Do Beliefs Come in Different Kinds?

What are the 3 types of beliefs?

There are three distinct types of beliefs. They are different and linked together. They affect each other in peculiar ways. For instance, our belief about the world is affected by our belief about ourselves as well as our belief about those close to us.

Often, we can change our beliefs, but not without one belief affecting our other beliefs. That is why a change or shift in one of our core beliefs causes a shift in all of our beliefs. For instance, if you change your belief about dogs being great pets. It may very well change your belief about people who own pets including your friends, family, and even yourself.

Below is the list and explanation of the three types of beliefs. This way you can get a clearer understanding of them and how they link together.

1. Beliefs Regarding Oneself

The first is the things we believe about ourselves. These are the things that are usually held deep in our unconscious mind. They often form our core beliefs. We can add to or change them, but it requires deliberate intent.

2. Beliefs Involving Others

The second type of belief is the things we believe about others. This is our understanding of the other people in our lives. This includes beliefs about people we know and those we actually do not know. It is, however, a belief system that is singularly specific. It means when you think about someone besides yourself, but not a group of others.

3. Beliefs About the Surroundings and the World

That is the third type of belief. It is a belief about the world and our surroundings. It is about society, culture, the planet, animals, and everything in between. This belief is usually the easiest to modify because it holds the truths, we think about things outside of us and our control. When we think things are outside of our control, we place fewer restrictions on them.

What are the Forms of Beliefs?

There are 5 Natures of Belief

1. Existence (A)

One of the simplest forms of belief is that some given thing exists. It is the idea that something is something and not nothing.

When we believe that something exists, it makes it true to us. It becomes a recognizable part of our reality. It does not make it factual, only true. Belief in existence does not make it real for anyone beyond the believer.

2. Association (A:B)

This form of belief is one that adds to the mere belief that something exists. It is a belief in two things that are believed to exist having an associative relationship. This thinking says that the two things are related in some form or another. A belief that things are connected.

It is a belief that two things are correlated and suggests that A is like B. Or that A is related to B in some way. For instance, you look like your aunts and uncles. A Doberman is a sort of Canine.

3. Equivalence (A=B)

This is a form of belief that implies that two things are the same or identical. It is a belief that two things are the same. The most common mistake made with equivalence belief is when we mean ‘some aspects of A are similar to some aspects of B’, But we shorten it to ‘A is B’.

This type of belief is dangerous because we can misinterpret what things actually are. Such as if someone says about someone else “you are stupid” it could then be assumed that they are equal. Meaning that the entirety of the person is stupid, rather than simply believing a decision, action, or thought by that person was considered to be stupid. It incorrectly equates one thing with the other.

Another tricky concept is that we sometimes equate our mental maps of things to be the same as reality. But our mental maps or mental picture of something seldom represents reality very well. But we think that it does.

Enaction (A happens)

You may have heard the saying “stuff happens”. It is a very common belief that things just happen without any pattern or cause. It is the subscription to the idea that we live in an imperfect world and as such things happen.

This is the idea that there is not always a reason for everything. It is the thought that there is not necessarily meaning in every event. We give things meaning based on our own biases.

Causation (A -> B)

In direct opposition to enaction, there is causation. We also have a need to explain how things work. It is a strong desire to make sense of the world and the things that take place. Part of the explanation is to attempt to determine the cause of things that happen.

This can lead to false beliefs. People tend to mistake when two things correlate to somehow mean that one caused the other. But that is not very often true. For instance, if two things happen in the same place at the same time, they might be believed to have a causal effect. Like when people are believed to have caused a fire because they were on the scene when the fire started. Or something is found to be missing, and the person seen near the crime scene when the theft was discovered is thought to have stolen the item.

How to Change Your Beliefs

If you want to change your belief about a certain subject, it is important to know why you want to change your belief first. Just wanting to alter what you think isn’t enough. Often our beliefs are held in place by strong emotions. In order to dig out and change our belief we would transplant a flower or other small plant. We need to get all the roots out or the belief will grow back. Strong emotions are the tightly compacted soil around the roots and need to be removed with care so as to not make a large mess.

When you know why you want to remove or change a belief, it makes the often difficult and painful process worth the effort. If the reason is big enough everything else (like what it takes to remove the old belief) doesn’t matter.

Keep in mind that removing your old and limiting beliefs is not an easy task. It may even require a bit of guidance to be successful. This can be done through in-person help or using a proven system that has worked for hundreds of others before you.

If you are interested in finding out more about how to overcome your limiting beliefs read this link to a very thorough webpage so you can decide what type of help if any you may need to help you accomplish your task to change your mind and transform your mind.