Spiritual Discernment, belief programming, and the power of “I don’t know”
June 25th, 2008 by Kavi
It seems appropriate to me to start off this blog by talking a bit about spiritual discernment. There is a lot of BS and nonsense out there, some of which is even designed to purposefully mislead you. When I first started upon the path I had pretty poor discernment. I was a newbie and everything seemed shiny and benevolent. The result of this was that I acquired a great deal of BS belief programming that did not serve my highest good. Fortunately, it is possible to deprogram yourself, though it can be difficult (or easy, depending on the circumstances. i.e. ranging from very very difficult if you were raised in a cult environment to very easy if you just stumbled across some nonsense online).
This programming can come from many sources, whether it be parents, friends, teachers, spiritual leaders, television, books, the media or the internet.
A belief is something that you hold to be true. What is important to realize is that believing something is not the same as knowing something. Believing something does not make it true, and everyday your beliefs shape your thoughts and actions, and ultimately the reality in which you live.
Here is a quote which is attributed to Gautama Buddha:
Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.
These words are extremely wise. These words challenge you to deny belief programming from all external sources and to allow observation and direct experience to form the foundations of your beliefs.
When you read a lot of material one person has written, such as on this blog here, it is very easy to get pulled into the writer’s reality and for their beliefs to become your own. It is important to exercise discernment, especially with regards to spiritual writings, and treat the ideas and opinions shared as possible truths rather than immediately assimilating them as belief programming. If you resonate with what you are hearing or reading, test it out, and if it works for you and helps you to shift into and create a more positive reality for yourself and others, then keep it.
Examining Your Belief Programming
Here is a powerful exercise you can do to examine your beliefs. Get a piece of paper and make two columns: one entitled “beliefs” and the other “known truths”. Begin by writing down everything you believe in the beliefs column. Then, go through each belief one by one and see how many of them you can also confidently list in the known truths column. You may be surprised by how many unfounded beliefs you’ve been harboring, and this is completely normal. Most people absorb belief programming quite readily, espeically during childhood.
Next, take a look at the beliefs you could not migrate to the known truths column and think about where you got them from. Was it from your parents, a book, a friend? Then look to see if this belief influences your thoughts or actions in some way, and if so how. Does this belief contribute to your life in a positive way? Is this belief fear based?
Zen note: It is also possible you will not end up with anything in the known truths category, and actually this exercise can be a bit of a trick to get you beyond the mind.
The Power of “I Don’t Know”
The simple phrase “I don’t know” contains enormous power. It is your ego conceding to itself that it does not know something. And in fact, the ego cannot ever truly “know” anything, nor is it capable of gnosis. This phrase is a doorway to the Now moment, which is beyond the mind.
You can dissolve your beliefs and make yourself a blank slate for the Truth simply by thinking “I don’t know”.
5 Responses to “Spiritual Discernment, belief programming, and the power of “I don’t know””
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mastermind Says:
July 3rd, 2008 at 5:38 pmThank you for visiting our site. We appreciate your blog and have included you in our link list :) Bless you!
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Kavi Says:
July 3rd, 2008 at 9:24 pmThank you mastermind. :)
I love the energy over at your blog, it is very peaceful and heart based.
~ Namaste
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simplemind Says:
July 9th, 2008 at 6:55 amPersonally, I think that to not know something is easy… but to say to oneself “I don’t know” requires humility, acceptance and inner light. You have to go through a process before you reach the stage of being able to truly say “I don’t know” — and to understand what it truly means to be able to say the phrase.
Kavi is right about the writing exercise.
I just want to add that meditation allows one to discover Light within. It serves a path to deeper understanding not just of the self but of the Universe.
But remember also that the Truth will reveal itself to those who are ready for it. -
erythrina Says:
July 12th, 2008 at 12:27 pmsheessh synronicity again… that quote you have above is the same quote which is quoted by the author of the book i was currently rereading, where i read about the grounding technique i was doing… well i i guess it the universe’s way of telling me that subscribing to your blog is the right thing to do hehe thanks again… namaste! =)
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Kavi Says:
July 16th, 2008 at 11:01 pm@simplemind: Thanks for dropping by and for sharing your Light with us. Namaste ~
@erythrina: Thank you for subscribing, I’m glad you’ve found some value in my writings. And sorry for the lack of recent updates! I’ve been out of town for the past week on a camping trip in a beautiful park. I met some interesting people and gained some insights which I’ll be posting about soon.
~ Kavi
