Another common new age philosophy is the belief that believing something to be true can actually make it true. Like so many other beliefs, there is a precious spiritual principle embedded in ambiguous language which can lead to tremendous suffering.
Let's first look at the spiritual truth that is here. There are many situations where our perception of the world is largely formed by beliefs and stories we have about it, and about ourselves, and assumptions about what is possible and what is not. Changing our perception of the world can change our experience of it.
At one point in my life I believed that people were basically cruel and out to hurt others. The result was I approached strangers defended and cautious, causing them to be suspicious of me or defensive themselves. The result was the creation of the illusion that the world was exactly as I suspected it was - people were not friendly, people didn't like me, and the world was not a very nice place. I was completely unaware that my own presuppositions were creating the experiences that justified my view of the world.
When my belief about the world changed, the world changed along with it. Once I believed in and expected a friendlier world, suddenly, people felt my energy and responded accordingly. So when I believed the world was kinder, lo and behold, it was! Of course, what really happened was my shift in attitude not only allowed me to see the kindness that had always been there; it also altered how people responded to me. My belief did indeed change the world around me.
However, the statement "Believe it is true, and it is" can also be horribly misleading, and cause untold misery if the spiritual principle underneath it is not understood. A good friend of mine has been trying but unable to clear clutter from her house for years. I have heard her countless times say, "Today I am going to do it! Today it will be easy, there will be no problems, and I will make progress with ease!" She is attempting to set her own attitude in the hopes that the statement will magically come true. Of course, it never happens, and each time she gets discouraged and beats up on herself, because she believes she "should" have been able to do it. That is what this philosophy claims, and she naively believes that if she makes the declaration and believes it, it will happen. How horrible to be encouraged to believe that it will be that easy, only to fail again and again. This shows no respect for the psychological complexity of the feelings that keep her blocked, nor the need to explore and understand them before the mystery will be unlocked and she will be freed.
What is the problem here? In our attempt to empower people, we encourage them to believe they can do things that they are actually unable to. The resulting failure only leads to self-condemnation. The fact is, *sometimes* it is a matter of will and perspective, and sometimes it is not. Sometimes the thing that prevents us from success is mysterious and doesn't yield to simple analysis. The world is not made up of our perception of it. The world exists and acts independently of our will, our consciousness, and our desires.
It's a dance. Reality as we experience it is a mixture of the objective world and our interpretations of it. And in any given situation, it takes wisdom to know which partner needs to move or whether both need to move. So, yes, by all means, see if you are imposing a reality on the world that doesn't need to be there, but if the world answers back "This is the way it is," then yield to it and find your place in the scheme of things.
Thank you for the thoughtful post. I too can see this principle as "true and not true." I've had a number of experiences like the one you describe for yourself, where changing perspective changes many things. AND I have seen a lot of crap around this and other New Thought notions, where guilt trips abound and victim blaming ensues, because it is said that if we are having misfortune, that means we either "chose" it/are "choosing" it (which is insensitive and insulting), or we somehow deserve it because of our karma or our poor thinking. Which is a crock. Sometimes shit just happens. How we deal with it and respond to it going forward can then be fuel for growth or bitterness, but that doesn't mean the misfortune itself was anything other than random.
ReplyDeleteI just got done reading a book called The Courage To Give, about 30 or so stories of people who had awful things happen to them but chose to take the opportunity to use that to help others. Very inspiring.