Believing Versus Knowing

One thing that I discover over and over as I coach people on life issues is that at the bottom of a great deal of their challenges is a lack of faith in something.  

You see, there is a huge, yet subtle, difference between "believing" and "knowing" that something is true.  We can even convince ourselves that our beliefs are knowings, even when this is not so.  You see, our minds can believe something, while our hearts do not.  There has actually been a considerable amount of research done on this that indicates the existence of what has come to be known as the heart-brain (see www.heartmath.org).  This research actually indicates that the heart-brain is "stronger" than the brain we have all been told controls our choices, beliefs and actions.

Learning to differentiate between beliefs and knowings, and between what our head and our heart are telling us are some of the basic logistics we humans need in order to live deliberate, conscious lives.  A further look into the heart-brain suggests that it knows things that our logical brain does not recognize.  That these things the heart-brain picks up on are connected to our souls and to the whole web of life.  Research also indicates that our hearts can and do veto decisions of the logical brain and may even be the true driving force of our lives.  It would seem then a good idea to get more in touch with our heart-brain so that we make optimal life choices.  Coaching is one of many tools that can help with this process.  

I'd like to give you one small exercise you can do to help with these differentiations.  I'm sure you can feel the difference already, even as you read the first lines of this post.  But here, I want you to try this little experiment:

Say out loud:  "I believe I am worthy of living an abundant life."

Then pause and try to see how that statement made you feel.

Then say out loud:  "I know I am worthy of living an abundant life."

Again, check in with how you feel.

Can you feel the emotions each statement creates within your body?  Can you feel any difference in how you feel when you state the two sentences?  

One way to find out how much you truly resonate with something in your life is to try these two statements on the topic you are wondering about.  For instance:

"I believe I am __________."

"I know I am ___________."

If you feel strong, positive emotion with a statement, you know you are good to go.  If you waffle, feel agitated or any other negative emotion in your feeling center when you state the statements, then you know you have work to do.  And perhaps you'll get clarity about where you stand on the issue even more if you get the negative emotion on both statements.  If you get the negative emotion when you say "I believe ...," then you know you aren't anywhere near where you want to be.  If you get the negative emotion when you say "I know ...", but not when you say "I believe...," then you know you at least believe, but you need to fine tune yourself to knowing.

It could just be a slight pivot you need to take, or you may have a series of shifts to move through.  Never fear, for no journey is impossible ... 

... if you have a little faith. 

In Joy,

CJ