•Thursday, March 26, 2009
Actually the title is a bit paradoxical since a belief system is the foundation of somebody's individuality and personality. However, I do feel that with the experience I have had since I embarked on a life rejuvenation journey, there is need to have the belief system anchored on something. That has formed my current battle of the mind.
Once you decide to re-evaluate your life in a bid to improve and develop yourself, you have to address the issue of your belief system in order to move forward. I see a belief system as what you stand for, what guides you and what forms a basis for your values in life.
A lot of self-development, self-improvement and self-motivation proponents and speakers suggest that before you can embark on the journey of self-improvement you have to discard all the rules, beliefs, traditions and culture you have come across and relied on since you began life and embrace their proposed philosophy of getting the ultimate best out of life.
That has been my first challenge in my life improvement journey. It is even more antagonizing when the mind is the first target in this life transforming process. It is easier to agree with issues to do with the body in respect to health and fitness or career and finances or society and community involvement, but a lot harder when it comes to addressing issues relating to your belief system and value system which are anchored in the mind.
The mind, supposedly contained in the human brain is the most complex and complicated phenomenon to have and examine. While it is amorphous and intangible, it is the engine of life; determining the quality of existence. It is the internal compass that defines an individual's direction in life. It is the most difficult to master and is the substance that houses the foundation of a belief system that benchmarks what one stands for in life.
I grew up in a Christian background, heavily endowed with biblical teachings that to a larger extent have shaped my belief system. In times of waywardness it is that biblical compass that herds me back to the fold and acts as a signaling system to what extent I can roam. A lot of the materials I have come across in charting a way forward in my pilgrim journey are antagonistic to that original belief system and some even borders to the Christian defined occultic and cultic teachings, even blasphemous.
In fact, upto my early twenties, the Christian belief system worked well for me. This was probably as a result of strong Christian faith convictions. Not that I no longer have them, but I think with exploration the faith is a bit rusty. Then, I was in inner peace and tranquility, my mind unconflicted about what life is all about and always set to achieve my goals in life, accepting the obstacles and failures I encountered as part of the refinement process. What most staunch christians would term as a faith-based mentality. Things do not have to be in physical existence to be realizable. I strongly believed the christian faith was infallible.
Over the last five years my view of the christian faith has changed profoundly . Maybe I have shed off some spiritual naivety or become more tolerant. I will not explore that significant change for now. All the same, I have found myself pondering whether that change has affected my belief and value system for the better or for worse. Although, the fact that I have opened myself up for a life rejuvenation trek may imply that I feel antagonized, unsettled or under-achieved with my current belief system.
At some point, since I decided to self-improve and self-motivate, I had to make a decision on where to anchor my belief system. Whether to re-anchor it on the childhood naive-kind of christian faith or to found it on the contemporary almost comprising new age kind of philosophical teachings that are gaining currency.
That is my pilgrim progress.
Once you decide to re-evaluate your life in a bid to improve and develop yourself, you have to address the issue of your belief system in order to move forward. I see a belief system as what you stand for, what guides you and what forms a basis for your values in life.
A lot of self-development, self-improvement and self-motivation proponents and speakers suggest that before you can embark on the journey of self-improvement you have to discard all the rules, beliefs, traditions and culture you have come across and relied on since you began life and embrace their proposed philosophy of getting the ultimate best out of life.
That has been my first challenge in my life improvement journey. It is even more antagonizing when the mind is the first target in this life transforming process. It is easier to agree with issues to do with the body in respect to health and fitness or career and finances or society and community involvement, but a lot harder when it comes to addressing issues relating to your belief system and value system which are anchored in the mind.
The mind, supposedly contained in the human brain is the most complex and complicated phenomenon to have and examine. While it is amorphous and intangible, it is the engine of life; determining the quality of existence. It is the internal compass that defines an individual's direction in life. It is the most difficult to master and is the substance that houses the foundation of a belief system that benchmarks what one stands for in life.
I grew up in a Christian background, heavily endowed with biblical teachings that to a larger extent have shaped my belief system. In times of waywardness it is that biblical compass that herds me back to the fold and acts as a signaling system to what extent I can roam. A lot of the materials I have come across in charting a way forward in my pilgrim journey are antagonistic to that original belief system and some even borders to the Christian defined occultic and cultic teachings, even blasphemous.
In fact, upto my early twenties, the Christian belief system worked well for me. This was probably as a result of strong Christian faith convictions. Not that I no longer have them, but I think with exploration the faith is a bit rusty. Then, I was in inner peace and tranquility, my mind unconflicted about what life is all about and always set to achieve my goals in life, accepting the obstacles and failures I encountered as part of the refinement process. What most staunch christians would term as a faith-based mentality. Things do not have to be in physical existence to be realizable. I strongly believed the christian faith was infallible.
Over the last five years my view of the christian faith has changed profoundly . Maybe I have shed off some spiritual naivety or become more tolerant. I will not explore that significant change for now. All the same, I have found myself pondering whether that change has affected my belief and value system for the better or for worse. Although, the fact that I have opened myself up for a life rejuvenation trek may imply that I feel antagonized, unsettled or under-achieved with my current belief system.
At some point, since I decided to self-improve and self-motivate, I had to make a decision on where to anchor my belief system. Whether to re-anchor it on the childhood naive-kind of christian faith or to found it on the contemporary almost comprising new age kind of philosophical teachings that are gaining currency.
That is my pilgrim progress.
