Law of Attraction: The Source of Our Beliefs

In my previous article, ' An introduction to the Law of Attraction', I have covered some of the basic concepts. Through that article, I have established the importance of beliefs. Your beliefs which are deep rooted in your subconscious mind, shape your thoughts.Your thoughts ultimately shape your reality.

Every law of attraction technique focuses on changing your beliefs. But before you jump to that, it is important to identify your beliefs.

Why is it important?

You might have noticed that you naturally like and dislike certain things. You might not have any logical explanation to support your preference. The reason for such behavior is in your subconscious mind.

Identifying the sources of these beliefs can help you understand them better. In this article, I have highlighted the 5 most prominent sources of beliefs. I have also included a practical exercise in the end. Hope you find this useful.

When you are a child, you have no knowledge of the world. You believe what you see and what you are told. The impressions made during one's childhood can last a lifetime. A lot of your beliefs come from your childhood and upbringing. Circumstances alter a few of them. But a majority of them are carried forward into adulthood. Sometimes, these beliefs hold you back from achieving your goals

Example

You have been brought up in a family that was never money minded. You have been constantly told that money is the root of all evil. You have been made to believe that rich people have no peace of mind and lead horrible lives. Later in life, even if you want to become rich, your beliefs will hold you back. This is because only 5% of your thoughts are directed towards making you rich. 95% of your thoughts are working against you.

We as humans have a desire to be accepted by the people around us. So we conform to their beliefs. We don't wish to question them out of the fear of being judged. People with rebellious and revolutionary ideas are almost always criticized by the society. In these cases, people have developed beliefs against society due to other powerful reasons. But generally, our beliefs are always consistent with our society.

We live in an age where we have access to information from around the world. But this information is coming to us through the media. The information we consume on a daily basis forms our belief. The internet, television channels, newspapers are all businesses. Their interpretation of events can be biased based on what sells better. So we need to be mindful of what we read or watch.

Example

The sports section of a newspaper is filled with achievements of various individuals and teams. So reading this on a regular basis will give you positive beliefs. It will motivate you to work towards your goals.

You are only as good as the people you surround yourself with. Their thoughts are aligned to their beliefs. Since they constantly share their thoughts with you, they will alter your beliefs as well. So it's important to surround yourself with people who have empowering beliefs.

Example

Let's say, all your close friends are non-smokers. They believe that smoking is bad. They constantly put out thoughts which are against this addictive habit. So eventually you will also develop this belief.

But if your close friends have the habit of smoking, your beliefs will be different. They will convince you that stress relief is more important than your lungs. They might tell you that hypertension is more deadly than lung cancer. Since you trust these people, your mind will tend to believe them. Eventually, you develop the belief that smoking isn't bad.

Our life experiences have an immense impact on our beliefs. When someone calls a certain experience life changing, they are actually saying that it changed their beliefs. However, there is an interesting element in this concept. Your experience is not what happens to you but what you make of it. Your interpretation of a situation is more important than the situation itself. How you interpret everyday happenings plays an important role in the formation of your beliefs.

Example

Negative approach

Let us take the current situation of the global pandemic. If we believe that it is a problem, our thoughts will be generated accordingly. We will start looking only at the negatives of the situation. This negativity will flow into all the other aspects of our lives as well. Eventually, we develop a belief that life is unfair. This belief attracts situations of similar nature in the future.

Positive approach

If we put in the efforts to develop the belief that it is a positive realization, our thoughts will be different. We will realize that this is an opportunity to spend more time with our families. We start observing the positive impacts on nature due to stoppage of human activities. We start evaluating how much damage we have inflicted on the Earth. We are grateful to technology for helping us stay connected. We start serving the society by helping the underprivileged. Eventually, we develop a belief that there is a positive side to everything. We also develop the belief that no problem is unsolvable.

Write down the following questions on a piece of paper.

1. What are the beliefs which are a result of my childhood ?
2. What has society made me believe ?
3. What have I believed based on the media ?
4. What are the beliefs that my friends and family have put in my mind ?
5. What beliefs have I developed out of experiences ?

Try to answer these questions one by one. Spend some time with yourself. Dig deep into your subconscious mind. You might not find the answers immediately. So review the list at least once a day and keep updating it.

In my future articles, I shall be providing practical techniques to alter your beliefs. I will teach you how to erase restraining beliefs and replace them with empowering ones. I hope that you would have identified your beliefs and their sources by then. The process of changing your beliefs might be difficult and uncomfortable initially. But eventually, you will start noticing miraculous results. Get ready to live your best life !