Does believing in something effect the way your life turns out?

[SomethingToPonder]

So i was thinking, Lets say for example, Somebody believes in karma. They think of the bad things they have done, they start to focus on the bad things that happen to them and attribute it to having bad karma because of whatever they did.
Then they might either start trying to live a certain way to avoid "bad karma" or become obsessive about it and constantly live their life in a way which they normally would not, Would it become like a penance maybe? Sort of like "oh i got attacked in the street, That's what i get for ....."

What about religion? People might live a certain way to avoid afterlife consequences or in order to gain entry to "heaven" etc.

Im not specifically relating to karma or religion, It just seemed like a good example of the point i was trying to make. You could attribute this to believing in anything.
do you think people's life's are put on a different course because of believing in something?

Would you be a different person if you believed in different things? The things you think are obvious, The things you could not imagine living without thinking they were right, or true.

[Moontanman]

Yes, i think it's quite demonstrable that belief can change your life, I know quite a few people who have turned into jackasses over belief..

[Phi for All]

Bear with me here.

 

Some time ago, I noticed that an awful lot of people like to turn their problems into other people's problems. People litter because they don't want trash in their car. That's their problem, and they could easily and responsibly take care of it in a trash can, but instead they toss it out the window. Now it's our problem. Or someone will suddenly remember they have to get off the highway at THIS exit, and rather than take responsibility and take the exit after THIS one and work their way back, they turn their problem into other people's problem by swerving over three lanes and risking lives to save some minutes and mileage and avoid their problem.

 

Once I started thinking of it this way, I saw how prolific it was. I also saw people taking responsibility and doing the right thing, and I started monitoring my own actions accordingly. I believe we should take care of our own problems and not push them off onto others, and I made a conscious effort to ensure I do this. I don't leave shopping carts in parking spaces, I don't blow leaves onto neighbor's lawns, and if I knock something over I put it back where it was. And I never, ever throw trash on the ground.

 

We make choices like this all the time about various things, and we choose to believe in them and I think it does affect our lives. What we choose to believe in is important, and hopefully what we choose helps others and isn't just completely self-serving.

[cladking]

People act solely on their beliefs.

 

Actions determine outcomes.

 

People become their beliefs.

 

 

 

People believe what they choose to believe. Be careful what you want to believe.

Would you be a different person if you believed in different things? The things you think are obvious, The things you could not imagine living without thinking they were right, or true.

 

3500 years ago Egyptians used modern language to say the same thing.

 

- A house has the character of the man who lives in it.

- Everyone finds himself in the world where he belongs. The essential thing is to have a fixed point from which to check its reality now and then.

- The plant reveals what is in the seed.

- If you would know yourself, take yourself as starting point and go back to its source; your beginning will disclose your end.

http://www.aldokkan.com/art/proverbs.htm

[ewmon]

The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind.

— William James, American pragmatist philosopher and psychologist, also known as the Father of American Psychology

 

[SomethingToPonder]

— William James, American pragmatist philosopher and psychologist, also known as the Father of American Psychology

I like that. Im going to read some of his work, It sounds fascinating.

 

 

 

People act solely on their beliefs.

 

Actions determine outcomes.

 

People become their beliefs.

 

 

 

People believe what they choose to believe. Be careful what you want to believe.

 

 

 

 

3500 years ago Egyptians used modern language to say the same thing.

 

- A house has the character of the man who lives in it.

 

- Everyone finds himself in the world where he belongs. The essential thing is to have a fixed point from which to check its reality now and then.

 

- The plant reveals what is in the seed.

 

- If you would know yourself, take yourself as starting point and go back to its source; your beginning will disclose your end.

 

http://www.aldokkan.com/art/proverbs.htm

Very interesting and some nice proverbs that give you some peace of mind knowing that many before you have thought of this as well. But may i ask where in the temples of Luxor these were found? Is there any pictures of the meanings? Who translated them? And what proof is there they are not just written from anywhere.

 

Bear with me here.

 

Some time ago, I noticed that an awful lot of people like to turn their problems into other people's problems. People litter because they don't want trash in their car. That's their problem, and they could easily and responsibly take care of it in a trash can, but instead they toss it out the window. Now it's our problem. Or someone will suddenly remember they have to get off the highway at THIS exit, and rather than take responsibility and take the exit after THIS one and work their way back, they turn their problem into other people's problem by swerving over three lanes and risking lives to save some minutes and mileage and avoid their problem.

 

Once I started thinking of it this way, I saw how prolific it was. I also saw people taking responsibility and doing the right thing, and I started monitoring my own actions accordingly. I believe we should take care of our own problems and not push them off onto others, and I made a conscious effort to ensure I do this. I don't leave shopping carts in parking spaces, I don't blow leaves onto neighbor's lawns, and if I knock something over I put it back where it was. And I never, ever throw trash on the ground.

 

We make choices like this all the time about various things, and we choose to believe in them and I think it does affect our lives. What we choose to believe in is important, and hopefully what we choose helps others and isn't just completely self-serving.

 

 

I +1'd you. That is the way to live i reckon. Be a nice person but more importantly be respectful of others and their possessions And hopefully you will be treated the same way.

 

yes it is funny how once you start looking for these things you see people doing them everywhere, I read this and then went to my local shopping center for some household items and saw people doing little things everywhere.

 

All the best to you mate

[cladking]

I like that. Im going to read some of his work, It sounds fascinating.

 

Very interesting and some nice proverbs that give you some peace of mind knowing that many before you have thought of this as well. But may i ask where in the temples of Luxor these were found? Is there any pictures of the meanings? Who translated them? And what proof is there they are not just written from anywhere.

 

 

I have exceedingly little "expertise" in Egyptology and it is limited to the physical evidence related to the construction of great pyramids before 2700 BC. Unlike this area a great deal is known about the later eras and my knowledge is nearly absent. I can not confirm that these are actually from the Temple of Man as purported or that the translations are accurate. I can assure youthat as a rule this later language is well understood so any deficiency in translation is due to intent or incompetence.

 

I believe these are derived from an invisible pre-existing language in which the more ancient material was written but this is a non-standard opinion based on my understanding of that writing.

[SomethingToPonder]

I like that. Im going to read some of his work, It sounds fascinating.

 

 

 

 

 

I have exceedingly little "expertise" in Egyptology and it is limited to the physical evidence related to the construction of great pyramids before 2700 BC. Unlike this area a great deal is known about the later eras and my knowledge is nearly absent. I can not confirm that these are actually from the Temple of Man as purported or that the translations are accurate. I can assure youthat as a rule this later language is well understood so any deficiency in translation is due to intent or incompetence.

 

I believe these are derived from an invisible pre-existing language in which the more ancient material was written but this is a non-standard opinion based on my understanding of that writing.

 

 

Im sorry what do you mean by "an invisible pre existing language" ?

They are some nice quotes.

[cladking]

Im sorry what do you mean by "an invisible pre existing language" ?

They are some nice quotes.

 

I believe that language used to express meaning differently; meaning was in context rather than definitions being determined by context. I believe there is very extensive and pervasive evidence for this but it's a subject for another topic. It appears the thinking that generated these quotes pre-dated the change in the language.

[Civat]

I think it does. You think of the consequences of your action

[Dekan]

Very interesting posts. Reminiscent of two books by Dennis Wheatley: "They Found Atlantis", and "The Devil Rides Out".

 

 

 

[SomethingToPonder]

Very interesting posts. Reminiscent of two books by Dennis Wheatley: "They Found Atlantis", and "The Devil Rides Out".

I have read "the devil rides out" previously and it was very intriguing and i think i am going to get a copy of they found atlantis and give it a go =) Thanks for the recommendation.

[sogam01]

belive in something won't change any thing it simply changes the way you think

[cladking]

belive in something won't change any thing it simply changes the way you think

 

 

If you believe "that way lies demons", are you not more likely to choose another direction?

[SomethingToPonder]

If you believe "that way lies demons", are you not more likely to choose another direction?

I would say so, And that's the thing sogam01 i would say that if you believe in something then you are likely to behave in a certain way or do certain things because you believe in it.

[Phi for All]

belive in something won't change any thing it simply changes the way you think

 

How we think is intrinsic to how we act. It has the capability to change EVERYTHING.

[PeterJ]

Popper opines somewhere that we act according to our beliefs. Pretty obvious really. If we believe that there's food in the fridge we go there when we believe that we're hungry.

 

William James talks of the greatest discovery of his generation - 'that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind'. I mean, really, this is daft. The discovery was made thousands of years earlier and has been widely and energetically promoted ever since. Still, perhaps these things have to be constantly rediscovered.