The Power Of Belief Broken Down
Belief is one of the most powerful things in this world that people use to shape their lives. They believe they can make a person fall in love with them, they believe they can have a better day and live longer than someone else, and some even believe that the Earth is flat. But what if all beliefs are just illusions? What if beliefs were only there for convenience, or to give you hope in your harmful life? These thoughts were originally sparked by Nassim Nicholas Taleb as he uncovered the many different systems we create as humans so we don't actually have to think about things for ourselves. In his book, The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable, he explains how our illusions are created by us and how we are more mentally connected than we think. He also came to the conclusion that we believe in "real" things and not "unreal" things. This is a thought that really stuck with me and really taught me to look at my life differently.
First off I want to say that this is a subject I have been meaning to write about for a long time. While I was in high school there was this kid named Sean who bullied me from day one even though he didn't know me from Adam. He was a bully, and I was one of the most bullied kids in that school. One day he found my poetry book and someone had done a really bad drawing on it (they always do "real" art). He found this so funny that he just tore it apart. After that day I have never been able to trust him or anything because he did something like this again and again. I mean he didn't draw anything really bad or disgusting, but when you see someone doing something like this to another person time after time it's not just getting annoying, it's hard not to think they have some kind of mental problem.
The problem is that he did it intentionally because he believed that it would be funny or cool. He didn't see the harm in it, and he thought I would get over it. When I think back to that day I can't help but see two things: how "real" people could be cold and brutal like this, and how much he believed what he was doing was right. He believed he was right because he believed in his own "real" system, and that's what I mean when I say beliefs are illusions.
The most powerful idea in this entire article is the idea of "unreal" systems. Our minds are connections that can paint many different pictures, but we only see one. The real question is why do we believe in these "real" things and not the other things? Why didn't Sean believe that what he did was bad? And why did it take a kid like me to see how wrong it was? Sometimes the answer isn't as simple as you might think because our minds have their own way of making it so.
If you really think about it there are so many beliefs that are false. We believe we are here for a reason even though there is no proof of that, we believe that someone can make us fall in love, and we even believe that our alter egos exist. These "real" things are just illusions because they are nothing more than stories and lies. Sometimes the story is something people have told themselves over and over again, but what's sad is that they will only ever see them as facts. If a story lacks evidence then it isn't real, and all beliefs fit this description.
The mind doesn't have to create illusions because they already exist outside of us (we just don't see them). Once you realize that all beliefs are just stories in the mind then you can see things a lot differently. That's what it means to see everything as a "unreal" thing in this world because "unreal" things don't exist. You might get angry at someone but they didn't do anything wrong, they just believe that they did. And the reason they believe that they did something wrong is because someone told them to. Belief is created by us and not the other way around, but we don't realize this because we just see one of many "real" things.
The next thing to say about beliefs is that everything should be questioned. We should all ask ourselves why we believe anything, and we should never trust the answer or story someone tells us. When you truly look at yourself as a person you can see how much you create in your mind, and if it's bad for you then it's bad for you. If you are harming yourself in your mind then go change it. You can't see your mind because it's always running in the background, but when you look at yourself as an observer it's easy to see how much you create.
The law of attraction is completely wrong as well. I came to this conclusion by realizing that most people don't believe they can make anything happen, yet they are still doing everything they can to make things happen. When we make things happen that didn't exist before we have to recognize that something other than us made them so, and this idea is what gives rise to beliefs and illusions.
Beliefs are powerful and they can be very helpful if we use them correctly. They can be a lot of fun, but we should always pay attention to what's happening in our minds. The idea of seeing everything as unreal is what will help you see your life better, and seeing your life as a book is another way to see it. I am sure you are an amazing person with an amazing soul, I only hope that other people will look up to you too.
"You can't apply a belief that fits the facts of the world to make them fit your belief."- Nassim Nicholas Taleb
"Beliefs are all about being right at the moment. Illusions are all about being right in time. Logically, it's the same mistake."- Nassim Nicholas Taleb
"The belief that the past is important and should be duplicated is the basic error of civilization. The belief that illusions are actual realities is the basic error of civilization. Don't believe in either. "- Nassim Nicholas Taleb
"There are no real gods, only believers."- Nassim Nicholas Taleb
"It's when you're wrong that you have to start taking note of what's right."- Nassim Nicholas Taleb
"I chose to be astonished by what was happening around me because I thought others would share my astonishment.
Conclusion: be astonished by what allows you to be astonished. Those who are astonished by nothing will never feel wonder."- Nassim Nicholas Taleb
"If you feel that you can't do something, then you're right. You really can't."- Nassim Nicholas Taleb
"A small number of people are capable of separating their belief system from reality. Most people are not."- Nassim Nicholas Taleb
"The biggest illusion is that the world exists independently from us and it conforms to our beliefs."- Nassim Nicholas Taleb
"Those who display more confidence than competence should realize that this puts others at a disadvantage.