Spirituality course: week 2
I'm sure some of you are feeling a bit emotionally drained after last week's assignment, which is understandable. Our spiritual beliefs are core to our being, so investigating them takes great effort. However, having looked at yourself, you are now prepared to look at what works and what doesn't work in your spiritual path. This may be a strange way for you to think about your path, in terms of what works and what doesn't, but it is my goal to help you see that this is the only standard you need to hold with regards to anything.
That having been said, lets take a look at the core of human beliefs and where they come from. What I'm about to put forth you may or may not agree with, and that is ok. I only ask that you keep an open mind and consider what I am saying. If you were to take a look at human spiritual beliefs, across all religions, there are common elements. Ideas about Life, Death, Good, Evil, among lots of other things. I'm not going to go into them in depth because it's not necessary, however there are many books you can go to and learn more if you would like. The important thing to look at is whether or not our beliefs "work". I know, what do I mean, work? Well, first we need to decide what our goals are. Do we want a peaceful, loving society? Do we want conflict and war? Most people would say, "Of course I want peace and love, a life without conflict." Yet look around us. We live in a world full of conflict and war, and with a lack of peace, love and freedom. Why the contradiction between what we want in the world and what we actually have?
Beliefs. This may seem backwards at first, but truth is that beliefs create behaviors. This is why I had you list not only your beliefs, but begin to see how those beliefs influence your behavior. We are all here to become a Jedi in some way. Part of this path is changing our behaviors and becoming a more responsible and respected human being. How have we typically gone about this? We try really hard to change how we act, without ever changing our fundamental belief structure. This is why behavior is so hard to change in the long term! This is also why humans have behaved in a way that contradicted their goals; they simply went about changing things backwards.
Homework: For this week, take a look at your life. Pick two or three things you would like to change, behaviorally, about yourself. It could be something like reducing your road rage, or being less selfish. Anything will do. Then describe the belief you think is underlying the behavior. If you are getting stuck, ask me and we'll work it out together. Then, describe how you would change your belief to change your behavior.
That having been said, lets take a look at the core of human beliefs and where they come from. What I'm about to put forth you may or may not agree with, and that is ok. I only ask that you keep an open mind and consider what I am saying. If you were to take a look at human spiritual beliefs, across all religions, there are common elements. Ideas about Life, Death, Good, Evil, among lots of other things. I'm not going to go into them in depth because it's not necessary, however there are many books you can go to and learn more if you would like. The important thing to look at is whether or not our beliefs "work". I know, what do I mean, work? Well, first we need to decide what our goals are. Do we want a peaceful, loving society? Do we want conflict and war? Most people would say, "Of course I want peace and love, a life without conflict." Yet look around us. We live in a world full of conflict and war, and with a lack of peace, love and freedom. Why the contradiction between what we want in the world and what we actually have?
Beliefs. This may seem backwards at first, but truth is that beliefs create behaviors. This is why I had you list not only your beliefs, but begin to see how those beliefs influence your behavior. We are all here to become a Jedi in some way. Part of this path is changing our behaviors and becoming a more responsible and respected human being. How have we typically gone about this? We try really hard to change how we act, without ever changing our fundamental belief structure. This is why behavior is so hard to change in the long term! This is also why humans have behaved in a way that contradicted their goals; they simply went about changing things backwards.
Homework: For this week, take a look at your life. Pick two or three things you would like to change, behaviorally, about yourself. It could be something like reducing your road rage, or being less selfish. Anything will do. Then describe the belief you think is underlying the behavior. If you are getting stuck, ask me and we'll work it out together. Then, describe how you would change your belief to change your behavior.
posted by Jaxson at 22:04
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home