What We Believe, We Perceive

Question: What if the things you wanted most in life were sitting right in front of you and you just couldn’t see them? Do you think that’s possible? Not only is it possible, it happens all the time.  – From the book, Perception: Seeing Is Not Believing

As children, we are surrounded by influences and influencers telling us things and giving us feedback on a constant basis. When we are younger we tend to be more susceptible to them because we trust what they are saying, seeing it as reality.  What we don’t realize at this age, and often even as adults, is they were sharing or projecting their reality onto us. Their influence and perspectives can largely contribute to shaping our reality. Our perceived reality.

Perception is how we view and experience the world around us, and emotions give meaning to what we perceive. Our assumptions also impact our perceptions and are created based on the beliefs we form from our experiences.  So, it stands to reason: If we have limited or inaccurate beliefs, we create misleading assumptions, which leads to distorted perceptions.

If our perceptions are distorted, we experience life differently than we could if they were shifted or expanded.

Perception, like eyesight, has a limited field. We call this your field of perception. Your field of perception works on a scale; the more you believe it, the better the chance you have to see it. The further down the scale, the less likely you are to see it. This is why you can only see what you believe is possible. – From the book, Perception: Seeing Is Not Believing.

This leads to the question: Is it possible to change our deeply held beliefs? We can. However, the stronger the belief, the less likely it will shift and the more work involved to do it. There’s also a belief in society around changing our minds is somehow associated with weakness. Combined with the fact that many people are resistant to change deeply held beliefs. They believe they are right and may not want to feel the perceived pain associated with being wrong. Plus, they may feel so connected or aligned with their beliefs, and have held them for so long, they may not know who they are without them.

A good place to start is with the limiting beliefs we hold, which also hold us back.  Here are some recommendations to help overcome these types of beliefs:

• Identify core beliefs about yourself (e.g. Bad with money, unable to exercise, can’t talk to people, etc.) which are typically formed during childhood.
• Question and challenge these core beliefs.
• Test the beliefs to see if they are true (e.g. Set a budget and follow it for a week, create a meal plan and follow it for a month, etc.).
• Be patient with yourself. These beliefs didn’t form overnight.
• Do a daily meditative release of false or limiting beliefs.  We recommend our Emotional Integration Technique which is outlined in our book and film of the same name:  Perception: Seeing Is Not Believing

It’s also important to ask yourself two powerful questions on a regular basis:  Why do you do what you do? Why do you believe what you believe?

If you’re really honest with yourself and open to learning, expanding, and personal growth, these questions can be a beautiful place to start towards creating personal awareness and change.  It can be scary or feel threatening to let go of old beliefs. It can also be one of the most rewarding things you will ever do for yourself!  Here’s to your evolution!