Why We Give Power to Beliefs
Por qué damos poder a las creencias
A reflection on why beliefs seem so compelling, how identifying as something we are not allows us to experience suffering, and why it matters to examine what we get from experiences we claim not to want.
Why We Give Power to Beliefs
A reflection on why beliefs seem so compelling, how identifying as something we are not allows us to experience suffering, and why it matters to examine what we get from experiences we claim not to want.
I wouldn't give power to beliefs. The way that question is framed is giving power to beliefs, but that's not where the power is. You can, however, choose to give power to beliefs. To answer the question directly: beliefs are powerful because you give them power. That is the only reason.
The temptation to believe
But then comes the follow-up question: why is it so compelling to give power to beliefs? What is the attraction, the temptation, that makes us so drawn to doing this?
This theme appears all over religious texts. It is a very fundamental one. I always come back to the Christian parable of the prodigal son. To refer to it briefly: the prodigal son is a metaphor about two sons. We are one of them, and the Father represents God. Yet the Son and God are one. The Son who leaves the Father does so because he wants to live an adventure.
It is compelling because something is enjoyed until it is no longer enjoyable. It is enjoyable to believe in Santa Claus, and then at some point, when all of your friends know it is not real and you are still trying to hold on to that belief, it stops being enjoyable. Now you are the only one who still holds it. In that particular example, the belief changes on its own. But in a broader sense, to believe we are something that we are not allows us to experience things in a way that is quite fascinating.
The fascination of suffering
Suffering, to put it under one big term, is one of the main things that this kind of believing allows us to experience. And suffering is quite an interesting experience. The sense that one has power, that one has agency, that one can control things: that is quite an interesting roller coaster.
At some point, we can start getting tired of it. That is why it is so important to really pay attention to what we are getting from experiences we claim not to want, especially when we feel that we are powerless.