First of all, let us define what is meant by belief. Belief is meant by a repeated pattern of thinking which is generated by observation and experience of this universe. Beliefs are formed and structured in our minds since our childhood. There are many cases where people are hypnotized and have been made believe that they are specific animals and they start showing the behavior of such animals. Beliefs shape our current reality. Have you ever noticed that when you say, “oh I look fat, my body isn’t the right shape!”, “Oh, I’m not loveable”, etc. When we think these types of thoughts, the outer world also makes sure that we get what we believe and shows signs by arranging people, circumstances, and events in our lives, which in this case more solidifies our current beliefs. If we repeatedly speak to ourselves these phrases constantly, then the outer environment will make sure we get that belief manifested. That means someone will tease you on your weight or some of your potential lovers will notice that your body isn’t right because you are generating thought patterns that carry specific energy, frequency, and vibrations around your body, and hence that similar aspect of yours gets manifested. When two people talk with each other, I define it as an exchange of beliefs going on between two people. Both of them try to install their own beliefs into the other person. The more strong the person emits the signature of being authoritative, the greater the impact he has on the other person. An authority has the potential to penetrate your thinking mind and install the belief in your subconscious or your inner mind. when I used to believe since childhood that being fat is something which you shouldn’t be, that specific belief was handed down from the people and relatives to whom I was close. And here the authority was their own slim body! Now, why in the universe from this infinite variation and mixes of people, do you attract certain people and situations in your life? It’s simple, your recurring thoughts become your beliefs attract certain situations, and those beliefs make sure you get what you think about the most. Most people have that belief that “they are not lovable as they are”, they exude this belief from their body that, they should be altered in some way in their sense to be lovable. The question is not about beliefs that are good or bad, the main question is about are the beliefs serving you?
I once read that in Mexico some people believe in the grace of Lord Jesus to an extent that they get themselves bitten by rattlesnakes and still don’t die. Now how is this possible? In India, which is also known as the holy land of spirituality, there used to be and still are some spiritual gurus and sages who used to give ashes of burnt incense sticks to the disciples and would say to them that it had the power to heal all their calamities. Now the miracle used to be that the disciple possessing the ash powder would be automatically relieved from their problems. And in these miraculous experiences, the belief in ash was concretized in their psyche and they felt at peace when the ash was with them. Now, what do the sages do? Did they give him some special power? Or did they invoke the disciple’s self-confidence innate hidden in him with the help of a simple thing as ash? Now, what does it signify? For instance, If you would have given the same ash to the disciple would it work? It’s not rocket science to know whose power would work. Now the key understanding here is that any object which resonates between the authority and the disciple would work. You may not affect the disciple as much as the effect of the sage would be because of the respect that the disciple has for him. He had received the ash with holy reverence and the authority will invoke his hidden powers of self-healing.
In medical terms, this magic happens with the help of placebos. Similar magic, different authority. Now some people believe in doctors rather than sages or gurus because their thought patterns are being altered by many aspects such as higher education, environment, etc. They believe in doctors rather than sages. Even if the doctor gave a sugar pill(placebo) the patient will be healed by the power of his body intelligence (Subconscious mind). Now the patient will believe that the doctor was healing them and the belief in the doctor will solidify and freeze more into his subconscious mind.
Now, why do certain people from different parts of the world have different choices of their gods or idols?. We can see in the world that many people worship different types of gods. Now how did in the first place they started worshipping them
- Their authority in whom they respect chose that specific deity for them.
- Through personal experience, the person chose a particular deity.
I will give a simple example. When you were asking for that new toy when you were a child, depending upon your background you either threw a tantrum or prayed to a certain deity in the house or in the temple which you observed as you were growing up. Your wish got manifested and the parent or relative of yours gave you that same toy which you had in your mind you will have an ‘aha moment’ and your fulfillment of desire will be linked in a mysterious way to that deity, stabilizing this wonderful experience in the subconscious mind. I say this from my experience. There was a full drawing set I wanted when I saw a friend of mine had it. I came to my house from school and prayed to our deity, I just closed my eyes and said I want the set. I didn’t throw tantrums or anything. After some days passed, I received the same set from my uncle and I was wonderstruck on my birthday. That immediate experience got lodged deeply into my subconscious altering the belief about my diety and fixating it deep in my mind. Similarly, all people have such experiences and believe in their personal diety. God and you, the relation between those two is the crux of all scriptures and philosophies. if you want to genuinely help a human being I believe that we should first listen to him deeply without intervening with our shield of beliefs and get a breeze going on of his beliefs and then either try to increase his self-confidence in himself either by making him believe in himself or believe in god. Whichever way both will work.