My spirit guide Angus McClure, once said to me, "If you believe it, it is so." Being the analytical creature I am I began to think about that. The very way we act, or react to experiences in our life is directly related to our own belief system. So I asked myself, what is a belief system? As I began to research the subject, I found the information to be so important for spiritual growth, that I decided to share it with anyone who is interested in understanding their life.

A belief system defines what you believe in life and governs the way you choose to live your life.

Your belief system is the single most important influence that you have over your life. It is what you believe about yourself, that determines the choices you make. A belief system is how you react to an action.

When would you say we begin to establish our belief system? If you said "in vitro" you'd be correct. We are sensitive to the feelings of our parents at this time, especially our mother. If our parents (especially our mother) are unhappy during pregnancy, we could begin at this point to establish incorrect perceptions about ourselves. If our parents are quarreling, or our Mother is under undue physical or emotional stress, we may absorb that energy and begin to see ourselves as the reason for our parent's dysfunction. This establishes the basis of our self worth, or our lack of it. During this time, we could be setting up our feelings of validation and lovability that could affect us for our entire lives. I think we all agree there is a strong body/mind connection. Our DNA encodes all of who we are. Feelings and emotions send a message to our cells and these messages are then encoded and serve to effect us in various ways. If the message at birth is that we are unworthy in some way, it is encoded in our cells "memory" and this begins our unbalanced belief system. Our subconscious mind is like a computer, it stores the information we give it. We save that information and it remains in our memory banks until we decide to change it. We then continue to fortify an already erroneous belief of ourselves as we process each experience in our lives. Each experience sends a message which creates a memory and an identity all its own. It is now solidified in our "computers memory banks."

The birth process itself can also have a direct impact on our feelings and beliefs. A scientific finding states that a baby begins to breathe as soon as its skin is exposed to the earth's atmosphere. If there is a breach birth, the baby would take its first breath while its head was still in the birth canal. This could lead to a baby's fear when its face is submerged in water, or if water is splashed or dripped on its face. It could even create a phobia or an extreme fear of water, or feelings of claustrophobia when encountering small enclosed areas.

Baby could also experience feelings of anger during his birth process. He could be angry at being separated from his "source" (God, heaven, angels, etc) or at having to come to "earth school". Even having to go through the trauma of the birth process and leaving the serenity of the womb. What baby is feeling at the time of his birth is encoded and sealed in every cell of his body. These become our root our "core" beliefs throughout our lives. The pre-suppositions we buy into at birth will literally continue to create situations that we create a block. These blocks grow until we recognize them on a conscious level and choose to change this negative energy. If we do not change them, these blocks can then manifest themselves as an illness or disease. Again, whatever we truly believe in our core being, becomes our reality. We are the complete result of our belief system.

One of the most obvious indications that your life isn't working in true balance is illness. Have you noticed how many of your friends or relatives are ill suddenly?

You can't balance your life unless you can accept yourself in spite of all your shortcomings or what you perceive your shortcomings to be. According to Dr. Bernie Seigal, many people who suffer from cancer tend to forgive others but not themselves. This, along with unresolved resentments begins to eat away at them. And what does cancer do? It "eats" away at our bodies.

You are the only person that you can change, and you are the only person who can make you happy.

Once we accept ourselves for who we are, (warts and all), it makes it easier to begin the process of change.

Remember that here in "earth school", every expierence that we draw to ourselves is for the purpose of learning and growing.

The first step to changing our belief systems is to become aware of what is going on in our lives. We must know there are always situations we can not control. When we encounter a difficult situation, we must realize that we cannot change the situation itself, but we can the way we preceive it.

Hopefully we seek peace and joy in our lives. In order to acheive peace and joy in our lives, we must get our lives back into balance. Look at the state of your life. Review you health, personal relationships, finances and gauge how your life is going in those areas. Be honest with yourself and make the needed changes. This is the first step to true joy and peace.

We create our own realities. Think of you thoughts as "seeds". You plant these seeds in the fertile soil of "feelings". These thoughts and feelings germinate because you nourish them by holding onto old erroneous beliefs. Once they germinate, an energy is released. This is creation. You have now created an emotion and this creation/emotion is your "crop". Energy can never be destroyed but it can be changed. By changing your true thoughts (seeds), then planting them in the soil (feelings), you will create a whole new belief system (crop).

This takes dedication and hard work. You must begin by becoming aware of all your thoughts and feelings at the moment you are having them. Listen to your own inner dialogue, and soon you will be able to recognize your own "mindless chatter". Focus on what you are saying to yourself. This is where your shift of self-awareness begins. As you develope your awareness you will learn how to communicate with yourself. You will develope a sensitivity into how your individual thoughts and feelings operate. You will become very sharp, and more finely attuned as to what and how you think. Then you can recognize your positive feelings. When a feeling is aroused it is usually triggered by a belief or system of beliefs which you have previously established.

Once we expand our awareness of what we are thinking and feeling we can begin to reprogram our subconscious. We eliminate the negative thought/feeling, and we must replace it with a positive one. The reason is, when we eliminate a negative thought/feeling it creates a space. If that space is not filled with a positive, then we fall back into the negative thought. The positive thought/feeling has replace the negative one. Now we can begin to draw on the positive thought/feeling and a shift in our belief system takes place.

Changing our belief system requires constant awareness and dedication. It won't happen overnight, but it will happen. You must be dedicate to owning your thoughts, words and, actions and by making changes.

Remember: We are not responsible for anyone else's thoughts or feelings. We are only responsible for our own and that's a big enough job in itself.

We change our beliefs about ourselves and thus change our lives for the better. We must be willing to let go of blame, judgement and practice forgiveness --- especially of ourselves.

If you can love unconditionally, accept your challenges and take one hundred percent responsiblity for your actions, thoughts, feelings, words, emotions and beliefs, you can create a life of joy and peace of mind.