The things you are seeing aren’t even there.
When we accept as accurate the saying I’ll believe it when I see it, we are prisoners of our conditioning, counterintuitive to creating something we want that has yet to manifest. Over time, as we become more self-aware, we understand that the truth is You See What You Believe.
If that were not so, everybody would see things the same way. Our biases, beliefs, and conditioning create how we see things. How we see things establishes the pattern of our lives. Change the seeing, the pattern, our lives (our outcome for the better).
Ancient Alchemy was about transforming base metal into gold or prolonging life, even immortality. Today, Alchemy is understood to transform how we think and show up in our lives. We and our lives are the base metal; Becoming more conscious is the gold: Spiritual Alchemy.
Acknowledging that we see what we believe causes us to question our perspective. When we ask if what we believe is what we honestly think or simply conditioning, we are empowered to alter our experience.
A lifetime of self-effort brings us Wisdom, the knowing of ourselves. This Wisdom is what Socrates was saying, “An unexamined life is not worth living.” So, instead of grabbing an affirmation to change something, which is impossible since it’s piled onto an old belief that says otherwise, question your assumptions. Are they compatible with your intent? Expose the conditioning so you can be free from it.
In this process, we can discover our conditioned biases. Like, oh, I see where that came from: my parents, my teachers, my culture, and on and on.
When we discover that we see what we believe, we better understand our life experiences. Then, we can improve our lives because we are more conscious of old patterns and new, more empowering choices.
Discovering our bias is self-knowledge, which increases our self-awareness. Have you ever seen a stranger, and based on how they looked, spoke, ate, or dressed, you made an assumption that turned out to be incorrect?
Noticing how quickly we come to some conclusion is a great way to discover our biases and beliefs. Have you ever seen an expression on someone’s face that made you conclude they were angry at you? You worried about it and then discovered they weren’t mad at you or anyone, simply thinking about something they needed to solve.
Have you ever felt less than or better than someone else? Have you ever used the phrase (in words or thought) “those people,” referring to people different than you, socioeconomically, race, culture, political party, religion, or sexual identity? Where did that come from? Bias’s beliefs, conditioning.
Here’s one example of how beliefs are born:
How to Cook a Pot Roast
Four generations were present at the family gathering. As the children played, the adults prepared the traditional pot roast meal. Grandmother sat on the porch while her daughter prepared the dining table, and her daughter was preparing the food for the oven with the help of her young husband.
He watched as she seasoned the roast and cut off a small piece on each end before placing it in the large pan.
“Why do you do that?” he asked.
“Do what”?
“Why do you cut off the ends of the pot roast”?
“That’s how we do it; my mother did it that way just as Grandmother did. It makes it better”.
Not satisfied, the young husband went to the dining room and asked his mother-in-law why they cut off the end of the pot roast before cooking.
She said, “That’s how we always do it because that is how grandmother did it. It makes it better”.
Not satisfied, he went out to the porch and asked Grandmother. When you did the cooking, grandmother, why did you always cut off the ends of the pot roast?
“So it would fit into the pan.”
I wonder how many things we believe have a similar beginning?
And the following short story shows how whatever our conditioning is, influences our response.
Perspective: Shoes
A shoe factory sends two marketing scouts to a region of Africa to study the prospects for expanding business.
One sends back a telegram saying,
SITUATION HOPELESS STOP NO ONE WEARS SHOES
The other writes back triumphantly,
GLORIOUS BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY STOP THEY HAVE NO SHOES
My beliefs have changed over my lifetime, some of which I would never have suspected. That process will likely continue. Our journey is about becoming a clearer being who is no longer run by beliefs and conditioning we have outgrown.
If we look at our experiences, ask ourselves, “From where did that thinking and responding come? Is that thinking and responding congruent with what I say I want or who I wish to be? Once we discover that we have a program, a way of thinking and responding that is counterproductive to what we want, we can begin to let it go. As we let go, Shifts in Consciousness happen. Old ways disappear, and new seeing occurs because new believing is present.
May We All Walk in Beauty.
Ahalya Running Deer
If you loved the article check out the companion video on the Mystery School’s YouTube Channel
