Replacing Old Beliefs with New Ones
Day 10: Moving from fear and restriction to freedom of the spirit
Floating on down this beautiful path of the unknown, exploring and getting to know my inner spirit has been the trip of a lifetime. Each day of this 100 day series I am exploring another facet of the book The Infinite Self by Stuart Wilde. Today I am going deeper into the depths of beliefs and how freeing yourself from them can help you move from ego to spirit.
On the journey from ego to spirit, you’ll want to review and possibly ditch many of those beliefs (tribal beliefs). Tribal beliefs have their social values, but they also teach fear and restriction. “Don’t do this; you’ll fail. Don’t do that; people won’t like it.” -Stuart Wilde
I believe this is an opportunity for us. When we start to search inside ourselves and review the beliefs that we hold close to our heart, we need to hold each one carefully and truly examine it. Each belief is a pattern, a thought that we learned long ago. We should ask ourselves questions about those beliefs. Do they feel true to us? Are those beliefs serving us or are they blocking us from our true potential? The answers to those questions can bring us closer to true freedom of the spirit.
As I have gone along on this path I have started to look through my thoughts and beliefs that I had held on to for so long. It is just like going through an old box in the garage. Many of the ideas stored way in the back of our minds are ideas that no longer serve us in our current lives. These ideas are like an old waffle maker that you haven’t used in years. You can let them go and in turn life, reality and spirit will start to open up doors to you. Letting go of these old thoughts becomes very freeing.
In my own life, I have started to let go of ideas that no longer have a place in my life and were creating obstacles in my path rather than opening doors for me.
I have let go of the idea that there is a lack or shortage in the world. I have let go of the idea that I don’t have control over my own destiny in life. I have let go of the idea that I have to do things that my heart doesn’t agree with in order to gain success. I have let go of the notion that having a lot of money is evil. All of those ideas kept me stuck. They kept me in a box with all of those ideas stored away in the garage of my mind.
Taking all of these ideas that no longer serve me out of that dusty, cob-webbed box in the dark recesses of my subconscious mind, I can begin to release them and let them go. I then see the world opening up in front of me in a wide open expanse. The road is clear. The sun is bright. The path is waiting for me to walk down it. There will be obstacles in the path from time to time, but with my mind cleared of beliefs that no longer serve me, I can feel confident that I will face them with a strong heart.
To do that, (being with a spiritual destiny of your own) you have to go beyond the discomfort of distancing yourself from the tribal beliefs, which usually also means that you’ll disconnect yourself from its acceptance and support. Once you are strong enough and have the confidence to stand on your own, you’ll become a real individual — you’ll believe in yourself so strongly that you can be different and not worry what others think.-Stuart Wilde
In order to move toward a freedom of the spirit, you have to not only let go of old ideas that no longer serve you, you need to let go of worrying about what others will think of you. Since I have left social media from time to time I get messages from people wondering where I am. I gently let them know that I am off social media and tell them that it is better for me to be away. I have received some thoughtful answers, but sometimes no answer at all. It can be difficult to face the fact that some people won’t understand your choices.
It can feel heavy in your heart to go left when everyone else is going right. It can feel very lonely to be by yourself on a path. Until you realize, we are all connected. We are all one. The choices that I make with my heart today may cause others to choose another path. If we make our choices with love in our hearts, we can be certain that it may help someone on the same path later on. Even though we are learning to stand on our own, learning to be confident, learning to rely on ourselves, it doesn’t mean that we cannot be a light on the path, a bridge across the stormy river, a comfort for someone in pain. Treating others with kindness, with pure love and with empathy for their suffering is a part of the path too.
With true compassion, love and empathy in my heart, I can forge ahead on my own, helping everyone I encounter along the way. By providing a positive word, a card in the mail, a phone call, a supportive smile I can be of service to all of those around me. At the same time, I can believe in myself. I can learn and grow. I can grow my heart and my spirit. It isn’t either/or in this life, it’s AND. I can be a beautiful, lighthearted soul and have success in my field. By having success in my field I can help others learn and grow and evolve too. It’s always a win-win world.
My prayer and intention for you today is that you go through that box of old thoughts. Write them down, burn them, shred them or throw them away. They are no longer serving you on this journey you are on. You are a beautiful soul on this path. You are meant for big things, and in that way you can shine a light for all of us.
What are some old thoughts you will let go of today?
I am tagging my fellow writers here who are following along on this journey so that I may share this path with them: Michele Thill, Gurpreet Dhariwal, Terry Mansfield, Amy Marley, Chirag, Chowa Sekai, Aurora Eliam, CMP, KeepingItRealWithAnnick, Rasheed Hooda, Taha Abbas, Charlotte Zobeir Ali, Typewriter, Henery X (long), Dr John Rose and many more! Thank you Illumination Family!
Trista Signe Ainsworth is a professional organizer with Joyful Minimalism. She helps working women clear the clutter, overwhelm, and shame from their homes and lives so that they can truly live in joy.
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