Beliefs form the framework for how you experience everything that occurs in your life. Even physical sensations are experienced through beliefs about them. For example, pain is an uncomfortable physical sensation; but, how you experience pain from an emotional and mental perspective is determined by your beliefs, not your body. Becoming more conscious of what you belief allows you to experience life from a place of choice and response rather than reaction.

     Most of our daily experiences seem to come ‘out of the blue’,  appear to be happening to us rather than from within us. So, what kind of babble is that? We run though our day experiencing all sorts of emotions and feelings about everything from co-workers to stepping on that piece of gum on the sidewalk. None of those things carries with it an intrinsic experience. If that was the case then everyone who encountered that co-worker or stepped on a piece of gum would have the exact same reaction and experience. Instead, each of us has our own unique experience. That unique experience comes from our beliefs. If I believe the co-worker is annoying and lazy my experience of him is different from yours when you believe that he is funny and hardworking. As for the gum, well that is just always annoying :) Seriously, some people get really annoyed when they step on a piece of gum and others just scrape it off and move on.

     Coming to understand what you believe and then recognizing what experiences those beliefs create does not mean that your life will then be sunshine and roses. Neither will that new understanding result in the ability to always respond like Gandhi or Mother Teresa. It does mean being able to come from a place of CHOICE and awareness that  you are creating your experience. So, why would you choose to be sad, angry, jealous or any number of experiences that are generally labeled as negative? Well, first of all, Negative is simply another belief. And, what you believe is negative today you may believe is positive next month. How many times have you looked back at a negative experience or circumstance in your life only to feel that you are now so appreciative that it happened and now label it as ‘ a very good thing that it happened’.  Same circumstance but different belief fueled by a different perspective. We do this all the time with small experiences and big ones.

     One commonly held Belief, across cultures, is that the goal of enlightenment is to rid ourselves and our lives of ‘negative’ experiences. That is not a Truth; it is only a belief. We can just as easily choose to believe that having many different types of experiences creates a well rounded life and many opportunities to grow in awareness of ourselves and others. Personally, I find this belief to be more in line with what I observe about the nature of life as a human being. Some events in life can be sad in nature and to trying to experience them as anything but sad would be like trying to tell yourself that the boat that you are on is not sinking when indeed the bow has just gone beneath the surface of the water. Taking the sinking boat example a little further, a certain amount of fear (based on the belief that this is a fearful situation) can provide the energy and heightened awareness needed to help you determine what to do and how to ensure your safety.

     Experiences and feelings such as anger, grief, sadness, frustration and many others, that are considered negative, can help to propel you through some of life’s biggest challenges. Striving  towards only positive can rob you of the full spectrum of life.

     The key is what you choose to DO with any experience that you create with your beliefs. What awareness about YOU do you come to because of the belief and the experience. What action do you take? Finally, does this belief still serve you. Does it conflict with another belief that you hold? Be willing to change beliefs that no longer serve you in a way that brings growth and awareness.

A needed caveat: We are so much more than our thoughts and what they create. We are divine beings, spiritual creatures, imbued with Fate, Destiny and Choice. We have intuition and intellect. Our Soul has an agenda and our Human incarnation has a path. We are creating our reality in tandem with everyone around us. God and the Universe is creating our reality and experience. Don’t explore at your thoughts ad their creative nature to the exclusion of all of these other elements. Come to view your mind and thoughts as the tools they are designed to be in order to explore all aspects of your being.