The power of Faith

[A human Being]

Originally Posted by 12meadows

I do think this thread has been more about " law of attraction" than it has about faith. Belief really. I'm not sure exactly how to describe the difference between faith and believing, but I think there is one. :)

Belief, for me, is an intellectual position, whereas faith (true faith) comes from an inner knowing that's beyond thought.

And yeah, I don't think it's a question of getting what you want - how often are the things we want toxic to us? My friend complained the other week that she asked God for a man to make her complete, and all she gets is idiots, so she lost her faith; I told her God gives you what you need and not what you want, and I think that's true. All this talk of winning lotteries seems very self-serving to me, and misses the point I feel.

Originally Posted by 12meadows

I do think this thread has been more about " law of attraction" than it has about faith. Belief really. I'm not sure exactly how to describe the difference between faith and believing, but I think there is one. :)

In your thinking that this thread is about law of attraction..is that what you believe?
I wonder how faith comes into that picture?

[Seawolf]

Originally Posted by Maguru

I don't think it goes beyond the concept of our personal reality though. I believe the concept of faith belongs in our personal reality by having faith in 'that whatever life throws up at us', we will somehow deal with it. Having this faith in yourself is very powerful.

I agree it's about the personal needs on all levels and most of it comes through experience and being aware.

Believing that things will work out can be faith but it can also be the way our brains are wired. Studies show that we are very optimistic about bad things not happening to us. We ignore non-immediate danger instinctively, like smoking for example, our brain ignores warnings about it. It can have negative consequences, or like you say, that faith can be very powerful for us.

[Maguru]

Originally Posted by Seawolf

Believing that things will work out can be faith but it can also be the way our brains are wired. Studies show that we are very optimistic about bad things not happening to us. We ignore non-immediate danger instinctively, like smoking for example, our brain ignores warnings about it. It can have negative consequences, or like you say, that faith can be very powerful for us.

I don't believe faith can protect us from life's challenges and hardships. It seems to me for every positive, there is a negative and we are positively hardwired to want only the positive and avoid the negative at all costs. I don't think faith would prevent lung cancer when you smoke or even if you don't. I think faith and belief in ourselves is the gateway to just being, and the ability to be in tune, or go with, the flow of life.

[12meadows]

Originally Posted by silent whisper

In your thinking that this thread is about law of attraction..is that what you believe?
I wonder how faith comes into that picture?

lots of people believe they will win the lottery, meet the man of their dreams, etc. etc. these are specific "I want" kind of things. I have faith that things are going to be as they should. that is kind of open ended. when it comes to the law of attraction, I am not a nay sayer. I am only saying that some of us have a direct path in mind and some of us are willing to take what comes knowing that ultimately there is a reason for it. :)

[Seawolf]

Originally Posted by Maguru

I don't believe faith can protect us from life's challenges and hardships. It seems to me for every positive, there is a negative and we are positively hardwired to want only the positive and avoid the negative at all costs. I don't think faith would prevent lung cancer when you smoke or even if you don't. I think faith and belief in ourselves is the gateway to just being, and the ability to be in tune, or go with, the flow of life.

Actually according to studies, people with religious faith have less risk of disease and death. Studies also show they do better in psychiatric therapy.

The human mind is wired for denial basically, as far as not heeding warnings about things that are harmful. As animals for millions of years, to survive we needed to have a certain amount of denial and bravery, as opposed to being overly cautious and cowardly. But we're not accustomed to this new environment and it seems some of our natural instincts don't translate very well, as in the smoking example earlier. And we now see that fear and pessimism can lead to better health. But our denial has a positive side too, because we have from it.

It could be that faith is a progression of our instincts towards denial and being overly positive. It could have developed that way as the human mind became complex and needed a new way to express instincts that have been around millions of years. I don't know, but it seems to me that faith is a natural part of being human, whether it's religious faith or a general faith in things working out. Pessimism is not so natural, but can also lead to better health.