What We Believe We Become!?

Confidential

What We Believe We Become!?

C. Uhl and M. DiJulio

I remember being confused in high school when I was challenged to consider that all my beliefs were really just opinions—one among many possible points of view. Then came another shocker: My beliefs, for the most part, were inherited and absorbed from those around me—i.e., they were not my beliefs at all; they were simply the result of my social conditioning at the familial and societal level.

This is pretty much the case for all of us! Early in life, “our” beliefsare imposed upon us without our conscious consent—without our even knowing it! This is fully understandable and, indeed, it helps to ensure the smooth functioning of our society. At the same time, this social conditioning often throttles the heroic impulse—the drive to self actuate—that is seeded in each of us.

I remember how it was for mein my teen years when my yearning for something deeply meaningful manifested in restlessness, boundary pushing and a readiness to question authority. This is part and parcel of growing up. It’s what happens when we begin to attune to the heroic impulse that lies latent within each of us. Indeed, before embarking on a physical journey away from home, the hero-to-be must be willing to leave the home of her/his conditioned thinking. In so doing, s/he begins to spar with the soul-restricting dictums of her/his culture. Each inherited belief that s/he questions represents one more step away from home. Each step, a letting go of fear-based formulaic thinking and a step toward self-authorship!

A Story: How Beliefs Shape our Reality

As a young woman Jean Leidloff went on a wild adventure to the South American jungle with some Italian diamond hunters. Their journey entailed paddling far up a river in a dug out canoe with some Tauripan Indians as guides. Well into their journey they encountered a large waterfall blocking their way. Their only choice was to carry their immense canoe a half-mile carry over enormous boulders. What happened next offers a powerful illustration of how our beliefs can shape our reality—in Leiloff’s words:

On the day we arrived at Arepuchi Falls we were primed to suffer and started off, grim-faced and hating every moment, to drag [our enormous wooden canoe] over the rocks. When it swung sideways, it several times pinned one of us to the burning rocks until the others could move it off. A quarter of the way across, all ankles were bleeding. Partly by way of begging off for a minute, I jumped up on a high rock to photograph the scene. From my vantage point and momentary disinvolvement, I noticed a most interesting fact. Here before me were several men engaged in a single task. Two, the Italians, were tense, frowning, losing their tempers at everything, and cursing nonstop in the distinctive manner of the Tuscan. The rest, Indians, were having a fine time. They were laughing at the unwieldiness of the canoe, making a game of the battle, relaxing between pushes, laughing at their own scrapes and especially amused when the canoe, as it wobbled forward, pinned one, then another, underneath it. The fellow held bare-backed against the scorching granite, when he could breathe again, invariably laughed the loudest, enjoying his relief.

All were doing the same work, all were experiencing the strain and pain... There was no difference in our situations except that [we non-Indians] had been conditioned by our culture to believe that such a combination of circumstances constituted an unquestionable low on the scale of well-being, and were quite unaware that we had any option in the matter.

The Indians, on the other hand, equally unconscious of making a choice, were in a particularly merry state of mind, reveling in the camaraderie…. Each forward move was for them a little victory. As I finished photographing and rejoined the team, I opted out of the civilized choice and enjoyed, quite genuinely, the rest of the portage. Even the barks and bruises I sustained were reduced with remarkable ease to nothing more significant than what they indeed were: small hurts which would soon heal and which required neither an unpleasant emotional reaction such as anger, self-pity, or resentment, nor anxiety at how many more there might be before the end of the haul. On the contrary, I found myself appreciative of my excellently designed body, which would patch itself up with no instructions or decisions form me.

Without knowing it, Leidloff and her Italian friends had a pre-formed belief about what it would mean to hoist a bulky wooden canoe over jagged rocks in the broiling sun. Even though they had never done this before they were pre-conditioned to experience this as a ghastly task and so it was! But not so for the Indians. This is a story about the power of our beliefs to affect our experience. And, make no mistake, this is happening for each of us all the time, hour-by-hour, day-by-day, mostly without our awareness.

A Story Closer to Home

On a recent September afternoon, I was taking a hike in the mountains near my home in Central Pennsylvania. It was peaceful and I was grateful to be out—that is until the sound of distant gunshots splintered my mood. What the heck was going on? It wasn’t hunting season yet! The sound of those distant shots continued, intermittently, and with it, my growing agitation. But then it occurred to me that my upset was really the result of my story that someone was hunting illegally. So I created a different story that involved a dad and his 13-year-old son. The dad worked hard—60 hours a week—and still was barely able to support his family. He counted on killing a buck each year to help feed his family. And, now, on this Sunday afternoon, I imagined the dad teaching his son how to use a rifle so that he too might kill a deer, bringing more food to the family table. I was actually able to picture the two of them in the woods—the dad teaching his son, not just how to shoot a rifle but also instructing him in the art of tracking and the importance of curiosity, stillness and presence. In the embrace of this new story, I became a silent witness to a rite of passage and my agitation subsided.

Questioning Limiting Beliefs: Beyond Dualism

It is easy to grasp that cultural conditioning can and does influence what we believe. However, there is more: Our conditioning also determines how we think! Enter “dualism”—the deeply ingrained Western habit of mind that divides reality into separate categories—i.e., where everything is either this or that with seldom an in between.Dualism was first formally articulated by Aristotle, the fourth century Greek philosopher. Aristotle’s “Law of the Excluded Middle,” identified things as either black or white, true or not true, good or bad. Thinking in this manner can bring a measure of psychic comfort. Rather than the challenging practice of viewing reality from multiple perspectives, we simply declare a belief, one way or the other, and that’s it. We either believe in God or we don’t; we are either a Democrat or Republican; we are either a white person or a black person; we are either a male or female; we are either guilty or not guilty. Sign on to dualism as our culture conditions us to do and life becomes simple and efficient; we don’t need to spend a lot of time grappling with nuance or subtleties.

But what if, rather than an either-or universe, we live in one that is both-and!What does this even mean? I think of it as akin to the ancient Chinese yin-yang symbol (see image below). The circular image swirls, black into white, with a dot of black at the center of the white and a dot of white in the heart of the black. This symbol, a familiar one even in Western culture, reminds us that things that appear as separate categories are not so separate as we might imagine. You can check this out for yourself by examining the word pairs below, deciding which word in each pair belongs in the “Superior” column and which in the “Inferior” column (Segal, 1997). Grab your pencil and give it a try.

Word PairsSuperiorInferior

Up—Down ______

Clean—Dirty ______

Rich—Poor______

Young—Old______

Me—You______

Mind—Body______

U.S.—China______

College—High School______

Clarity—Confusion______

Right—Left______

Masculine—Feminine______

Good—Bad______

Mental—Physical______

Intellectual—Emotional______

Light—Dark______

Reason—Passion______

Generous—Selfish______

What was it like for you to do this? Was it easy for you to classify the words in each pair? If so, this suggests that your thinking tends toward dualism. On the other hand, if you struggled in your classifications, this indicates that your manner of thinking tends toward non-dualism—i.e., it is less black-white, more porous, open.

None of this to say that dualism is categorically bad (that would be a bit ironic!). Indeed, many words in English are useful in delimiting categories and this is extremely helpful for negotiating daily life. For example, if I ask my daughter to go to the store to buy apples, the categories “store” and “apples” will ensure that she returns with apples and that’s a good thing for all concerned. But when dualism carries over to our beliefs, edging us toward fundamentalism (My religion is right and yours is wrong!), dogmatism (The only solution for crime is incarceration!) or narrow-mindedness (I only see one option here!), it can limit our growth, keeping us in an adolescent-like state.

In my experience, recognizing and moving beyond dualism hard work. Why? Because it calls on me to think about my thinking–what psychologists call “metacognition”. It’s much easier for me to simply persist in my known mind-spaces of black versus white, repeating my old beliefs, hardly aware that they are nothing more than inherited opinions. But doing so arrests my development, leaving me mired in adolescence.

I mean think about it: In your own life you may be pretty good at discussing and defending your point of view, but, if you are like most of us, you are probably not very accomplished at asking yourself questions like: Why do I believe as I do on this issue? How did I come to see it this way? In what ways might my belief limit my personal growth? In what ways might it reveal a blind spot? These are the kinds of uncomfortable questions that invite us away from the known and into the unknown—that invite us to engage our lives as a Hero’s Journey.

What are your Beliefs about College?

In what sense are your beliefs about college dualistic? For example: Is college necessary versus unnecessary? Right versus wrong? Good versus bad? Certainly, our culture teachers us to believe that college is necessary, right and good; but is this really so?

While I was in the midst of shaping this essay I had a dream—a kind of nightmare, actually. In this dream, I had apparently been asked to step in, half-way through the semester, for a colleague who was leaving the university. Suddenly, it was my job to teach a class for him. In the dream, I was in his classroom for the first time and all ready to teach, but his students were clearly uninterested and only half-paying attention. Not knowing quite what to do, I asked: “How would it be if you could leave the room right now, mid-semester AND have an ‘A’ to show for it?” Now, I hadtheir attention. Soon, many of them were smiling as if to say “Hell yes!” But others were unsure. Some, perhaps for the first time, were wondering why they were even taking this or any other college course. Was it to simply get it over with? Put yourself in this scenario. What would you do? Would you take that ‘A’ and run? If so, what does this tell you about your beliefs surrounding college?

If you are willing to take this deeper, imagine that you have just won the lottery—two million dollars (after taxes) is all yours! If you invest this bonanza conservatively, you will have a guaranteed annual income of $100,000 for the rest of your life. You will be set for the remainder of your days! How wonderful! Now the question: Would you even bother with college if your financial concerns were all taken care of? When I ask my freshman seminar students this question, many smile, albeit sheepishly. The relief that such a scenario offers is palpable. Finally, it seems, they have been asked a question, albeit hypothetical, that invites them to consider their fundamental beliefs about college and its purpose!

I push this scenario to the limit by telling them that right now I am dismissing them from college. This is their last class; they are done. PSU and all other universities, by Presidential Decree, have just been dissolved! I charge them to leave the building and to start a new life, one not tethered to college and the demands and expectations of others. Henceforth, I say, “Your soul is to be your guide. You are to leave the gates of the university and to go anywhere but home. You may not return home.”

Sink down into this scenario. How would you handle this announcement? In which direction would you head? And what would you seek?

Do you BelieveBiSci 3 will be Worthwhile for You?

This essay is meant to help you decide if BiSci 3 is right for you? It may well be that you are ready for this course. But I tell you: As a college freshman or sophomore, I certainly would not have been! At that time, it hadn’t occurred to me to question thingsvery much; I was just going along with the program.In fact, I never even asked the question, Should I go to college?For me, college was simply what one did after graduating from high school. It wasn’t until my junior year that I finally began to look around and ask questions. Real basic questions like: Why was I in college? Why is my country fighting a war? Why, is there widespread poverty in America, given all our wealth? Why did my country permitthe use of chemicals and mining practices that were causing the death of fish in our streamsand songbirdsin our skies? Why were thereracial tension in our cities?

In hindsight, I see that I was slowly waking up! Rather than simply accepting what I was told, for the first time in my life I was beginning to ask my own questions and formulate my own beliefs.I mention all of this because this coursehas it roots in my own college history, especially in the shift I experiencedat that timefrom complacency and indifference to curiosity and broadened awareness.

As for you, I don’t know where you are on your own life journey. I do know that, as is true with many things in life, timing is important. This means that for some of you this might not be the besttime to be taking this course. To aid you in making your decision, read over the five questionsbelow:

• Are you willing to reflecton your beliefs—how you came to have them—how they might actually limit your freedom or is this kind of stuff off limits for you?

• Are you open to taking risks that could lead you to greater authenticity and personal growth?

• Are you disappointed that your time in college is not leading you to a fuller and more exciting understandingof yourself and your life’s purpose?

• Do you sense that there is somethinginside you that is growling with discontent—some powerful energy or passion—that is yearning to be released into the light of day?

• Do you have a deep desire to participate in the creation of a healthier and more saneworld?

If you answered“Yes” to most of these questions, you will likely thrive in BiSci 3. Welcome!*

*If you mostly responded “No,” to the above questions, I suggest that you consider taking this courselater and, for now, substitute it with another Gen-Ed.

Wrap Up

You experience something only if you believe it. The belief must come first.... If you believe that you are poor, can you experience being rich? If you believe that you’re fat, can you experience being thin? If you believe that you’re dumb, can you experience being smart? Think about it. What you believe is what you experience. (Before you Think Another Thought, p. 22.

In sum, beliefs are potent. They extend into every pocket our daily existence, guiding our actions and decisions, from life until death. But, ironically, it is possible to live an entire lifetime without realizing the extent to which “our beliefs” are not really “ours,” but simply the result of the cultural conditioning that we experienced in our homes and schools and communities growing up. Living in accord with our social conditioning, helps ensure the smooth functioning of our society, serving to keep us safe and comfortable. And comfort may be all that you seek in your life, particularly if you are in your forties or beyond. But earlier in life, starting in the teen years, many people manifest a deep yearning for something beyond the superficial prescriptions for “the good life” proffered by their culture.