Chapter Six. Reflections Part II.

Chapter Six. 

Reflections Part II.

It could be valid to argue that something either exists or it doesn’t, and whatever I or anyone else cares to believe or not to believe is of no significance as to that thing’s existence or nonexistence.

I am aware that the above statement cannot be made though without acknowledging the concept I’ve heard expressed more than once, the concept that reality is shaped by our beliefs. 

And there are many examples of this - as in the part belief plays in the creation, let’s say, of new technology, in music and art, and even in war. Much of what we do day-to-day is carried out with a projected belief in specific outcomes. 

Also, belief may not significantly effect the exact outcome of events during the day as much as it may, in retrospect, effect the perception of how the day went - as in the ‘glass half full, or empty’ analogy.

How successful, or otherwise, we are in life can have much to do with self-belief.

There is also the consideration that all things borne from belief do not necessarily manifest themselves in the same apparent way, or at the same speed.   

So yes, there are ways in which belief shapes reality, but does it actually influence the existence of any ‘thing’ that’s not already in existence, or influence events that are created by the will of others? Could it manufacture a spirit world - or render one non-existent, other than in the minds of those doing the believing? 

One example I have that raises a question mark the ‘power of belief’ has in influencing actual events in the physical world goes back to my early years of flying, and the terror I would experience before stepping onto any airplane. 

Time after time I believed, one hundred percent, that disaster was not just a likelihood, but an absolute certainty; now, after lord-knows how many hours spent in the sky, I have only tales of turbulence and one or two heavy landings to offer you. 

Some might state that disaster was averted by the number of positive beliefs that outweighed mine. But again, as the minister said (Part I), “The truth is, nobody really knows”.

It’s my view that, on the whole, we believe more than we acknowledge and admit to ourselves; it’s something that takes place at different levels, much of it unconscious. 

There are people who have left me convinced that they carry a deep faith within, and yet they profess to have no religious or spiritual leanings whatsoever, in fact often they will state quite the opposite, even professing atheism. 

These are people who often display qualities generally considered to be of Christian origin, possibly more so than many Christians I’ve encountered; but that’s not really the point. 

The point is that there can appear an apparent element of ‘knowing’. If my impression is in some part accurate, what then would constitute that kind of unspoken faith? - could it be an intuitive trust in life and in the workings of the universe? 

Is this about the distinction between head and heart? We may think we live in accordance with our intellect, an intellect that’s not able to see logic in what we just know innately on a different level. 

And just to add one more question to the list; could that same innate knowing be the very force that others would align with, and attach to religious dogma - again, without really knowing what the deeper driving force behind it is?  

The only thing dogmatic about our Ouija sessions was the principle of regularity; the content of the sessions themselves involved no ritualism as far as I can see; well, that’s if you don’t count the candlelight we often conducted them in, a lighting condition employed not so much for its association with the occult as much for its pleasantness. 

Oh, and there was the occasional incense, well, joss sticks, to be precise. Hmm, it’s starting to look a little ritualistic! But in defence I would mention that we’d very often get the board out in broad daylight in the most sterile conditions, and the glass would perform no differently.

TBC ...