by Ross Bishop
Your thoughts deceive you! Let me give you a simple test: “How many negative thoughts have you had about yourself today? We are so used to these negative thoughts that we hardly notice them. But is that really true?
Our minds are filled with countless thoughts. Some are accurate, but most are not. This presents us with the core dilemma we came here to resolve: What is the truth about ourselves? And how can we free ourselves from conflicting thoughts and beliefs? The answer lies in accepting the truth about who we really are. Although simple in concept, it is a very challenging thing to do.
The Creator created life on Earth to solve that problem. You see, He couldn’t just give us the truth; we have free will, and He chose not to violate that. So, whether you like it or not, you have to find the truth yourself. But you’re not alone—everyone unknowingly helps each other on this journey. And at least in the early stages, this is done through conflict.
Starting early in life, our tendency to believe negative thoughts is worsened by parents intentionally chosen for that purpose. As you grow, your beliefs can cause conflicts both with others and within yourself. If you pay attention to these conflicts, you’ll not only identify the source of your struggles but also, more importantly, discover the way home.
As you sit there, can you feel the inner tension between what you believe and the truth? No matter what you choose to believe, when your belief surfaces, if you pay attention, you’ll feel the tension between it and the truth. Are you good enough? Do you deserve to be loved? Are you smart enough? Are you pretty or handsome enough? It’s unlikely that even if you know the truth, you do not accept it.
Try this. Take something you know is true, like ‘All people are created equal.” Feel that. It reaches all the way down to your toes. Now, pick something you know isn’t true, like, “You have three hands.” Can you sense the lie in that? Notice how different it feels, and how flat the second statement seems. Inside, someone knows the truth! If you learn to listen for the difference, it can really help you on your journey.
Now, for the hard part: try on these thoughts—“You’re not good enough.” “You are unworthy.” What just happened? Your mind becomes a confusing mix of conflicting beliefs, which you accept because you’re not ready to live in the truth.
Hopefully, you can start to feel the truth. Even if you don’t believe the truth today, what you feel can lay the foundation for your growth and development. Yes, you feel unworthy, but is that really true? And the gap between those two thoughts, when you learn to work with it, will ultimately light your path “home.”
There’s another aspect to consider: what happens when there’s conflict between you and someone else? They have their own issues too, so you’ll need to work through those, but focus on what your beliefs contributed to the conflict.
And if that weren’t challenging enough, once you see it, you’ll still be hesitant to make changes. Your beliefs are deeply connected to how you see yourself. Changing them means shifting your self-image, and that’s really difficult to do! For example, are you smart enough? Do you deserve to be loved? Are you worthy? etc., etc. So, as a result, life will present you with many opportunities to work on your issues.
And I want to acknowledge that sometimes it is very difficult to distinguish the truth from the lie. Some people are so mired in the muck that they cannot distinguish between the two, so we place them in “mental” wards. Others use drugs or other people to numb themselves. A few turn to guns in response to their inner turmoil.
For the rest of you, try to see things from an outside perspective to gain a different point of view. Find a good shaman or psychotherapist who can help you view life and yourself more objectively. Or, as a starting point, ask a trusted friend to honestly share what they see in you. They’ll have their own issues, which might influence their perspective, but don’t dismiss their input outright. Look for the truth in what they say.
What helps is that as you start accepting the truth, the world responds. There isn’t much conflict, either internally or with others, when you stop fueling the flames with your fears and negative beliefs. That’s what you’ve come here to resolve. Somewhere “out there” is the truth about who you are. But you are not ready to accept that truth—yet.
And that is the Creator’s insurance policy. You can’t come home until you resolve the conflict and accept the truth. Unlike some church teachings, heaven and hell are not places we go; they are environments we create for ourselves when we either accept the truth about ourselves or not.
The challenge is that almost no one wants to make this change. We must be pushed into situation after situation until, eventually, whether through our internal conflicts or conflicts with others, we surrender our beliefs and accept the truth. Still, it often takes dynamite—sometimes a lot of it—to shake us free from what we believe. This explains our struggles.
Eventually, we all must accept the truth and release our preconceptions. There’s nowhere else for us to go! The only challenge is how much pain you’ll cause yourself on the way home. It helps to realize that none of your beliefs are true, not even the positive ones. When you accept the truth about yourself, you’ll see that your beliefs were like toys—things given to students to help them learn who they really are. The choice is yours.
If you decide to accept this challenge —and, honestly, few people do —I’ve created a workshop called “Unlocking The Secrets To Life and Happiness.” You can find it at: https://www.rossbishop.com/workshop/.
