awareness + Meaning = Map Reading => True Understanding
I see little use in viewing a map as a piece of paper with no more meaning than that. I might burn it as fuel rather than find the treasure illustrated by the X that marks the spot.
Orienting to North
Even though I know it’s a map and that X marks the spot, if I don’t know which way is North on the map and in the territory it represents, I may find myself going in circles! Oh, how that smacks of my life experiences sometimes!
Bagging my Belief
It would take me forever to unravel the myriad of subconscious thoughts I have every day in order to explore my beliefs. Yet, suppose that as a conscious person, I’m experiencing my subconscious beliefs – the ones I REALLY believe rather than those I THINK I believe – as an imagery masquerading as reality? What if reality is not what I think it is?!
LOL – then I’m probably in the Aha Zone!!!
Suppose for a moment I could put my entire reality inside a big bag and look at it from outside the bag. Who would that “person” be looking at the bag? Perhaps not who you think it is.
Let’s find out…
- Do The Bag imagery* (free download or purchase it here)
…then… …staying in a relaxed state of mind…
- Converse with the person who put everything in that bag – the map maker!
I got some questions! What might you ask your map maker?
*This MP3 audio track is a hypnotic imagery and as such is not intended for use while driving or while operating or using dangerous equipment or tools. Please exercise mindfulness as hypnotic audio tracks are intended to induce altered states of consciousness.
