What do you believe in? I hear a MackEvent!!

State your beliefs publicly! Make a bumper sticker, buy a mondonation shirt (www.mondonation.com), make a sign and stick it in your window! Then, send in photos of what you have done!!!!!

xo
allison

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A friend of mine, who sometimes checks out my blog, was suggesting that an interesting question to pose would be: What is it that solidified these beliefs? Why believe in what you believe in?

This site has proven to be such a place of respect and honor as well as honest communication and exchanges, so I am so looking forward to hearing all the different perspectives.

Thanks!
Xo
Allison

I have no definitive answer to this question. Like most of the posts I, well… um… post. I am merely seeking to have a deeper understanding of myself. A deeper knowledge of my own experience so that I may live the most rich, responsible, ethical, compassionate, and exciting life possible.

So here goes the exploration for me.

My understanding of human construct is similar to the definition Matthew shared to world construct: “to build or assemble something by putting together separate parts in an ordered way.”

I think that we as human beings have no choice but to do this the minute we are born, as way of simply surviving in the world. Meaning that the moment we are born, we are these blank entities that see no difference between ourselves and the rest of the world. To refer back to my “balance” post and the doctor speaking on the difference between the right and left brain. We have no understanding of our abstract selves, our abstract I, therefore we see no difference between me and you and wall and chair and bear and dog. We simply see the world as an extension of ourselves.

However, this is not true, and through experiencing ourselves in the world, we recognize the separation and the differences between me and you, me and the chair, me and the dog, and we begin to build a sense of ourselves; a sense of who we are separate from the rest of the world. Now in this building of us, of ourselves, we are also building our understanding of “not us” of the rest of the world.

It is my hypothesis that this is the human construct. The understanding that we build of ourselves, the world, and the way the two work and relate.

Whoah! That was tough for me to explain and I hope it made sense… Whew!

So, how does this relate to beliefs?

Well, I feel like when I believe something I will not question it. It is simply the way the world works. It’s a part of my “construct” that I never question, I just believe it is so. Now, this can be as simple as “I should always walk on my feet,” or as abstract as “My god is better than yours.”

Point being… we all have different experiences that ground us in our constructs and influence us in our beliefs. So, how does this relate to limiting beliefs and the Olympics?

Well, I feel that sometimes we can limit ourselves with our beliefs and refuse to push our limitations with the belief that it is simply not possible to do more–be more than what already exists. I feel like the Olympics are an amazing example of how these beliefs can be challenged and ultimately changed.

Michael Phelps is an amazing example of this in his capacity to break his own world records on a consistent basis. The man who first broke the 4 minute mile, Roger Bannister, is another example of this. For years it was a global belief that this simply could not be done… Until it was. Now this is not even something that is questioned.

The 4 minute mile is now a standard for Olympic runners. Thanks to Roger Bannister, our capacity to push our limits as human beings was stretched and strengthened, we evolved! I feel this is an amazing and inspiring example of what we as human beings have the potential to achieve by simply letting go of the beliefs that strangle our core abilities to progress and ask the question “what if.”

I really enjoyed reading these responses and want to thank you all deeply for your thoughts and ideas! It is so amazing!

xo
Allison

PS… I wanted to highlight this comment because I think it’s really really cool and it brings to light a topic I would love to explore next.

What is justice? We can deal with truth separately… let’s do one at a time… baby steps

1. Kirk D. aka “SPARTACUS” Says:
August 15th, 2008 at 4:48 am

Hey Alli-Mack,
Here is my 2 cents worth…
I believe human construct is simply our nature in action. We all have the remarkable ability to think, to act on our thoughts, to communicate and respond/relate to others. We can’t escape it, though some can try to deny it. We all seem to learn about life based on what we experience personally and what others have experienced. We can’t help but to influence each other and I believe it is our duty on this planet to do so. We all have opinions on what it is we should and shouldn’t do. This is the our personal commitment to our view of life, (free-will) and it is a beautiful thang…Lord Palmerston in the House of Commons on July 21, 1849 said, “Opinions are stronger than armies. Opinions, if they are founded in truth and justice, will in the end prevail against the bayonets of infantry, the fire of artillery and the charges of calvary….” (This asks the questions, What is truth? What is justice? Hopefully to be discussed at a later time.) Opinions are truly powerful, and I’m reminded of the Emperor with no closes. How do we know if we in a sense have on closes simply based on our opinions, regardless of how popular or unpopular are opinions may be? Great agents of change always seemed to walk to the beat of a different drummer, swimming up stream and cutting against the grain of society. I pray that I am at partially dressed or at least learning to get dressed. Scary at times, but this quote seems to reinforce Alli-Mack’s new commitment of 30 minutes a day of reflection in search of the answer to this question of “right/correct belief” . Dr. John Mackay, a former President of Princeton Seminary, said, “Commitment without reflection is fanaticism in action. But reflection with commitment is the paralysis of all action.”
This causes me to ask the questions, who am I really and why do I do what I do?
2. Kirk D. aka “SPARTACUS” Says:
August 15th, 2008 at 4:55 am

Sorry about that.
The last quote by Dr. John Mackay, a former President of Princeton Seminary, should have said, “Commitment without reflection is fanaticism in action. But reflection WITHOUT commitment is the paralysis of all action.”

I must say that I am impressed and intimidated by the minds at work on this site. I read the entries posted and I am so blown away by some of the depth you all seem to express. I think it is incredible that we can come together and expand and elaborate our ideas and beliefs in such a friendly and civil manner.

The dialogue between Kevin and Amanda was respectful, honest, and intelligent. Well done team, well done.

I think that ultimately all the concepts we have been exploring as of late have no real answer, for me it is simply exciting to reach out and share ponderings and potentially stretch my own ideas and understandings through simply sharing and swapping ideas with other individuals who have an interested in thinking. It feels like most of the time we are on such a conveyer belt of life, essentially looking to get through our day as fast as we can so we can go home, veg out, and sleep only to begin it again the next day.

There is a 2 day reprieve called the weekend, which usually ends up flying by so quickly that before I feel as though I have blinked, it’s Monday and we begin again. And for what? Where is the life in that!

If nothing else, this blog has given me the reason to commit to myself for thirty minutes everyday. Thirty minutes every day to sit and think about what it’s all about and breathe. Just breathing, reading, thinking, and writing; all things I don’t do enough of. The effect of these thirty minutes results in a more deliberate me. My scenes at work are made up of more specific and precise moments because I have allowed myself the time to color inside the lines. To make sharper choices.

Not that the sloppiness of spontaneity is not important and wonderful, but again it goes back to balance. A little of this and a little of that creates a beautifully personal, well-thought-out, and wildly expressive portrait of how I want to be and who I am in the world.

Now onto the next topic…

Matthew… You said you wanted to discuss a belief. What about beliefs? Maybe we could look at human construct and how that relates to beliefs. I think now that the Olympics are on that could be a very intriguing and inspiring topic. So I’ll ask you all first and share my opinion on the matter tomorrow!

What do you think human construct is and how does it relate to beliefs? limiting and otherwise?

xoxo
allison

Matthew Says:
August 14th, 2008 at 12:10 am
.it would actually be nice is you did a dicussion on beliefs..oh well..enough of me