Superstition Psychology or Truth

[nightowl]

Who determines what we believe? In many cases there are people who will say that to have a religion or faith is nothing but superstition? What determines a person’s personal truth? What part does psychology play in what one believes? How many really know…

nightowl

[Time]

I dont think we can fit all the reasons in one forum, or webpage, book or anything. There are to many answers. I think the best way to say it is "everything".

Every interaction, moment and experience makes who you are, every enviromental que, every smell, sscent, feeling, emotion... Especialy in childhood.

I want to say parents. Obviously if you in a christian househol the odds are youll be christian ( although thsi trend seems to be changing) at least for some part of your life, practicing or not. BUt i cant even say this statement is changing. Because of globalization, there isnt a country with one dominant religion, their all everywhere.

The UK is predomanantly pagan, but theres still tons of christians, muslem, hindu, buddhists and the like there. Canada is tought to have NO dominant religion in 10 years, going from mostly roman catholic, to a multi belief society.

History seems to be repeating itself. We seem to be going from a few single large denominations, to societies with many, and no real dominant religion. Each area will have its own querks, and in a hundred years or so, if another religion doesnt dominate, then countries will start to revert back to different beliefs, seperated by distance.

[cheeky_monkey]

You must be reading my emails because I just sent an email to someone concerning superstition.

In my personal experience, it has been exactly that, my personal experience of tempting fate.

[moke64916]

Who determines what we believe? In many cases there are people who will say that to have a religion or faith is nothing but superstition? What determines a person’s personal truth? What part does psychology play in what one believes? How many really know…

nightowl
We determine what we believe. And eventually 'experience'. A persons 'experience' leads to their personal truth. For psychology it would either be your superconscious or subconscious mind that is in control. Subconscious mind leads to fear and fear based beliefs. Superconscious mind leads to truth and love and personal truth. Subconscious lead to fear.

[nightowl]

Hey All,

Thanks for your responses.

I pretty understand the dynamics of belief. There are many factors that lead us to believe what we believe which include culture, personality and the unforeseen aspects of life.

Let say a person believes what they believe because of superstition. Most people would say this persons beliefs are based in fear, they do what they do and believe what they believe because they fear that some type of harm will befall them if they don't. But are all superstitions really based in fear? :wink:

nightowl

[Xan]

All beliefs are ideas that have been learned and therefore cannot be the Truth, which is not learned but pre-existing. To go beyond our beliefs is to go beyond the conditioned mind and into directly experiencing without thought.


Xan

[Thinker108]

What we learn, is not reality. What is the religion of an infant?

[zipzip]

I think when we are young, we take on what our parents encourage us to take on. We don't question it.

As we get older and expand our learning/beliefs, we may start to question things. That is when we dig deeper into stuff that we want to learn about.

zipzip

[nightowl]

I think when we are young, we take on what our parents encourage us to take on. We don't question it.

As we get older and expand our learning/beliefs, we may start to question things. That is when we dig deeper into stuff that we want to learn about.

zipzip

Yep,this is the natural psychological progression, we do get to a stage in our development where we start to build our own beliefs.

If someone were to say to you what you beleive is just superstition...would that be an attack upon your personal truth?

nightowl

[zipzip]

No one has ever said anything negative to me about religion/spiritual/beliefs. To be honest, I don't think it would bother me. I guess having said that, if they sort of attacked me, then it may bother me. Not that I think what I believe is wrong, just a confrontational kind of bother. But just to discuss.....I am more of a "whatever works for you, works for you" type person

zipzip

[skygazer]

I think in part, it depends of the kind of individual you are. i was born into a RCC household, and none of it ever resonated with me from as far back as four years old. I would listen, and nod at the appropriate intervals out of respect for my elders, but I had questions even back then. Like, how come the poor hard working people in my town where cooking dinner for the priest who lived in the big beautiful house attached to the church?
I remember thinking how does the priest feel it's ok to accept these gifts week after week from people who go without, day in and day out?

[Topology]

Who determines what we believe? In many cases there are people who will say that to have a religion or faith is nothing but superstition? What determines a person’s personal truth? What part does psychology play in what one believes? How many really know…

nightowl


Superstition is knocking on wood.

Most of what secure's people's belief is a group reinforced identity. Our beliefs become the identities we cling to, and we adopted them in order to fit into our peer group. When we begin to change our belief, our peer group attacks us or rejects us and we go out searching for a peer group that will affirm our beliefs instead of challenge them. People of a different belief are threats to our identities.

There comes a point for many when their identities crystallize, we fall into a fixed belief state. Challenges to the belief-complex get re-interpreted as to be evidence in support of the belief-complex. This happens when we are so afraid of being wrong, or being alone, or afraid to learn we're living a lie. We become willfully ignorant and must see everyone else as wrong in order to preserve our sense of self, our sense of "I'm right" and "I know the truth".

People are not superstitious. They're just so scared of being alone and so afraid of being wrong and being judged that they become willfully ignorant. The beliefs themselves (what you refer to as superstitions) are just the tip of the iceberg, and there is the whole psychic mass which fixes the belief below the surface.

[nightowl]

I think in part, it depends of the kind of individual you are. i was born into a RCC household, and none of it ever resonated with me from as far back as four years old. I would listen, and nod at the appropriate intervals out of respect for my elders, but I had questions even back then. Like, how come the poor hard working people in my town where cooking dinner for the priest who lived in the big beautiful house attached to the church?
I remember thinking how does the priest feel it's ok to accept these gifts week after week from people who go without, day in and day out?

skygazer,

I agree personality can be a large factor in what feels to right to a person. Did you see what you believed as superstition? Did you find any truth in what they taught?

nightowl

[moke64916]

Who determines what we believe? In many cases there are people who will say that to have a religion or faith is nothing but superstition? What determines a person’s personal truth? What part does psychology play in what one believes? How many really know…

nightowl
This explains psychology of what you are talking about.

http://www.spiritualforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=19023

[skygazer]

skygazer,

I agree personality can be a large factor in what feels to right to a person. Did you see what you believed as superstition? Did you find any truth in what they taught?

nightowl

I didn't know what I believed, back then. I didn't see what they believed as superstition, though there was plenty of that to go around. I just saw it as people who were misinformed continuing to teach the wrong thing.

At the time, the part that I believed to be true was the historical events. Such as what was written in the bible. Then, I grew up, and learned amongst other things about the Constantine period, and there, too, went that belief.

Now, what I hold on to is that I can't be certain of anything. There is truth and fiction out in the physical world, and some of it is worth consideration. But at the end of the day, I am spirit, and as such I've always known truth. Hence, why the RCC message didn't resonate with me, even as a child.:smile: :smile: