By The Tie Dyed Mystic
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One of my former teachers once said, “We don’t think ourselves into a new way of living, we live ourselves into a new way of thinking”.  The great teacher, Buddha, said, “Believe what you experience”.  It’s been my experience of life that we often start with an answer and then we build a question.  We want things a certain way so then we try to manipulate reality to match our desires.  Such manipulation may get us what we want but the side effects can be damaging.  Rarely do we just let life unfold.  The fact that it’s done that for millions of years doesn’t seem to deter us in our desire to be in control.  Most of us try to live according to whatever belief systems we have chosen to embrace.  How would life be different if we believed according to what we have experienced?  This is a door that can swing both ways.  If you’ve never experienced love, it’s difficult to believe in it.  On the other hand, if all you’ve known is abuse and hatred, the idea of love can give you hope and lift you by your bootstraps to break the cycle of despair.  As always, for me it’s about balance.  We need something to believe it.  However, if we’ve never had the experience to support and strength our beliefs, they will eventually fall by the wayside.  Belief must be balanced with the experience of what we believe.      

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