Have you considered how your beliefs actually trigger your stress response? Are you aware of how your beliefs can keep you stuck in behavior that isn’t healthy? It is well understood that a chronic stress response can be harmful. The role of beliefs in triggering this stress response is not so well understood. Nor is there a well-known solution to shift the energy in your beliefs for healthier living. Now, an international group of professionals in guided change are working with a comprehensive model to offer sustained shifts.
Beliefs are energy.
Beliefs are energetic representations that help you make sense of the world. You know them to be true, based on your personal experiences, your culture and the conclusions you reach from interacting with others. Many beliefs are formed at a very young age. They offer a strong benefit to help you function in your everyday life. That is, you don’t need to stop to think in everyday situations. You automatically know what needs to be done and how to do it. You can set your life to auto-pilot.
Beliefs can also influence how you perceive the world. You may recognize beliefs in statements: You need to work hard to be successful; Life isn’t easy; You can’t trust other people. When you live in a close community with people who share your culture and have similar experiences, there is not a great need to question your beliefs. When current events match your beliefs, there is little dissonance or cause to think differently. On the other hand, when you are surrounded by people from different backgrounds and experiences, their beliefs will not match your beliefs. This can feel uncomfortable.
Here is where your stress response kicks in: How can they say that??? Or They are wrong!
If you pause and notice, your ‘beliefs’ trigger your ‘reaction’. You experience a combination of thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations. The level of intensity you experience can depend on the importance of the belief and the contrast between the current situation and your existing belief. We know that the stress response triggers an immediate ‘fight, flight, or freeze’ reaction. This occurs at an energetic, rather than cognitive, level. Beliefs, memories, and fantasies are energetic representations that provide immediate information to trigger these automatic responses.
Why would you change anything you believe to be true?
One of the key challenges to shift a belief is that it can hold a lot of energy. This energy can keep you stuck in a pattern of thinking. The more important the belief, the more challenging it can be to see things differently.
Why would you ‘change’ a belief that you know is right? Especially if it is something that is important! Shifting the energy in your beliefs creates space to allow you to feel more ease and clarity. You are no longer stuck in automatic responses.
Think of the belief: You need to work hard to be successful. You know this belief from a young age. You’ve been told it is true. You watched your parents work hard. You realized success from working hard.
Now someone you work with is not working hard. You may not say anything but a stress response kicks in. You can feel it every time you see them goofing off in the office. Day after day. The frustration builds. You know you have options. You can ignore them. You can try to change them by saying something to them directly or to your boss. You can do nothing and hope something changes. You can even leave your job. Most of these strategies may work for a while but eventually, things break down.
Shifting the energy in your belief about ‘hard work’ can change how you react to the individual and the situation, offering sustained relief.
How to stay healthy in a rapidly changing world.
In a rapidly changing world, you can expect to experience more stress. More situations occur that are different from ‘the way you believe they should be’. Everyday situations will more readily conflict with your belief system. The opportunity to notice your reactions and shift this energy will offer you a greater sense of ease to move forward in your everyday life.
Experiential learning offers new experiences to form new beliefs. This allows you to adapt in a changing world. Yet these new experiences do not automatically eliminate or release the energy from original beliefs that you formed at a young age.
So then, how do you shift the energy in your beliefs to feel better?
Logosynthesis® is a guided change model, with a fast and easy method to offer relief from your current situation: What bothers you now? Using a guided process, you can connect the underlying belief that is triggering your stress response. Using the power of words to shift the energy, there is a release so that the belief no longer triggers the same stress response.
Think of ‘changing your reaction to your belief’ rather than ‘changing your belief’.
I have engaged in many conversations where I tried to change someone’s beliefs and they tried to change mine. My parents. My siblings. My friends. I no longer fight so hard to change beliefs, either mine or those around me. Instead, I focus on shifting the energy in my beliefs. What happens? I feel calmer. I can have better conversations. I no longer work so hard to argue my point. I feel calmer so those around me feel calmer. I can listen better.
I have noticed that many of my beliefs have been developed and reinforced over my lifetime. There are layers to how these beliefs show up in my everyday life. And yet, I can notice how I respond and follow a guided process to make meaningful shifts.
I am now better able to:
- notice when my stress response is activated, especially when it comes to topics that are important to me.
- understand why others respond as they do.
- resolve my patterns of reacting, one layer at a time.
Beliefs are important. I still hold a lot of energy in my beliefs, many of which have served me well over the years. And yet when I pay attention to what bothers me and commit to resolving the triggers, magic happens.
