where does belief live?
what does the believing?

it seems that believing
is agreeing with a story
that the mind has been told
and then continues to retell to itself

i used to believe in Santa Claus,
maybe you did too?
for the four year old girl Santa Claus was real,
a few years later Santa Claus no longer existed
poof!

when is a belief outgrown?
is it when experience disproves belief?
seeing dad step out of a Santa suit can do that
or because peers, mentors and media tell the mind otherwise?
or because reason says: this story isn’t adding up anymore?

beliefs come and go

even the most treasured beliefs are subject to change

does the mind currently believe in an afterlife?
does it believe in ghosts? in god? in yeti?
does the mind believe in happy endings?
in free will?
in soul? in spirit?
in the infallibility of the senses?
in the “Big Bang” as the creation theory of everything?

does the mind believe it is right during an argument?
only to realize that its belief of rightness was based on a misperception?
Oops! what happens to the certainty of belief then?

mind has been conditioned to believe
to believe what it’s been told
to outsource its reasoning to experts

mind has learned to accept
the thoughts, ideas, views, ideals, beliefs it experiences without much questioning

mind likes to feel comforted, comfortable and certain
mind has learned not to ask too many questions of itself

proving or disproving a belief is laborious
so beliefs can stay in place unquestioned

like a king, ruling with unchecked authority,
beliefs hold vast influence and power in the mind

what does the mind really want:
belief or truth?
usually both,
but then it’s hard to have your cake and eat it too

is the mind willing let go of all it thinks it knows and begin again
demanding of itself to answer:
what is true?