by Tim Brunson, PhD

The words belief and thought are the two most misused ones in the English vocabulary. The difference is a vital to understanding the transformation process. This is important to anyone seeking change in themselves or others. This includes improving performance, effecting accelerated healing, and resolving any dysfunctions in how we behave – and think.

A belief involves the relationship between a perception or concept and a previously established meaning and understanding. In other words, I may say that I think that today is Friday. But that is incorrect. Saying that I believe it is Friday is what I actually mean. When our senses detect an object, we receive a suggestion, or our imagination conceives an idea, our brain is designed to rapidly find previously programmed associations. This allows us to instantaneously establish meaning and develop an understanding. For this to work we need to have already programmed our mind with the correct association. As this is a programming phenomenon, beliefs are synonymous with habituated mental patterns and behaviors. In other words, we are programmed to become who we are. The role of a therapist or someone seeking self-transformation, is to change these beliefs.

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