It is my belief that what you believe only matters whilst you are alive.
Whilst we are alive, what we believe clearly has a powerful effect on our experience of life:
What we believe about ourselves affects how we feel. It impacts our confidence and therefore, the relationships we make, the skills we use and develop, the amount we put ourselves forward, the way we come across to others – basically it affects our ability to make the most of ourselves and the knowledge, qualities and skills we possess, or could possess.
What we believe about life and the universe affects both us and others;
It either gives us comfort and helps us deal with the ups and downs of life and so that we are resilient …
Or it makes us hurt and angry and thereby vulnerable to the knocks, losses and disappointments of life;
It either encourages us seek to understand different perspectives; make connections, be considerate and compassionate to others …
Or makes us intolerant, self-seeking and blind to the needs and perspectives of others.
These are the polarities between which our personal beliefs may cause us to move as we work our way through life.
What we believe during life, whose perspective and information we choose to accept, and the extent to which we question and explore facts, opinions and realities, causes us to make decisions that can fundamentally affect the experiences we have and situations we find ourselves in.
Without a doubt, what we believe in all these areas has a profound impact on how we experience life whilst we are living it. It also has a profound effect on how we interact with others and the choices we make that might affect them. In life, what we believe matters.
Yet it is also my belief that when this experience of life is over, when we die, what we believed in life has no impact.
It is my belief that when we die we all return to our formless self, free and once more part of everything – it is my belief that without matter, nothing matters and our perspective changes unrecognisably.
I know many will believe differently, and that is how it should be – diversity is good. None of us can prove it one way or the other, we can only assert firmness of belief, not knowledge in the provable sense. I don’t mind that; I am happy to choose a belief and not to know.
I have no desire to tell people what to believe. I see it as a choice for each of us to make. However, it is a choice I would suggest none of us sensibly make lightly – because of tradition, to please others, or because others like to tell us what to believe. It is a serious choice, but should be a free one, and again, sensibly one we are happy to revisit and revise on the basis of the evidence of its impact on ourselves and others.
It just seems to me, that as there is no doubt that what you believe during life has a massive impact on your actual life and the lives of those around you … then it makes sense for all of us to try and choose a belief system that actively helps you AND those you share this world with.
If we all do that, then we can’t go far wrong in navigating life together which is what we must do. We are none of us an island … even if we live on one!
Share D’All (April 2025)
Tales of the Universe 
Well said, Share, and I’d like to add that once you have sensibly determined your beliefs mind your own business and let others live as they choose (always the proviso of not harming others with their lifestyle implied).
Yes – trying to control others is not helpful. I think the optimum would be that we can talk about beliefs and explore what each other mean without in any way trying to push our particular beliefs on other people. Trouble is I know that a lot of people believe things which cause fear of judgement or rejection… once you see things from that perspective it’s and easy step to think you are being kind by trying to pursuade others to fit in with what you think is right.
Great stuff Share, helps me understand why we get on so well. Something to do with shared values?