How to actually change beliefs

[ludlow]

There's an aspect of all this that I don't understand. I've seen several other posters ask similar questions on other threads, but those threads have soon turned into discussions of the concept of beliefs, manifestation, etc. That stuff is all genuinely interesting. But what specific methods have people successfully used to install certain beliefs?

I'd be really interested to know about specific processes, which seem to be lacking in Steve's postings on beliefs. So, for example, when he talks about discovering your purpose, he provides a couple of specific exercises (including the well-known one about writing things down until one makes you cry).

What are some specific exercises people are using to install beliefs - for example, the belief that the Law of Attraction works?

[Lucas]

It happens slowly imo. The first thing you have to do is want to install that belief. The want really begins to override your doubt. Then start practicing what you want to believe, the more you can practice, the more confirmations of it will show up in your life. Changing beliefs isnt a quick process either, it takes time. Pretty soon you find that you just believe it.

[AndyMartin]

Have you ever looked at a belief separate from yourself? Observed yourself holding that belief? Watched how your mind and emotions move around that belief? Ceased to identify with it? When you can do that, belief will become ephemeral and there is not struggle to change belief, only an open realm of possibilities that your awareness can pass through.

Our normal behavior is to make beliefs part of our identity, and since identity arises from ego, ego will protect those beliefs against any assault. That's why it requires very careful dismantling--like a house of cards--to change the egoic structures of belief. It is a slow and painstaking process to change even a small belief when it's a support in your ego.

It requires profound shift in what belief is that allows you shuffle through them like a deck of cards to be pulled from and discarded. Spend some time looking at your belief with a silent mind. When you judge or commentate, that is not observation and will not allow you to detach your identity from the belief. But anything you can observe is not you, so once you can observe your belief (and all it's attached baggage) as something separate, you will have the ability to use it or discard it. This is not an immediate process, but it's like a muscle--the more you exercise it, the more easily you can use it until all belief is just something that arises in your awareness.

[Ginny]

This is interesting--this idea of belief. I find that what helps me is to deny the idea of "belief" altogether. Maybe it's just semantics, but a belief, to me, is something that cannot be shaken--something in which you have a great deal of faith. For me, resisting belief consists of being open to everything--listening carefully and constantly adding to or changing what I feel to be something that works for me as I move about. Technically, if I "believe" something, that closes a door to other things that might debunk that belief. Perhaps not permanently, but there is that "moment to moment" thing. Heck, I'm open to believing that I'm not really typing this right now--that this coffee cup is really not here--and I'm open to what I perceive as the manifestation of what I "see" in those things as well. Eyes wide open. Would like to be more specific--give exercises toward this--but I think that maybe just an insinuation that there is no such thing as belief can help us ponder that and decide what we think about it--decide whether or not we "believe" it. I'm no expert at all, but I find that I have a lot of faith in questioning things that look or feel like belief. It seems to work for me, and it's fun, too.

[Ginny]

Took me so long to write my previous response, that I didn't get to read AndyMartin's beforehand. You're dead on, AndyMartin. I like your metaphors/similes as well. Good show!

[ludlow]

Just a quick note to say thanks for all the above contributions - very useful indeed.

[Dating Specialist]

Originally Posted by AndyMartin

Have you ever looked at a belief separate from yourself? Observed yourself holding that belief? Watched how your mind and emotions move around that belief? Ceased to identify with it? When you can do that, belief will become ephemeral and there is not struggle to change belief, only an open realm of possibilities that your awareness can pass through.

Our normal behavior is to make beliefs part of our identity, and since identity arises from ego, ego will protect those beliefs against any assault. That's why it requires very careful dismantling--like a house of cards--to change the egoic structures of belief. It is a slow and painstaking process to change even a small belief when it's a support in your ego.

It requires profound shift in what belief is that allows you shuffle through them like a deck of cards to be pulled from and discarded. Spend some time looking at your belief with a silent mind. When you judge or commentate, that is not observation and will not allow you to detach your identity from the belief. But anything you can observe is not you, so once you can observe your belief (and all it's attached baggage) as something separate, you will have the ability to use it or discard it. This is not an immediate process, but it's like a muscle--the more you exercise it, the more easily you can use it until all belief is just something that arises in your awareness.

Hey Andy, I like what you wrote. Good stuff!

[psiloscope]

Originally Posted by ludlow

There's an aspect of all this that I don't understand. I've seen several other posters ask similar questions on other threads, but those threads have soon turned into discussions of the concept of beliefs, manifestation, etc. That stuff is all genuinely interesting. But what specific methods have people successfully used to install certain beliefs?

I'd be really interested to know about specific processes, which seem to be lacking in Steve's postings on beliefs. So, for example, when he talks about discovering your purpose, he provides a couple of specific exercises (including the well-known one about writing things down until one makes you cry).

What are some specific exercises people are using to install beliefs - for example, the belief that the Law of Attraction works?

Hi
this is a very interesting question. There is a specific way to change beliefs using an NLP technique. Steve mentions in an article that he uses an NLP technique for belief change. In Richard Bandler's book "Using Your Brain For a Change" you can see a specific technique there. The pre-requisite is that you need to understand submodalities. It's not hard and contrary to what some people believe about changing beliefs...it works best if it's rapid! As Richard Bandler said brains learn quickly, they don't learn slowly. The NLP method is fast because it doesn't involve the long fight of trying to "argue the case" to alter the content of your belief. Trying to convince yourself into or out of things is slow. The NLP approach is more subtle than that - it involves altering the internal representations of the belief, the "machine code" brain representation, if you will. You invoke a picture of *how* the brain stores the belief and alter those parameters (ie sensory submodalities) instead. Leave aside the question of *what* the brain is storing and deal with the *how* for rapid results. The book is well worth a read.
Regards
Terry

[songwriter]

Originally Posted by ludlow

There's an aspect of all this that I don't understand. I've seen several other posters ask similar questions on other threads, but those threads have soon turned into discussions of the concept of beliefs, manifestation, etc. That stuff is all genuinely interesting. But what specific methods have people successfully used to install certain beliefs?

I'd be really interested to know about specific processes, which seem to be lacking in Steve's postings on beliefs. So, for example, when he talks about discovering your purpose, he provides a couple of specific exercises (including the well-known one about writing things down until one makes you cry).

What are some specific exercises people are using to install beliefs - for example, the belief that the Law of Attraction works?

Well, I don't believe in "installing beliefs" like if you installed Windows XP... .
You may hear someone stating something and then you'll start to wonder is it's right or wrong... so you will be able to "install" it or not then.
You can figure a belief too and then test if is right/empowering by experience.

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by ludlow

But what specific methods have people successfully used to install certain beliefs?

Well basically you identify your current belief, and then you reach for the next alternative and better belief that you can convince yourself to hold.

For example, if you're an F-grade student, you may find it very difficult to hold the belief that you are an A-grade student. Therefore you'll probably fail to manifest yourself directly into an A-student.

On the other hand, if you're an F-grade student, you may still be able to hold the belief that you are a C-grade student. So hold that belief. Manifest it. And your grades will move from F to C.

Once your grades have become C, you'll think, "Wow! What great improvement!". Don't stop there. Now that you're a C-grade student, reach for the next alternative and better belief that you can.

Eg start believing that you're an A-grade student. It's not such a huge stretch of the imagination that C-grade students can become A-grade students. So hold that belief. And you'll move upwards again.

Keep reaching for the best that you can make yourself believe, at any given time.

[Acting Like Godot]

There is self-hypnosis too - but that's a topic for another day. You can read Gerry Kushel's "Mind Laundry" book on how to mess around with your own beliefs.

[Andy]

I've been using EFT tapping to install beliefs and it works surprisingly well. It's just repeating the belief while going through the whole tapping sequence. I notice that it creates an instantaneous(after the sequence is done) assimilation of the belief. Though if it's a belief that against a lot of your other views then a few other supporting beliefs need to be installed too in order to "feel" the new belief take hold. The installed beliefs using this method seem to last a little less than a week before fading out for me if nothing else is done to maintain them. Though this makes it really useful in testing out new beliefs and seeing how they work since you actually get to completely feel how it is to hold a certain belief completely.

[PhoenixBlossom]

Wow, Andy, I like that idea. I've just barely begun using EFT, and had great success on a lifelong phobia. I have played with it on weight, but not enough.

Ludlow, I've been studying Field Theory - the field center - to me it's the next logical step from Abe's teachings, and that helps me with this. Everything happening externally is a metaphor for your identity, so to change your manifestations (and in the process, your beliefs), you would assume the identity of the person in possession of that which you desire.

So, you want to install your belief in LoA. What is a person who believes in LoA like? Someone happy all the time, someone abundant, drawing happy abundant people to him/her. Someone successful and fulfilled in their highest purpose. Someone inspiring to others.

What does that person believe? That focusing on good brings more good; that good is everywhere; that we are all just trying to feel better; that "the better it gets, the better it gets" (Esther/Abe); blah, blah, blah, I imagine all you objectivists are ready to puke by now! (Where are the puking smilies when you need them?!)

So, if you can have a nice daydream/meditation and assume the identity of that LoA-believing person, imagine those qualities applying to you, see yourself that way, does that give you any hint of a shift?

Well, it works for me, anyway.

Love & Joy

[joelyle]

hi,
A lengthy response could be in order; in short, for me: believe and you will see. It is a choice which I believe (I have to use the word believe to speak of belief!) stems from curiosity. It is an experiment: choose to believe--->see events unfold which reinforce your belief--> strengthen your belief. I have changed my beliefs many times in my life. Belief is self-initiated and perpetuated. If it is true to you: then you take it as a truth.

[demk]

This whole area of beliefs is such a confusing one. Recently I was wondering what beliefs are. I seem to be very gullible andcan easily take on new ideas and attitudes. Are these my beliefs? Or, are these low level importance beliefs? If I believed in unaided flight would it happen? Could I ever change such a fundamental belief or is there a process in my mind that prevents me from doing so in fear of madness? I believe in the LOA but there are obvious benefits from believing that (as espoused by many gurus and self help purveyors).

Recently I have had an overall intention of just letting God/Source/Whatever use me as a tool for It's peace. I have intended to be presented with the right experiences that will change my beliefs and better enable me to live a good life. I have tried but find it unable to alter my beliefs myself. The process resulted in frustration.

The surrender and letting go I am doing now seems to work. So far my attitude is gradually changing, my thoughts are changing and things are flowing well. Its amazing what can happen when you give your thoughts/emotions/behaviour/life over to Him. It says in A Return To Love by Marrianne Williamson, God's plan works...Yours doesn't! I'm letting Him control my experience and my mind seems to be changing quite well.

[mej023]

I just changed one of my beliefs tonight. When I went to Taco Bell they forgot to add certain items to my order. My belief is that fast food places always rip you off.

Since I have learned about the LoA, I decided that in my world, the fast food places always get my order correct. If they do screw it up they do it so that it is beneficial to me.

I can't wait to go out to eat now. This is just like pre-paving the easy free flowing driving (I always get green lights now) and getting the top rated parking spots (happens more than not now).

To make this work, I just wanted to let everyone know that I always get the perfect order from the fast food restaurants. It's nice because now I am always looking forward to going!

[Alvin]

There are 2 ways you naturally change beliefs all the time, from the inside-out or from the outside-in.

Since a lot of suggestions come from the inside-out approach, I'd suggest a outside-in approach.

Want to believe you can be a leader? Enroll yourself in some leadership courses, gain some real-world experience, screw up, and recognize when you do things well.

Want to believe you can be an adventurous person? Go skydive, bungee jump, diving, skiing!

Want to believe you can be outgoing? Put yourself into social environments where you have no choice but to talk.

Sounds like jumping into the deep end of the pool? You betcha But we build and change beliefs like this all the time, from the student who gets his first A and starts to doubt that his 'stupidity', to someone who has a great time at a party and realizes that talking to strangers isn't that hard after all.

[The David]

I definitely agree that you have to want it. In my experience, wanting a belief inevitably leads to believing it, unless it is too outlandish (I can't believe that I'm not in front of the computer right now; by the time I install that belief, I'll already be out of the computer). When I first contemplated the LoA and 'one consciousness' thing, I wanted to believe it but it was too weird. But I thought about it alot, analyzed it, and now it's getting harder to imagine living in an objective reality, even though I haven't 'committed' to the new belief. It simply happened.

[mej023]

As Abraham said,


"A belief is just a thought that you think over and over."

[RT Wolf]

Originally Posted by mej023

I can't wait to go out to eat now. This is just like pre-paving the easy free flowing driving (I always get green lights now) and getting the top rated parking spots (happens more than not now).

To make this work, I just wanted to let everyone know that I always get the perfect order from the fast food restaurants. It's nice because now I am always looking forward to going!

At the risk of derailing the thread, I'd like to add that this sorta stuff has been happening to me, too, recently. For example, last night, I was supposed to attend a class with a friend. First, my friend is really late and then disappears and then I find out the class was cancelled. But it all turned out well because if I had been in class, then I wouldn't have had a chance to hang out with this wonderful girl.

[impaul99]

Originally Posted by mej023

I just changed one of my beliefs tonight. When I went to Taco Bell they forgot to add certain items to my order. My belief is that fast food places always rip you off.

Since I have learned about the LoA, I decided that in my world, the fast food places always get my order correct. If they do screw it up they do it so that it is beneficial to me.

I can't wait to go out to eat now. This is just like pre-paving the easy free flowing driving (I always get green lights now) and getting the top rated parking spots (happens more than not now).

To make this work, I just wanted to let everyone know that I always get the perfect order from the fast food restaurants. It's nice because now I am always looking forward to going!

This is so true. I know people that I go to eat with that always have something wrong with their order. It doesn't matter where we go, what they order, the order is always missing something, something is cold, something is not right etc. It's almost amusing to watch. This person totally manifests this by focusing on it the whole time. My orders almost always come out perfect. The rare mistake is such an odd event for me since it almost never happens, unless I'm ordering something to share with a person who's manifesting screw ups.

[demk]

I've been using the Byron Katie stuff recently and it is really helping me sort through my beliefs and stuff. I didnt realise how many thoughts I have that are clearly affecting reality. I am sometimes barely aware of them or they manifest in my mind as daydreams (its like the daydreams are the effects of a belief and when you enquire into what they represent there is a sold belief that can be expressed as a sentence).

Check it out...

ByronKatie.com: The Official Blog for The Work of Byron Katie

and...

The Work of Byron Katie - Byron Katie International