Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. -Mark 11:23
Today, I am going to ask you a simple question:
Do you truly believe the things you claim to believe?
When I say “truly” I mean without a shadow of a doubt. Without even the slightest hesitation. Without any vagaries or caveats.
When I ask myself this question, I quickly find that I don’t like the answer.
It turns out I have very few beliefs that I can claim with 100% certainty. If I’m being rigorously honest, I may have none at all. Besides the “truths” immediately in front of me that I can corroborate with my own two eyes, I find my beliefs riddled with doubt. It’s often so subtle that it’s nearly imperceptible.
Throughout history, countless spiritual teachers and mystics (including Christ himself) have echoed a similar message - that uninhibited belief will have a direct impact on reality. I’m sure you’re familiar with its most recent modern iteration, The Law of Attraction, and its progeny (manifestation, etc.). Often times we encounter this message - called mentalism in some circles - and in time brush it off as New Age woo-woo B.S. because it “doesn’t work”. I now that’s what I did, but I can’t help but return to it.
Could it still somehow be true?
What I’ve come to realize is that whether it’s true or not, I would be unable to find out at this stage in my life. I do not have a single belief that’s strong enough. If you inspect yourself thoroughly and honestly - almost brutally - I think you’d yourself in a similar situation. To believe in something with your entire mind, body and soul is in fact more difficult than it sounds. Sure, we claim these type of beliefs everyday, but what we claim is meaningless. Do our actions and thought processes truly reflect these beliefs? That’s another question entirely.
Applying a little reason makes it even more interesting. In our modern society, we often think of manifestation in terms of acquiring wealth. We write ourselves future checks for millions of dollars and write down our financial goals as if they were summoning charms. I could see this working (if I actually wanted that), because I can see it as a possibility in my mind. Bigger things, impossible things - not so much.
I don’t think my mind would let me even entertain the idea that I could move a mountain. I “know” too much about physics, scientific laws, practicality and reason to allow that belief to germinate for even a second. Sure, I can tell myself to believe it as much as I want, but at the end of the day my subconscious easily overwrites those thoughts. I have a limiter on what I can even get myself to believe in, and I think that tells me something…
Again, I find myself back to this concept of “unlearning”. I think I know how so many things work - what’s possible and what isn’t - because of the things I’ve been taught mixed with my own experiences. I wonder what would happen if the slate was wiped completely clean, if I forget everything I ever knew. I can imagine that things would be, at the very least, different. Maybe I wouldn’t be able to move mountains, but maybe…just maybe…I would. That may sound insane, but the point is that I (nor you) may never know what is actually possible if our mental states remain locked and rigid.
I think that’s what the message is all about. Not moving mountains per se, but opening our hearts and our minds to the possibility that it can be done. That alone is a seismic shift for many of us who are trapped in the same mental loops we’ve inherited or learned throughout our lives. It is a complete break from “scientific, rational” thought, from “sane” thinking.
Perhaps the answer is to allow yourself to be just as crazy as you fear you may be.
I don’t know. I just find it interesting. I’m already experiencing an expansion of my mind in this process. I want to believe in something with every part of myself, with every cell in body. I don’t yet know why, but I know I’m getting closer.
Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God? - John 11:40
A Prayer of Martin Luther
Behold, Lord, an empty vessel that needs to be filled. My Lord, fill it.
I am weak in the faith; strengthen me.
I am cold in love; warm me and make me fervent, that my love may go out to my neighbor.
I do not have a strong and firm faith; at times I doubt and am unable to trust you altogether.
O Lord, help me. Strengthen my faith and trust in you.
In you I have sealed the treasure of all I have.
I am poor; you are rich and came to be merciful to the poor.
I am a sinner; you are upright.
With me, there is an abundance of sin; in you is the fullness of righteousness.
Therefore I will will remain with you, of whom I can receive, but to whom I may not give.