#515 Do our beliefs create their own realities, and truth Aug 04 24

   Do beliefs create their own realities & Truth?

Whether we like it or not, beliefs are shaping our behavior, and conducting our lives.

They control our thinking, mindset, assumptions, feelings, opinions, labels, and judgments to finalize our decisions either good or bad.

Therefore, one should ask these 2 fundamental questions:

   “Is my belief in A based on concrete, proven reality”?

   “Is my belief in B reflecting the truth”?

Zen is teaching that everyone should try to answer them because of the potential  negative impacts

that our beliefs are on the quality of our life as far as serenity, equanimity, and avoidance of suffering, are concerned. 

    i.e #1 I believe that 1+1 = 2. No problem. 

    This is concrete, proven reality, and mathematical truth.

    i.e #2 I believe that John Doe is a super smart, nice, and compassionate individual.

 But your best friend said the opposite!

 What a second here! … Be careful in your assumption, and ask yourself this: 

     Is there a concrete, proven reality, reflecting truth?…..not sure.  

     Am I right?....not sure.

 The fact that it is MY belief does not make it right simply because:

1. In most cases, proven reality/truth cannot be ...proven, and 
2. The vast majority of our beliefs are subjective from knowledge, experience, and information

  which can be true or false. Therefore, acting from this “nonproven truth” is a potential source of trouble.

What Zen is advocating?

1- Because, very often,  our beliefs create their fictional realities, and truth in which we are trapped…… 

2- Always challenge their validity especially when the subject does not have any obvious, factual, proven reality, and truth on its own in which we are trapped

2- Always challenge their validity especially when the subject does not have any obvious, factual, proven reality, and truth on its own in which we are trapped.

3- So: be mindful of both, re-assess, and act accordingly.

Final words:

As we talked about it many times, Zen is recommended for practicing “not knowing” rather than “ knowing wrongly”.

It is one of the secrets to achieving serenity and equanimity since you are freeing yourself from your mind-made prison built on many preconceived unproven subjective beliefs that create their pseudo realities/truth. They are a source of potential trouble.

Thanks