Listen to this blog post:
“We act in accordance with the truth as we perceive and believe it to be.” That is one of the cornerstones of the curriculum from The Pacific Institute a company that specializes in changing the culture (beliefs) at companies and in countries around the world. The magical word there is truth. What is the real truth?
That’s probably what we’re fighting about.
Jessica Ravitz wrote a column on CNN.com called “From KKK, Mideast to church, film explores hate and hope.” Her column and interview of Mike Ramsdell – the creator of the documentary “The Anatomy of Hate: A Dialogue for Hope,” – tries to understand why and how so many of us have come to hate others.
After 9/11, Ramsdell set out to answer a couple of questions:
- “Why do people hate?” and
- “If we are a species that is born with the intent to live a peaceful, prosperous and content life, why is it that we’ve never been able to collectively achieve that?”
His goal at the end of the process was to “understand” not to confront people ideologically.
Where do our beliefs come from? We learn knowledge from parents, teachers, coaches, clergy and guardians and we also learn from reading books, watching television and from the internet. Once we get an idea (belief) into our heads, we speak and act consistent with that belief–even if that belief is incorrect!
What I learned from The Pacific Institute is how to change my beliefs. I also learned that when we change our beliefs, effective leaders can cause the people around them to “see things differently” and begin changing their beliefs too. That is how we go about changing the cultures of families, companies and countries.
When I learned how I could change any of my beliefs that I had outgrown, it caused me to assess my beliefs, determine where they came from and decide if they still served me or if they needed to be updated.
Many of my beliefs needed to be updated. They were too restrictive. They didn’t allow me to grow. They caused me to be fearful of people who were different. They were causing me to be unhealthy. They were restricting my income. They were too “black and white”. I needed to learn to think in a broader spectrum of colors.
Let’s take a look at the beliefs that are held by the people who are part of the documentary. Give thought as to where their beliefs might have come from.
Ramsdell spoke with Fred Phelps who is the pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas. Here are some of the slogans (beliefs) that the pastor is famous for: “God Hates Fags “, “Thank God for Dead Soldiers“, “America Is Doomed” and “Priests Boys“. Here is what Ramsdell says about Phelps: “He’s a force of a human being. If you believe what’s written in the Bible (the way he does), then you’re just a man living out your belief systems. Whose interpretation of the Bible is right?”
We act in accordance with the truth as we perceive and believe it to be.
He also spoke with white supremacist Billy Roper. Roper runs White Revolution which is a new neo-Nazi organization that seeks to promote unity and cooperation among white supremacist groups. Ramsdell says that Roper’s goal was to “create the ideal world for our children.” Roper’s world “happens to be a white world”. Ramsdell’s is a more unified world.
Many of our beliefs were formed as children when we were very impressionable. We learned who was good and who was bad. We learned who’s like us and who is different. We learned who thinks the “right way” and who doesn’t. We developed very strong beliefs because of the faith that we learned. Our beliefs are impacted by our teachers and where we chose to go to school and who we chose as friends.
There is an awful lot of information coming our way from many sources – family, friends, co-workers, the web, radio, television, etc. Our job is to decide what information we give sanction to. I’m always asking the question “who said so?” when I hear information. How do I KNOW that it’s true?
There is a huge difference between believing and knowing. We know something to be true because we’ve seen it, done it, or been there. We “believe” something to be true when we’ve gleaned the information from another source. When we’ve heard it second hand. We don’t know it to be true but, we believe that it’s true.
Who or what is the source of your information that is forming your beliefs or formed them in the past? Were you listening to experts? Were you listening to people with good intentions but, happened to have very narrow, limiting beliefs? Were you listening to people who were brought up to fear people who were different ethnically, culturally or religiously?
The beautiful part of all of this is that beliefs are just thoughts that we’ve put into our heads and taken as fact or gospel. We can change some of our beliefs instantaneously. We’ve all made one-time affirmations. “I’ll never eat that again.” “I’m could never see myself doing that!” With other more deep-seated beliefs, it will probably take longer.
For many of us, it’s time to do some soul and brain searching. When we get to the bottom of most of our beliefs, we usually realize that we didn’t have all of the information when we decided “how to think”. We were acting from a place of ignorance.
Do your beliefs still serve you and the greater good? If not, why not commit to seeking the education and the wisdom and the knowledge to become more tolerant, understanding and loving.
Seek out your own truth.
