Can you choose what you believe?

[Gamerace]

fkusumot said:

 

 

 

 

Gamerace said:
Yes you can change even your deepest most fundamental beliefs but it requires equal deep fundamental desire to change. For example, having a baby that's asthmatic might be the motivation to quit cigarettes - something the person never could before.

A near death experience ran radically alter one's perceptions on life. So can a disastrous relationship or winning a lottery.

But can you do it without life giving you a kick in the groin first? Yes. The human brain cannot distinguish reality from vivid imagination. Ever remember doing something and then realized, no wait, that was just a dream? If you really want fundamental change in your beliefs you can consciously do so but it requires associating current beliefs with negative outcomes and a new belief with a positive outcome and vividly seeing that outcome in your head consistently over time until it takes hold.

Basically, that's what we always do, whether we are conscious of it or not.

So you're saying you can't change a belief that you have on a whim. You basically have to have a traumatic experience or some type of brain-washing to change beliefs.

 

 

Auron is right we're getting into changing actions as well as beliefs, but yes, you can change your beliefs on a whim as long as you have a desire to change it equal or greater than the benefits of maintaining the current belief. 

The reason people don't usually change their belief is they have something either pleasure inducing or pain relieving associated to that belief.  IE: The belief that a relationship is wonderful to have will lead to having a wonderful relationship - a pleasant experience (or so you believe).  Now if you just got out of a painful breakup that belief may change.  Now if you want to change it on a whim, then you can do so by convincing yourself that relationships just lead to painful breakups, prior to having one - this belief would be pain relieving then.  Why on earth you would want to is beyond me, but for arguments sake, yes, it's doable.

It that brain washing?  In a way, yes, but it's choosing what you want to believe.  Like it or not your surrounded by brain washing all day every day from advertisments, to peer pressure, to the War on Terror to Zeitgiest to religion to your parents teachings, it's all some form of 'brain washing' created to alter your beliefs.  Some are for your benefit (parents and religion generally teach positive ways to live) but most are for others benefits.