Belief is relief wrapped up in a story.
The above is complete. One need not read a single word more. Some will want to regardless so here is my two cents worth…
Which is more peaceful the wilderness or a big city? How would you describe the core of the Universe? Is it chaotic, threatening, loving, abundant or some strange combination? As I sat meditating this morning, these were some of the things I found myself questioning. And for each, I followed the question with an “I believe” answer. That’s when it came to me that all these beliefs were merely the way for me to explain the stories I have been telling myself and those I have been told my whole life. I was sitting there creating frameworks with which to feel safe, secure, loved and peaceful.
The belief was the relief from one story with the use of another. But you know what? Neither the belief nor the original story is the truth of my actual experience.
One of my favorite ways to meditate is to wait upon the next move my body makes– to sit silently and wait. When a bird flies by, the next movement is my eyes tracking the flight. It’s automatic. It isn’t planned. It just seems to happen. And when I do this type of meditation, what happens is I become aware of witnessing rather than choosing anything. Witnessing then thrills me because it is the experience of peace. When there is, as the zen teaching says (and I learned through the author Peter Russell), no place to go, nothing to do and no one to be, and one merely sits and waits for the movement (or breath or thought), one experiences what truly is in that moment. Without a story, all that is left is stillness and that stillness is God. It is Consciousness. It is who I Am.
Once we have found our True Self, there is no longer need for a belief because there is nothing there except Absolute Perfection. So Belief really is relief wrapped up in a story, but what good does it do? How is it helpful to recognize beliefs are merely stories to bring relief? What’s the action point?
For me, this recognition serves as a signpost. When I find myself thinking in terms of what I believe or do not believe, I can see I have entered into the realm of stories. Those belief thoughts then serve as a reminder to go back into witness mode and in witness mode (my experience in the moment) I find true Peace.