I ’ ve Never Met a Christian

When I was growing up, nearly all of the people in my life – family, friends, and classmates – identified themselves as Christians. I did too of course, not knowing of other viable options. The alternatives all resulted in eternal damnation, so it didn’t seem like much of a choice at the time.When I eventually sloughed off those crusty old beliefs and decided to make my own choices in life, I realized that beliefs like clothing. We can change them, and in fact we should change them. If we never change our beliefs, then like unwashed clothes, they tend to get pretty smelly.I’ve met many people wearing Christian beliefs, but I’ve never met an actual Christian. It doesn’t make sense to identify someone based on their clothing, nor does it make sense to identity someone based on their temporary beliefs.Assigning MeaningBeliefs are lenses through which we assign meaning to events. If we cling to static lenses, we limit our options for assigning meaning, and that eventually gets us into trouble when the world changes, which it always does.Assigning meaning to events is useful. Any communication requires the assignment of meaning, even communication between devices. Otherwise a signal is just garbled noise. Similarly, when interesting events occur in your life, you have options for assigning meaning to them. If you never evolve your lenses for assigning meaning, or if you keep them boxed inside an outdated interpretation, you’ll find yourself falling out of sync with t...

Source: Steve Pavlina's Personal Development Blog - June 25, 2019 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Steve Pavlina Tags: Creating Reality beliefs identity meaning results Source Type: blogs