It's an interesting idea so I gave it some thought and was really happy to have the conversation. I was thinking, so often I, we... People turn themselves off to things because of internal beliefs. I think fat men are lazy, real men are social, women won't relate, people of that religion are crazy, I'm not smart enough to do that, or... Over dramatization is inauthentic. But what if that doesn't serve me? What if Robbin Williams gave a really great class on bio genetics and that's my field? Do I really want to turn myself off to that because my definitive belief is if someone is teaching that way he can't be trusted because he's not being real? The information is good and I have what to learn from him... But he's so fake!It's hard to hack into our internal belief system and rewire. I totally get that. If surrendering a belief that didn't serve me was an easy thing to do, I'd probably be in a better job, with a healthier body and happier family. My guess is a lot of people would. So fine, it's difficult... But is it worth it?
So I posed this guy a question. I told him I got a lot out of the class, and though dramatic I think the man was being totally real in his delivery. Completely authentic. Theoretically a man can convince himself that blue is red, orange is green, and purple is turquoise. Let's say there was a case where that served him a great purpose. Would he be wrong? This belief you have; over dramatization is inauthentic. Does that serve you? Or does it hold you back? I don't know about you, but I don't think there are too many opportunities to learn bio genetics from Robbin Williams. I wouldn't want to write it off because I'd convinced myself anyone with that kind of delivery isn't worth listening to.
I never got my answer from the guy because I had to run. But I think those 4 little words hit their mark. They certainly left an impression on me. "Does that serve you?"
There will surely be beliefs I'm going to have that will be very difficult to give up. Grueling to part with. A real battle. Some may have kept me safe for years but now instead of protecting me, they keep me a prisoner. Sometimes I've learned, and probably even more often than that, the effort to let go of those beliefs is worth it. Till next time,
Eric
"When I use a word", Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean, neither more nor less."
ReplyDelete-- Lewis Carroll, "Through the Looking Glass"
There are two types of belief: belief based on utility or usefulness, and belief based on truth (see the essay "The Truth of Religion" from "The Informed Soul" by Rabbi Dovid Gottleib) . The former can be regarded as a tentative acceptance of a construct or model to explain a phenomenon. The belief is valid only so long as it is useful (= so long as it "serves us"). The scientific method, the creation of scientific hypotheses to explain phenomena, works in this manner.
The second type of belief is based on truth. Truth ideally is based on divine revelation, but, to a lesser extent, can also be based on broad social consensus (linguistic or otherwise). For example, if the vast majority of human beings share certain basic notions of what is a "man", I cannot decide that those notions are no longer valid for me and redefine the term to suit my utilitarian needs.
A belief based on truth, by definition, cannot be relinquished simply because it is perceived to have lost its usefulness, because "it no longer serves me". A true belief is valid even if it challenges us or makes us uncomfortable. In order to reject such a belief we require much profounder reasons. Otherwise we accept Humpty's frivolous, subjective world wherein a word means "just what I choose it to mean".