We’ve arrived at the finale, the last of Gregg Braden’s The
Spontaneous Healing of Belief: Shattering the Paradigm of False Limits,
Belief Codes, 29 through 31. We’ve examined the seeming separate avenues of
science and spirituality, concurrently engaged in an intricate dance concerning
the energy and “stuff” of life and how it all works. Here, Braden covers the avenues
we traverse as humans, to assist us in deciding what might work best on an
individual and collective basis.
Belief Code 29: For different reasons that reflect the
variations in the way we learn, both logic and miracles give us a way into the
deepest recesses of our beliefs.
Let’s consider science to represent the logical mind. Here
are several quotes that demonstrate that as modern science—particularly quantum
mechanics, astrophysics, and ecology—has evolved, the classical view of a rigid
"clockwork universe" has yielded to a model defined by impermanence,
relationality, and underlying unity:
"A human being is a part of the whole called by us
'Universe,' a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his
thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest—a kind of optical
delusion of his consciousness." — Albert Einstein, Theoretical
Physicist
"The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff.
We are a way for the cosmos to know itself." — Carl Sagan, Astrophysicist
& Author
"Isolated material particles are abstractions, their
properties being definable and observable only through their interaction with
other systems." — Niels Bohr, Quantum Physics Pioneer
On the seemingly opposite end of the spectrum, let’s explore
the realm of the miraculous. Contemplative traditions across centuries have
consistently pointed toward the fluid, non-dual, and interconnected nature of
reality, viewing the external universe and internal consciousness as mirrors of
one another. Here are several quotes to show that this has been so over
centuries:
"You don't come into this world. You come out
of it, like a leaf from a tree, or a wave from the ocean. Every individual is a
unique expression of the whole realm of nature." — Alan Watts, Philosopher
& Interpreter of Eastern Thought
"The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao...
The universe is forever making and unmaking itself. When you realize nothing is
lacking, the whole world belongs to you." — Lao Tzu, Tao Te
Ching
"The eye through which I see God is the same eye
through which God sees me; my eye and God's eye are one eye, one seeing, one
knowing, one love." — Meister Eckhart, 14th-Century
Christian Mystic
Gregg Braden offers us a quote in his discussion of this
belief code, attributed to the great philosopher William James at the end of
the 19th century: “The world we see that seems so insane, is the
result of a belief system that is not working.”
I surmise that we can take his statement and simply put it
on “repeat,” agreed?
So then, why don’t we “simply” change what we believe in?
Could it be that if we question and possibly release the belief system that we’ve
identified with, we wouldn’t know who we are?
Are you familiar with the term “attachment theory”? Here’s
the explanation: “Within Attachment Theory, abused children often
develop a disorganized attachment style. This occurs when the caregiver
is both the source of fear and the only source of safety. When pulled away, the
child's attachment system goes into overdrive, triggering intense panic and
grief because they are losing the only caregiver they know, regardless of the
danger that caregiver poses.” We’ve also heard this explained as Stockholm
Syndrome.
My point is this. If your life isn’t working to a
satisfactory degree, why then is it so hard to change the belief system that supports
its continuance as such?
Could it be that it’s who we think we are? This is how we
literally, powerfully, identify with our individual beliefs.
The next two Belief Codes take us down the two available
avenues, suggesting that change is indeed possible if we are open to it.
Again, it is a choice
Belief Code 30: To change our beliefs through the logic
of our minds, we must convince ourselves of a new possibility through
inarguable facts that lead to an inescapable conclusion.
Consider this thought:
"The stream of knowledge is heading towards a
non-mechanical reality; the universe begins to look more like a great thought
than like a great machine. Mind no longer appears to be an accidental intruder
into the realm of matter." — Sir James Jeans, Physicist
& Astronomer
First, the avenue of logic. Mental gymnastics are a delight
to many of us as we make concerted efforts to figure things out and understand
how they work. I’ll raise my hand on this one as I initially struggled to make
sense of my world, rejecting most notions that didn’t have at least some
association with scientific research.
Braden explains that if you look at the universe as essentially
a computer program, there is a logic patch that can fix glitches in the system.
He explains it thus: “We can convince our conscious minds of a new belief
through the power of logic. Once the mind sees a reason to think differently
about the world, it will allow the heart to embrace that possibility as a new
belief – that is, to feel that it is true.”
He takes the reader through the process of building a logic
patch, using an “If, And, Then” format. It’s elegant, and it is one that you
build, utilizing the logical approach which works for you.
I’ll copy one example Braden gives of this, as it echoes the
logical mindset of Roger Bannister, the first man to break the four-minute
mile. “He chose a goal that was clear and precise. It is rumored that he slipped
a piece of paper in his shoe inscribed with the exact time which he chose to
run: 3 minutes and 58 seconds.”
Here is the logic exercise Braden suggests that Bannister
utilized:
IF: I can already run a mile in 4:01.
AND: All I need to do is run one second faster than I
have run already to tie the record at 4:00.
AND: All I need to do is run one second faster than
that to set a new record at 3:59.
THEN: I can do that! I can run just two seconds faster
than I already do.
It reminds me of the adage: how does one eat an elephant?
One bite at a time!
Knowing all that we’ve explored about the science of quantum
behavior, being willing to question and explore what you feel might be
restraining your desires in life, imposing false limits, you can find the
elements of a logic patch that will be embraced in mind, heart, and soul to
create your world anew.
Finally, speaking of soul;
Belief Code 31: The power of a miracle is that we don’t have
to understand why it works. We must, however, be willing to accept what it
brings to our lives.
Now for the Miracle Patch: “We can bypass the logic of our
minds altogether and go directly to our hearts. In this way, we don’t even need
to think about what we believe. We’re forced to embrace a new belief in the
presence of an experience that’s beyond rational explanation. This is the
definition of a miracle.”
I have one I wish to share with you.
The picture above this article is one that I took in Tibet
in April of 1994. The group I was part of consisted of international students
and practitioners. We first converged in Nepal and then traveled to Tibet to
study a healing modality known as Body Harmony.
For me, it was a life-changing experience. We visited a sky
burial site, which is where the picture was taken. As there wasn’t a ceremony
taking place, we were allowed to visit. In Tibetan Buddhism, these are sacred
sites. This was a rare privilege that we were granted.
It was also there that I witnessed a miracle.
In the background of the picture, you see a behatted man,
spinning a handheld prayer wheel and chanting. I captured him in that picture
and one other. He looked directly towards me as I took the photos. I quickly
decided to take one more, focusing exclusively on him as he was a dramatic
subject in the stark setting. I raised my camera to take the picture.
He had vanished without a trace, no dust raised in an
obviously dusty environment, no tracks left where he had been standing.
I turned to the Tibetan guide who was accompanying our
group, the look on my face saying it all.
“Shape shifter,” he calmly replied.
I think that it was a miracle that I captured his assumed
form in the two photos I took. He looked towards me, aware that I was taking a
picture that included him.
And then, he was gone. There is no logical explanation.
Considering all that I had experienced in life up to that
point, this was the exclamation point of everything that I was asking and
learning. It was essentially the Universe giving me a literal wink and a nod. It
was an event that appeared inexplicable by the laws of nature, the pure
definition of a miracle.
Gregg Braden chooses to discuss historical miracles such as
those performed by Jesus and Buddha, mass event versions such as occurred in
Fatima, Portugal in 1917. He also shares several that he experienced both
individually and, in a group, one involving the impossibility of a literal time
warp.
I know that the version of me who began this journey 50 years
ago would have scoffed, staying firmly entrenched in my skeptical outlook. I am
so appreciative of my willingness to change, to be open to knowledge and
beliefs that transcend my original position.
Which leads me to conclude our adventure with this
suggestion: If you’ve been open to reading all these articles and they’ve had
some impact or effect upon you, can you accept that as a sign that you might be
ready to heal some of your prevailing beliefs? Are you willing to see that all
notions of limits are defined and imposed by said beliefs?
Look at the world we’re living in, one where information can
travel at the speed of light; where Artificial Intelligence is both a boon and
a threat to virtually everything known to man.
It’s also a world where man is a boon and an obvious
threat to everything known to nature and man.
I’ll leave you with three closing quotes that sum all of
this up. I urge you to follow any spark that might be lighting your way, even
if it wasn’t observed or recognized before.
Thank you for your attention.
"The universe does not exist 'out there,'
independent of us. We are inescapably involved in bringing about that which
appears to be happening. We are not only observers. We are participators."
— John Archibald Wheeler, Theoretical Physicist
"You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire
ocean, in a drop." — Rumi, 13th-Century Sufi Poet &
Mystic
"Multiplicity is only apparent. In truth, there is only one mind."— Erwin Schrödinger, Nobel Laureate in Physics
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