Stand firm in knowing that your place on the Earth is well established, your life meaningful and your spirit’s intent strong. Each day remember that you are here in this life to fulfill a purpose and, whether it is consciously known to you or not, you are fulfilling it each day as you take each step. Keep your spirit always in mind, that part of you that is connected to all things upon the Earth and throughout the Universe, and thus keep the connection alive, minute by minute, day by day. Yes, you are a being who is going to die, but in the meantime make an effort, on all levels of consciousness, to fully live!
Find solace in knowing that your life’s journey is unfolding as you once long ago planned it. From beginning to end, it has pretty much played out as once determined, with opportunities and choices to be made along the way, but even those had been anticipated. Find solace in knowing that all is as it should be, just as you take solace in knowing the unfolding of the seasons each year, how predictable yet full of small differences each season is, and the inevitable conclusion of each one as changes come. So is life, full of changes, and yet a part of you, your spirit, knows that none of them are unpredictable but only valuable lessons on the path of life.
The foundation for belief, in this world, is socialization. We believe what we are told. The advertising industry spends billions of dollars a year to attract our attention, tell us what to believe, and, ultimately, control how we behave.
Although we don’t arrive in this world with a blank mental slate, we are nonetheless most influenced in childhood by the rules and judgments presented to us from primary parental figures, authority figures, and peer role models.
Science, with its focus on material proof, has reigned as a standard for believability for a couple of centuries. However, our current modern world is relativizing this standard of truth, with its emphasis upon the dominant role of suggestion in generating belief.
The power to control the narrative, the words used to describe current world challenges or opinions, is everywhere evident. A statement made on X results in a major loss of revenue, as advertisers run for the hills. Books are banned that suggest values or beliefs one disagrees with. I am not making a First Amendment pitch for free speech, but rather giving a neutral acknowledgment of the power of speech upon belief.
Carlos Castaneda emphasized the power of socialization, above all else, to fixate our belief system—and, hence, the world we generate—through shared beliefs with others. Our current world crises reflect a critical breakdown of a coherent belief system. The real current World War is a war of competing beliefs. Beliefs are indeed the deadliest of weapons.
Beliefs are magical spells. Shamans teach that, at a subconscious level, we incessantly repeat internalized beliefs. They call this the internal dialogue that constantly judges everything, most especially the self. The internal dialogue repeats the slogans from our internal advertising agency, which in turn generates our personal truths and how we see the world.
The shamans are consistent with most spiritual practices that encourage arriving at inner silence to suspend the power of fixated beliefs that color our view of ourselves, and the world. From the vantage point of inner silence, we see the relativity and power of belief.
However, as venerable as silence is to spiritual advancement it is not necessary to advance your beliefs. You needn’t even believe in a belief to materialize it. The only requirement is to attract the subconscious mind to a suggestion, even if you don’t consciously believe it. Repeat the suggestion incessantly, like a well-funded advertising campaign. Eventually the subconscious will be influenced and change your world.
Of course, if your suggestion is denying something, like a truth you are uncomfortable to face, though you will experience a shift eventually, you will also generate a latent karma. Karma is merely the outcome of our choices. If we choose to generate an untruth, the effects of that untruth will generate their own suggestions, which will impact the course of our future life. That’s nature’s basic law of balance.
So, what’s best to believe?
Suggestions that promote spiritual advancement experience the karma of fulfillment. We learn how to believe through rote repetition of beliefs that then manifest. As they manifest, even the Doubting Thomas conscious mind gains faith and believes in the power of the subconscious mind to change the world, within and without.
When things are the most challenging keep in mind that these are the times that test your stability, your conviction to alignment with spirit, and your ability to transcend the mundane and attain a higher perspective. When life calls for a grand shift there is no better person to call upon than your own deepest and highest self, who knows you so well and who can support you like no one else. From a place of inner depth and sobriety find what you need for the journey ahead.
Maintain stability within and without, on all levels of self, spiritual, mental, physical and emotional. Establish a stable body and mind, as well as stability of your inner self so that no matter where you are or what you are doing you never lose a sense of balance. Stability within the self will naturally bring stability to every encounter, every challenge, every situation that arises. With stability comes a sense of having arrived. And when that sense of having arrived is well anchored then nothing will disturb you. As within, so without.