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Changing Core Beliefs

by Victoria Loveland-Coen, RScP

Many deeply held beliefs we have about ourselves and our world stem from the original mistaken concept that we are separate from our Source, separate from our good and separate from each other. We were born into this belief system which has been reinforced by our culture, and now accept it as our reality. This deeply rooted sense of separation gives rise to a variety of erroneous core beliefs. These beliefs are perceptions of how life works, and are not necessarily facts. At first glance many perceptions appear to be true -- we can even quote statistics to support them -- but upon closer examination we find they are not inherently factual and, more importantly, need not be true for us. Consider the following examples of common erroneous core beliefs:

• Life is hard and then you die
  

• The odds are against you
  

• All good things must come to an end
  

• You must compete to get ahead
  

• You have to work very hard to make enough money to live comfortably
  

• Good single men (women) are hard to find
  

• Romance dies after marriage
  

• True love is found only in fairy-tales
  

• The older I get, the more prone to illness I am
  

• There's not enough to go around
  

Or, any variation of the "I'm not enough " syndrome, such as:

• I'm not educated enough, rich enough, talented enough, young enough, well enough, thin enough, etc., to do, or have what I desire.

You can probably add a few of your personal favorites to this list. Many of these core beliefs have been with us a long time and are deeply rooted in our subconscious. Imagine a record album which has a groove deeply scored in the vinyl. Every time the record is played, the needle falls automatically into that groove. In the same way, our core beliefs may be deeply etched in our consciousness, and our minds slip into those grooves automatically.

Example:

Brenda has always wanted to have her own business. She's had numerous innovative ideas for new ventures, so many that her friends have dubbed her "the idea lady". Trouble is, each time she considers putting one of her ideas into action, her mind automatically goes to either "Most small businesses fail in the first few years" or "I don't have enough business education to manage it correctly" or "I don't have enough capital to make it happen, and what bank is going to give me a loan?" Brenda stops herself from acting before she even begins. Her heart is telling her that having her own business would express her potential and be a joyous, fulfilling experience, but she pulls back every time.

She can't even consider taking a business course to bone up on her skills, or doing some market testing, or having someone help her write a business plan so she can present it to a potential investor. She can't get this far, because her erroneous core beliefs arrest any further consideration. So, she pushes her innovation aside and stands on the sidelines, watching someone else bring her ideas to life.

No matter how long these erroneous core belief have been with us, no matter how deeply implanted they are in our subconscious, they can be uprooted. The process of uprooting begins with identifying the erroneous core beliefs as mere perceptions, then discovering the Truth which is hidden behind them. When we shift our core beliefs from perception to Truth we see the world and ourselves from a higher perspective. Viewing our world from this vantage-point transforms our experience of it.

The Collective Unconscious

We human beings have many prevailing perceptions we share as a culture. These perceptions are the prevalent beliefs our society accepts as true, generally without question. Psychologist Carl Jung described this phenomenon as "the collective unconscious". Ernest Holmes called it "race-mind consciousness" (referring to the human race). Many of these shared perceptions form the basis of our human awareness. If we do not make the effort to question whether or not a perception is actually true, it will automatically become part of our belief system and, consequently our experience.

Just as we can shift our individual core beliefs, those of the collective unconscious can also be shifted. History is our best example of this. Examine the following:

Examples:

• There was a time we believed it was impossible for a human being to run a mile in less than four minutes. It was universally acknowledged that the human body was physically incapable of the challenge. Then, Roger Bannister came along and ran it in 3:59. Suddenly the limitation was removed. Since then, runners have been steadily breaking Bannister's record. In fact, running the mile in 3:59 is now considered slow.
  

• We once thought no one would ever land on the moon. In fact, believability standards were set by this core belief, thus the phrase, "Why, I could afford to buy that house about as easily as I could go to the moon!" Then President Kennedy announced on television his intention to send a manned space craft to the moon -- before the Russians. We now had a strong national purpose for achieving this goal. The American people believed Kennedy, and his intention became ours. Keep in mind that the technology for such a mission had not been developed yet! Nonetheless, as soon as we believed we could do it, we found the way.
  

• Ten years ago, it was widely believed that a woman's childbearing years were in her twenties. However, since the rise of the women's movement, many women have chosen to delay parenthood to have a career. As a result, the needs of women have created an expanded consciousness. We refuse to accept the "fact" that an older pregnancy is impossible. Again, in response to the change in consciousness, technology has risen to the occasion. Consequently, in the last decade, births to women over 39 have increased by more than fifty percent. Recently, women in their 40's and even 50's have been giving birth to healthy babies. Today, it's not only possible, it's a common occurrence. Looks like they'll have to update those textbooks.

In each of the above examples, as the individual or group involved refused to accept the current limitation, they collectively shifted from "impossibility thinking" to "possibility thinking". As a result, they experienced freedom and success rather than limitation and powerlessness.

Roger Bannister wrote the following about his experience: "No longer conscious of my movement, I discovered a new unity with nature. I had found a new source of power and beauty, a source I never dreamt existed."

Herein lies the key. When we connect with that Source of Power which is within us, it will expose limiting core belief for what they are -- self-imposed. This exposure to Truth will render them powerless.

Continued on the next page:
Healing Erroneous Core Beliefs;
Identifying Erroneous Core Beliefs;
Examining Our Attitudes;
Focus On What Is Working;
It's Not A Blame Game

This article is excerpted from

"Manifesting Your Desires"
by Victoria Loveland-Coen.

For Info/Order this book.

More books by this author.

About The Author

Victoria Loveland-Coen is the founder of Self-Mastery Press, a publishing company dedicated to publishing books and tapes that promote the expression of the reader's highest potential. Victoria facilitates workshops, is a motivational speaker, and coaches businesses to achieve their personal and professional goals. This article is excerpted with permission from her book Manifesting Your Desires, ©1998, published by Self-Mastery Press. For info. about seminars, books, etc., visit  www.selfmastery.org, call 800-906-3629, or email info@selfmastery.org.

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