By Forrest Rivers
Faith is a beautiful thing. It can be compared to a budding flower, intuitively growing into its purpose to inspire and give life. However, this inspiring quality is too often confused with belief. Faith and belief are not the same things. Belief says: through my rational mind, I think all things might be one. Or, in the future, I think I will succeed as an artist. Faith says: within my soul, I feel all things are one. Or, I know I am already a successful artist…. the world just hasn’t yet found out. Belief thinks. Faith knows. Belief is both fleeting and can easily be broken down at the first sign of personal adversity or crisis. Hence, this popular phrase following a trying life circumstance: “I don’t know what to believe in anymore.” The reason why belief is so fragile is that it is a projection of our minds’ ego. One of the defining characteristics of the ego-mind is that it views the world through the lens of separation. And, because it sees itself as separate from the one unified consciousness, its thoughts are not truly rooted in anything but its own delusions of how it “thinks” the world is. This lack of intuitive knowing may also explain why belief often produces intense religious and political dogmas. For in the absence of such a deeper understanding, one begins to question the certainty of their own convictions and sets out to convert others to validate their “truth” for them.
In contrast to belief is faith. Faith is the conquering of fear through inner surrender. It is born through one’s intuitive knowing and is strengthened through heartfelt prayer and meditation. Faith also finds its expression through participation in all authentic acts of love and kindness. Faith is also firmly rooted in one’s own direct experience and soulful reflection. Another inspiring aspect of faith is that It takes on an eternal quality of higher truth that need not be spoken to convert would-be believers. For a person of faith, it is enough to know, for example, that Jesus and Krishna are sons of God in the respective Christian and Hindu traditions. Similarly, it is enough for those from Native American traditions to know through direct experience that in both form and spirit the Earth is a perfect expression of divine awareness. With faith, one has no desire to convert others for what is known can only be arrived at within. The desire to inspire others through sharing wisdom and baring one’s soul is a hallmark of faith. The desire to control another’s thoughts is a hallmark of belief. The former is the source of inspiration for the sincerest artists, counselors, and spiritual seekers. The later is too often the motivation for politicians, religious leaders, and captains of industry. Faith heals and unites. Belief injures and divides.
Unfortunately, these exceptional times that we find ourselves in have been mostly defined by our attachments to extreme belief. For example, amid the devastating backdrop of the COVID-19 health crisis, there is an alarming number of people who strongly believe that this pandemic is grossly overblown despite medical evidence showing how horrifying this illness really is. Until recently, I used to be one of those people who believed that this pandemic was overblown in order for political elites to control the people in their quest for total tyranny. But then I began hearing direct encounters from doctors (including from my own physician sister who works in the ER) who have witnessed first-hand the destructive impact of the virus. Another manifestation of the extreme belief that has emerged in these times is the view that this pandemic and the ensuing economic collapse are signs that the apocalypse has arrived. Internet posts on this very topic have rapidly multiplied over the past six weeks while the world has been in shutdown. Of course, the negative consequences of current belief systems are there for us all to see. A particularly strong example is the current anti-shutdown protests in America. Of course, these protesters are demanding an immediate end to the shutdowns even though virus cases are on the rise.
Fortunately, bubbling just below the surface is a faith-based perspective that transcends the realm of belief altogether. Viewed from this vantage point, many people of faith are increasingly coming to see this pandemic through a lens of greater awareness. This expression of faith regards COVID-19 and all the challenges it presents as humanity’s golden opportunity to move beyond this state of ego consciousness that we have been in. Such a perspective extends beyond all divisive political, religious, and societal dogmas because it has everything to do with our own collective spiritual evolution as one human family. Remember: belief injures and divides. Faith heals and unites. Let faith be your guide in these troubled times!
