We must note the relationship of beliefs to our virtual and real worlds. Beliefs control attitudes. And once they are established, attitudes control our thoughts. We never adopt an attitude or a thought if we don’t believe in that way of thinking. We may not normally think like this. But we have consented to think this way in this case or in a multiple of cases for reasons or emotions we believe in and accept as valid. In fact, everything that goes on inside our mind is ultimately controlled by our beliefs. That’s why, in order to follow Christ effectively, we must believe in him. And this is why the Gospel first calls us to believe. By truly believing in Christ, we give to him the prime motivating power of our lives — our beliefs!
Our Beliefs Define Our Life
Wherever our faith, belief and trust are (our beliefs are what we trust), our life is. Because of this, Jesus talked a lot about believing. What we believe and who we believe defines our life and our possibilities. Jesus conditioned all of his miracles on faith. A miracle required either his faith or the faith of the person receiving the miracle. So notice that for Jesus, belief is an essential element in the performance of a miracle.
WHAT You Believe? or In WHOM You Believe?
The first thing to sort out in your mind is not what you believe, but in whom you believe! Jesus directs people to believe in God (the who) and, secondarily, to believe what he tells us (the what). If we believe in Jesus we believe his words also. But it’s not necessarily so the other way around. If we believe what he says, we don’t by definition necessarily believe in him. We often believe what some people say. But that doesn’t mean we believe in them.
Also consider this: Belief in a person generates more commitment and motivational power than belief in an idea or principle.
Because Beliefs Control Attitudes, Our Beliefs Shape Our World
We create the inner world we would love to live in by choosing our beliefs and controlling our thoughts. So, our lives take the shape of our beliefs. It’s the way we have been made.
This journey of thought, from its beginning through the formation of attitudes and beliefs to actually building our life, happens every day in all of us. It is automatic.
- We cannot change this process.
- We can depend on this process.
- Therefore, we can understand and use this process to change our lives.
Because Beliefs Control Attitudes, Good Life Changes Can Happen
How do I begin to change my life? Simple! I change what I believe about things, about God, and about myself — about everything. Our beliefs are our mind-style. Then my beliefs cause my attitudes to undergo a revolution. And finally, my thoughts become the positive thoughts of God.
Choose your mind-style and you will have chosen your lifestyle.
Our first and most important task in a world-changing mission is to learn how to think straight (and teach straight thinking) and combat the insurgence of crooked thinking in our culture and in our world today. If we become passive victims of this crooked way of thinking, we promote it. If we remain silent, we also give it credence. In Who Am I?, the reader progresses from how we have become “crooked thinkers” to how to break out of this prison of the mind (which is enslaving us) to become instruments of change for a better world by recognizing from where our value as humans is derived. “Build a straight and powerful mind.” ~ Ray W. Lincoln
DISCOVER THE TRUTH OF WHO YOU ARE!
Lean into the whole truth. Discover the truth of who YOU are — the “Real You” — and who your children truly are. Discover how to best engage your children in finding the whole truth. INNERKINETICS, Your Blueprint to Excellence and Happiness, is a great resource.