How do you decide what to believe?

With all the threads here about:
Having faith versus not
Having hope versus not
Believing in God/Gods or not
Believing in Aliens versus not
Believing in paranormal events/life after death versus not
Believing in the NWO or other various alphabet agencies controlling the world...

How do YOU personally choose what to believe in or not?
How much of your choice is based upon the environment that you grew up in, and how much is based on the life you live now?
Biggest question:
Has being a member here enhanced those beliefs or altered them at all?
As a child I was raised in a Christian environment, but around age 10 I became entranced by the paranormal, and all it encompasses, as well as aliens and UFO's.
My research has continued over the years, and I belief more in some things than others. Always a learning process.
The consistency though, is the filters in my brain or my "gut feelings".
I never really believe in something that feels wrong.And I always need multiple references to make something into a "Truth" for me. I never rely on the word of one person's research alone. Too many biases, and not enough variables.
So ATS, I ask you...
HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHAT TO BELIEVE?

it's pretty simple really, just believe whatever the heck you want to believe. believe in somethin gdifferent every couple of hours, it's good for you.

We all start with a belief that has been teached and accepted by those surrounding us. Our parents, the region and culture you live in.

For those who grow up, and start questioning, it depends on what info you can find.
And the more i look around here at ATS, the more vids i watch on the net, the more i get convinced that there is little to really believe in.

Modern technology, and the availability of information on the net as the most important, succeeded to shake down most of the common accepted theories.

The speed of information turning out to be false, uncertain, not backed by proof, is so high that there is only one certainty :

That we are not ready to decide on what is the truth, on what is right and what not.

Take a decision with the information available to you at that time, do what is right. Possibly to find out you were wrong afterwards....

No one can blame you for doing so.....

I believe what I can prove or have experienced. The rest drives me absolutely insane.

Ummm

Im of two minds on this matter .. first I seen a gohst.. , Then i seen a ufo.."or what looked like one" no green men tho lol..

Then I normal day to day stuff ie going the shops ect.. and for me to understand this i used maths..

More like a hobby really... I use to think life was odd.. but then I came to a point in my life were life was not odd I was..

There is no reason for me to be here but I am... No reason what so ever But i am..

makes me think of how petty we are, why kids starv, why is it the way it is.. its beoucse we are mentaly retarded somehow

Anways with that said poof is something I can use that is used in life everyday.. logical and maths.. and tbh they could both be wrong.. who said it had to be right? makes sens to only me soo..?

I dunno its all very strange.. guess thats why im on ats lol with fellow strange people who ask strange things of the world about them to make it abit more sane "or unsane" depending on what you read and who you are hehe

good thread look forward to reading others views

i don't usually believe anything, usually, almost everyone is pushing an agenda and telling lies. i find very little truth in anything.

sometimes i choose to believe the exact opposite of the most ignorant person to hand at the time.

no one decides....

your environment does that for you.

Critical thinking, occam's razor, research and a lot of sleepless nights

Reason, authority, experience. All three in combination are best. Any two are acceptable, depending upon the situation.

As long as you are prepared to change your belief if new evidence presents new truths, then you will always learn and be free from ignorance. But i suppose sometimes ignorance can equate to happiness for some, ultimately you should believe what makes you feel content. Id rather die a happy fool than an unsatisfied genius.

fortunately im too stupid for that to ever be an issue.

How do YOU personally choose what to believe in or not?
How much of your choice is based upon the environment that you grew up in, and how much is based on the life you live now?
Biggest question:
Has being a member here enhanced those beliefs or altered them at all?

For me, so many factors come into play:

-Experience
-Gut feelings (my gut has never failed me)
-Information I read, hear about...and if there are 2 sides to an issue, I look at both sides and see which is more reasonable/logical

-My environment has shaped some of my beliefs, but as an adult, there are some views/opinions that have changed from how I was raised: homosexuality and religion to name a couple. I believe those changes came from experience and learning.

-Emotions. I admit that sometimes my emotions can overshadow reason and logic; therefore, forming a belief (opinion) on something that could actually change over time.

I think it is very important to be open to other beliefs/opinons, etc....yet not be so weak you fall for anything and everything. There has to be a middle ground. That isnt always easy. And I think that is one thing I strive to be: open, yet cautious.

Being here at ATS has actually enhanced some of my beliefs (for example, the supernatural/paranormal), made me question others and really has helped me think outside the box (ufos/life outside of earth) and grow and learn. It sounds so cheesy when I read that over. But it is actually very true. Those who know me best here would attest to that


Great thought provoking topic AD

[edit on 1/6/2009 by greeneyedleo]

My beliefs are simply based on what I can see, prove or disprove, making a legitimate judement within reasons and using common sense.

There are tons of information on the internet nowadays that either will play with your mind or make you a believer, it is up to ourselves to do our homework and decide if it is legit or not.

I hope your next thread isn't going to be "How do you know if it is LEGIT?"



[edit on 6-1-2009 by TheEnlightenedOne]

[edit on 6-1-2009 by TheEnlightenedOne]

Everything green eyed leo described falls under my blanket of environment.
Even your genes are part of your immediate environment.
Emotions too, and experience is a result of your environment as well.
It all makes free will seem like a total joke, and perhaps it is.

What you believe in its only your own reality which is nothing to what reality can really be. Everyone of us have a different reality and the impact of our part will affect our persection which is what we believe to be true to ourselves.

Its important to remember that we actually know nothing, comparing to the amount of people in the world and the different possibilities of realities that there can be.

What you believe if what makes you who you are, peception of the past (experiencies) and impact of them. When people from a similar reality interconnect, it forms a bigger perseption which they will believe its true.

I mean, that even though your own beliefs makes you happy, you always have to remain skeptical about being truly right all the time. Someone can always add more to that reality which would expand your beliefs and expand your mind as a human being.

An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it.

Mahatma Gandhi

I say learn as much as you can outside of convetional thinking.I used to beleve everything science had to say about existance untill I started having out of body experiences and a dream of 911 the day before.It seems the generaly acepted ideas of the world we currently live in are very limited.Look at fashion, if every joins in it must be what's important yet the most fashion conscious people are among the most boring.The sad truth is that people are stupid and easily led.I find so called educated people to be the worst.As einstein said an education is what you get when you forget everything you leaned at school.Check out robert monroe's work if you haven't allready.It can show you the way to find your own answers.

Do unto others as you wish they do unto you.

Not that I am always the nicest person, but never an ass.

If something is proved to be real I can believe in it, or if it helps me finish the equation to my own ways of thinking, whatever that may be.

reply to post by AccessDenied

Take a moment to ask yourself how you feel about the following paragraph. After reading the clarifying word, reread the paragraph. Pay close attention to your mental shifts and feelings in the paragraph.

A newspaper is better than a magazine. A seashore is a better place than the street. At first it is better to run than walk. You may have to try several times. It takes some skill, but it is easy to learn. Even young children can enjoy it. Once successful, complications are minimal. Birds seldom get too close. Rain, however soaks in very fast. Too many people doing the same thing can also cause problems. One needs lots of room. If there are no complications, it can be very peaceful. A rock will serve as an anchor. If things break loose from it, however, you will not get a second chance.

Is this paragraph comprehensible or meaningless? Feel your mind sort through potential explanations. Now watch what happens with the presentation of a single word: kite.
As you reread the paragraph, feel the prior discomfort of something amiss shifting to a pleasing sense of rightness…Reread the paragraph again; it is impossible to regain the sense of not understanding.

~ Robert Burton, On Being Certain

Now what you know and what you believe are very close. You can choose to believe what you see which helps you understand, but you cannot choose whether or not to know or understand.

And guess what, most of our beliefs or based of what we understand so what does that tell you?

We have choice to believe, but most of our beliefs are in accordance with our understanding.



[edit on 7-1-2009 by juveous]

reply to post by juveous



Your post gives an absolute "lightbulb moment".
Thank you.

i believe what i feel is the what i should believe

my instincts have never let me down and i trust in them completely

To be perfectly honest, i don’t believe in God, i don’t believe in spirituality, I am skeptic some time about science and I am just about to believe in me. I am searching God and spirituality, but I can’t say that I believe with all my heart.
You see every thing in life is only Idea, God is an idea, and spirituality is an Idea. Some people will tell you that it is in they heart that they find the truth of they belief. Well, I am sorry because in my heart I only find sorrow, which is not an idea but a factual emotional reality…no one can say the same for any “idea”.
You see before you engage your self in believing in any thing, reflect in your self about who your really are. Are you Mr. X born in so and so, raised by father and mother so and so…or are you just a product of this incidental happening. This is a very valid question: who am I?
Until you answer this question forget about believing in any thing except searching the things.
Kacou.