Shownotes
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy
Welcome to Day 126 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.
This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.
Your Beliefs Create Your Reality (3)
Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 126 of our Trek. Yesterday was day two of five on the trail of our reality, which is based on our beliefs. As I mentioned yesterday, we are wonderfully created, and we have a vast capacity to create our reality through our paradigms or belief systems.
It is so crucial that your belief system is on a solid foundation of truth. This is day three of five on our exploration into the concept that our beliefs create our reality. If you miss any of these episodes, make sure you go back and listen to them all to get a complete picture. If you have any of your own observations, comments, or questions as we share time together on our daily trek, please share them in the comment section of our daily journal pages.
We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. I was able to finish the dining room floor with two coats of polyurethane. Check out the pictures. I would encourage you to check out the journal each day as I include related pictures and tweetable quotes in each of them.
We also attended our nephew Caleb’s wedding in Logan, Ohio, this weekend. He and his new bride Misheel will be living in Chicago where Caleb is an architect and Misheel is an accountant. It was a beautiful wedding and we had a great time together with family. I have been so blessed to have a close family where we can share these times together.
Now it is time to break camp for today and head back out for day three on our reality trail. As we start out I would like to ask you a question. “Why is it that two people can see and experience the exact same situation at the same time, but have two completely different interpretations or reactions?” Which response is true? Both are reality to the person who experiences it. This example supports what we have been exploring for the past couple of days. Our beliefs about our world create our own reality. That reality is personal to us.
On a subconscious level, each of us is convinced that our beliefs are both true and accurate. After all, they must be correct, otherwise why would we choose to believe them, right?
Here’s how the dictionary defines “belief” – “Acceptance by the mind that something is true or real, often underpinned by an emotional or spiritual sense of certainty.”
On the first day of our current Trek, we talked about how our beliefs provide a structured process through which we evaluate everything in our lives. Yesterday we saw how our beliefs become the foundation for our internal map of reality.
Today it’s time to take a closer look at how we subconsciously alter the meaning of our experiences and relationships to make sure they fit our map. We will also discuss how we attract people and situations into our life in an effort to verify the accuracy of our version of reality.
As a Christ follower, it is hard sometimes to question the beliefs that I was taught from childhood. It is important that we make sure that our beliefs are grounded on Biblical truth and not the interpretation of someone else that we have blindly accepted.
If you are also a Christ follower, I would encourage you to adopt the practices of the church in Berea as is written in Acts 17:11, “And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.”
Part 3: Defending Your Beliefs
Do you know what the granddaddy of all human emotions is? Every person on the planet has an inherent and insatiable desire to feel loved, safe and secure. Efforts to fill this desire shape the actions of individuals and the course of world events.
This is why we are subconsciously programmed to make reality fit our core beliefs about who we are and what we deserve. When our perception of the world validates our beliefs, we feel secure in the fact that our view is the correct one.
1. Limiting or empowering, it doesn’t matter!
As odd as it might seem, you work just as hard to validate your limiting beliefs as your empowering ones. Why would you do this? Remember, the process takes place on a subconscious level. Your subconscious does not analyze a belief to see if it’s appropriate or not. It just bends reality to make it fit.
Do you see the possible consequences here to your sense of self-worth? If your limiting beliefs seem to be supported by every experience, how likely are you to overcome those beliefs? All the logic in the world is no match for real-world validation provided by your version of reality.
2. We bend reality in three ways.
Let’s consider the three primary ways that your subconscious adjusts how you experience life so that those experiences conform to your map of reality.
- Attraction. You will attract, and be attracted to, people who confirm your beliefs. This is why some people experience one bad relationship after another. They continue to be attracted to people who affirm their limiting beliefs about themselves. Something deep inside them believes that they don’t deserve to have a happy, meaningful relationship. This same “something” is irresistibly attracted to and attracts the very person who will validate the individual’s perceived worthlessness.
- Interpretation. We already talked about how your internal map of reality is based on how you interpret the events and situations in your life. If your map says that life is wonderful, then your interpretations, and your map, are empowering. What if your map says everyone is out to take advantage of you? Then you will misinterpret the events in your life to fit your map. Perhaps you will take neutral experiences and put a negative spin on them. You may read negative messages into harmless conversation, or unkind motives into a meaningless glance. If you are convinced (believe) on a subconscious level that people are out to get you, then you will find ample evidence in the world around you to confirm that belief.
- Denial. What if you believe that nobody likes you, and then someone starts being kind, and treating you like a friend? Wouldn’t that convince you that your belief is wrong? Yes, on a logical level it would, but beliefs are usually immune to logic. So, how might you respond to this “friendly” input that doesn’t fit with your “nobody likes me” map? In a word, denial. You would simply respond in a way that corresponds to your negative beliefs about yourself. See where this is headed? If you ignore their attempts at friendship, and treat them as someone who’s out to get you, what will they finally do? Eventually, they will begin to act in a way that confirms your limiting beliefs providing validation for your map.
3. How do we change a limiting map?
As you can see, if your internal map of reality is built on limiting beliefs, life becomes a great big negative reinforcement loop. So, the question remains, “How do you create a new map that serves you?”
The bottom line is this. When you change your beliefs, you change your map. Building your internal empowering beliefs will transform the way you experience your life. Tomorrow we will explore how to upgrade your beliefs.
The question I would like to leave you with today is “What kind of beliefs is your map based on?”
This was our third day on the trail of reality, if you would like to add to the discussion or have questions, please leave them in the comment section of today’s journal. In order to learn more about how our beliefs create our reality, join us tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy as we explore upgrading your beliefs.
That will finish our podcast for today. Remember to listen to your daily dose of wisdom on Wisdom-Trek.com or subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud, Spreaker, or YouTube so the episodes will be downloaded to you automatically.
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Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day.
As we take this Trek together, let us always:
- Live Abundantly (Fully)
- Love Unconditionally
- Listen Intentionally
- Learn Continuously
- Lend to others Generously
- Lead with Integrity
- Leave a Living Legacy Each Day
This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!