Seeing is believing, or so we’ve been told. But that’s not really true. Think about it. If you actually saw a UFO, would you finally believe in UFO’s (assuming you didn’t already)? Probably not. You’d assume it was a drone, or a hoax, or an optical illusion. You would come up with some other explanation for it because seeing is not believing. Generally, the believing, or at least the willingness to believe, has to come first.
As Henry Ford famously said, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.” But belief can be very hard to come by.
I’d love to say that I believe, one hundred percent, in all of the things that I talk about in these pages. But that wouldn’t be entirely true. These days, I’m pretty close, maybe ninety-five percent? Not because I’ve seen evidence of it, although in some cases I have. But because I have taken the conscious step to believe even when I haven’t. And this is fairly new.
I’ve always been open-minded and open to new ideas. But come on, angels, extraterrestrials, immortality? How can a former engineer talk about any of these things with a straight face? They’re all the stuff of sci-fi or fantasy novels, right?
Well, once you begin to understand the underlying principles of universal law, and move beyond the echo chamber of human beliefs, the definition of ‘reality’ gets a whole lot more interesting.
Still, even as I’ve come to believe that these things, and so much more, are not only possible, but likely very real, until about a year ago, a part of me remained skeptical. A part of me was not willing to go all in.
Could I believe in these things? Yes. Given what I’d learned, I knew all of this was not only possible, but logical. And likely true. In theory.
But would I allow myself to believe, fully? No. And I didn’t even realize I was holding back. Even as I longed for my life to change in miraculous ways, a small, stubborn part of me still insisted on seeing it first.
About a year ago, I became aware of this part of me when, while sitting in meditation, I kind of saw myself leaning back. I say ‘kind of’ because this wasn’t a vision so much as a realization. I was not leaning into these truths and possibilities, I was leaning away.
But why? I knew enough, by then, to see the logic in all of this. Believing should have been relatively easy, at this point. But it wasn’t. It was hard.
I needed to get to the bottom of this, so I used one of my favorite techniques. I imagined a small version of myself standing in front of me.
“Why don’t you feel comfortable fully believing in all of this?” I asked her.
She looked at me, her shoulders a little hunched, and said, “What if I’m wrong?”
“Would that matter?”
“Yes!”
I could tell that the idea of being wrong horrified her, and knew we were onto something. Let me clarify that this is a technique that I use to dig into my own subconscious, to find the fears and beliefs that are hiding from my conscious mind.
“Why?” I asked her. “What if you chose to believe in fairies and telepathy, and then found out they’re not real? Would that be so bad?”
“I’d feel so…humiliated,” she said, rather dramatically.
I just looked at her. “Okay. So, if you chose to believe in all of these things, would you be doing anything differently? Would you be living your life in a different way?”
“Well…no.”
“Why not?”
“Because I still mostly believe in them.”
“Okay, so you’re going to follow this path regardless, just as if you fully believed?”
“Yes. Definitely.” She perked up. “I like all of this. It’s fun and it feels right. It feels good.”
I don’t think she realized how illogical she sounded. “Are you saying you believe in the Laws of the Universe, but not…what…E.T.’s? Angels?”
“Oh no, I believe in both of those completely. I think.”
“Then what don’t you believe in? Magic, miracles?”
“Well, I think it’s all possible in theory. But…what if it’s not? I can’t let myself fully believe in something that might not be true!”
I sighed. “That’s a little bit of a problem, then, because from what we’ve come to understand you do have to believe in it before it can happen. A Dumbo’s feather thing, perhaps, but it is all about belief.”
“But what if I’m wrong?”
“Again, what’s the worst that can happen? I mean you don’t plan to jump off the roof to see if you can fly, right?”
“No! No, nothing like that. I would just be so humiliated.”
“When?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, when will you know, if it turns out that none of this is real?”
“Well. I guess, if it never happens.”
“There is a conundrum here, do you see? Your disbelief will probably ensure it never happens. For you.”
“But what if I believe and it still doesn’t happen?”
“Well, you won’t know for sure what’s true until you die. And do you think, once you’ve died, you’re likely to feel humiliated? Do you think that’s a common emotion for the deceased?”
“No.” Now it was her turn to sigh. “I guess not.”
I nodded. “So you won’t know for sure until you’re dead, and then who cares? I’m sure everyone who dies has a good laugh at the ridiculous things they believed when they were alive.”
“Yeah. Probably.”
“If what you feel after you die isn’t the problem, what do you really have to lose by believing?”
She just looked at me. I knew she was still struggling with the “what if I’m wrong?” but it no longer held water, and she was beginning to see that.
I realized, in that moment, that she had to choose to believe. I had to choose, because of course, I was her. I had to quit leaning back, and lean in. Fully. And if it turns out that none of this is true?
Who cares? Who cares?
Because, what if the things I believe are true, and believing is the key that unlocks all the possibilities?
Our egos have trained us to contract, to protect ourselves, to stay small and contained, and in many ways, emotionally alone. That’s the ego’s job.
Believing is the opposite of this. It’s standing up straight, uncrossing our arms, and opening them wide as we lift our faces to the possibilities.
I believe anything is possible. Do I know what that means, exactly? No, not at all. And that’s the fun of it!
I choose to believe, because it makes sense to my logical mind, it resonates with my intuition and my heart, and because… Why not?
If believing really is seeing, and I think that it is, my life will only be full of magic and miracles if I’m willing to take that bold and courageous step to believe.
And so I do.