Beliefs are just images. Of the world. A story I like to be told to me that helps me feel safe in the world for some reason. Just an image of the world.
For virtually the whole of our waking lives, we view the world through our beliefs as if looking through a prism.
Beliefs are not knowledge, reality or facts. Knowledge, reality and facts happen right now. In the moment we can see them in front of our face. We know for certain they happen. If only we are just to look at them. Knowledge, reality and facts are observed. Beliefs are never observed. They are only imagined - images of the world.
We can talk more later about the difference between knowledge which exists in the material world and quasi knowledge in the form of beliefs, which exist everywhere else. Because it is here where it feels like there is a crossover between knowledge and beliefs. I'm not saying there is an actual crossover but it feels like there is and it should be talked about to clear things up. But more of this later.
It's important to get agreement on this before moving on. Else when people talk about beliefs, knowledge, facts, reality, there will be a sea of confusion. If thought tells you beliefs *are* knowledge, reality or facts, and you accept what thought is telling you, then you have adopted a rather strange definition of the word belief. You will only have accepted it on the authority of thought. That does not make it true. Don't imagine thought starts inside your head and is self-booting and just telling you how things are. Oh no. Don't accept that. You see thought speaks from authority a classic logical fallacy. Maybe the biggest fallacy of all. So do not do that.
Surely a belief is just a story you wish to be true. A story that is so cosy it helps you rest your weary head at night. That is fine if it is all you need it for. A psychic pillow. But if you're using a belief to define knowledge, facts or reality then it will be causing you to perish and you will unwittingly treat anything else as foolishness at great cost to yourself.
There is nothing wrong with beliefs in themselves. So long as you keep reminding yourself they are just beliefs. If you stray away from this prayer, this remembering, then you're in a difficult, uncertain place, of course.
It might help if you were to look into how you choose what you believe. What parts of thought should you accept if anything at all. Is that enough? Has thought already given you a story to worship and are the only things you choose to believe everything which reinforces that initial image of belief. That story which helps you rest your weary head at night. Is that how you choose what you believe the upholding of the story that keeps your life cosy? If so, what about everything else that's happening in the world which you do not believe. How is that affecting your life? You will not know because you are not accounting for it at all. Could it be that all the problems in your life are being caused by these things you are not accounting for and you're needing to blame more newly created beliefs for these problems you're unable to account for in a vicious psychological positive feedback loop? If you refuse to account for everything that's happening to you in the world - the things happening in front of your face, then you are effectively rendering them into the unconscious, into the deep so that you can no longer see those things - the things that are actually happening facts, knowledge, reality. This forgetting would be a deliberate free choice activity, blocking your prayers of remembrance.
So what are facts, knowledge or reality? There is very little any individual can say is a fact, is knowledge or is reality. The most an individual can say is a fact, knowledge or reality is everything that happens in front of your face. Everything else that happens in the world beyond your face is not one of these things and must be a belief. Because there's no way you can verify something that has not happened in front of your face. All you can do with these things is believe them. And if they don't fit your cosy story, a system of beliefs, you will simply send them to the deep. A belief is something you do not know about, and just imagine. An image of the world. Knowledge is something you can see directly in front of your face and you know about it for certain. Even if you deny it, you still know it. It is still knowledge. Knowledge may not be very much at all, but it will certainly be far more than you ever knew before if you just remember this by prayer. And it will certainly be enough to get by successfully in the world free from fear. Knowledge is all you will ever need. Beliefs are nice to haves but they are not mandatory to make your way in the world. They are just luxury trifles.
All you can do with all of these other things called beliefs is believe they happened. You cannot know they happened. Knowing something happened is called knowledge. You cannot state that beliefs are facts and you cannot say beliefs are reality because you simply have not seen them and to be able to see something it has to happen in front of your face. There's not even a halfway house where you can say it's helpful to imagine beliefs are real for the utility these beliefs might have. That's just a further extension of the fallacy of a belief. It is no good. You still don't know that they actually happened.
Of course you can use beliefs in the material world because they do often have great utility but they can't help you with important matters. For example, money is just a belief. It's not a fact, it is not wealth, but it has great utility believing it is. That is okay but it is still not an important matter.
So you tend to look at the world through a prism or a prison of beliefs. In such a strong way that if these beliefs are questioned, you will respond to the question with fierce resistance and never accept the question - he will punish the messenger. There is nothing anybody can do to convince you anymore because your beliefs are phoney truth now. You'll be able to devote your entire intellect if you're a smart person, in resistance to the fact these are just beliefs. The greatest scientist can be the most unwise man too.
And because everybody believes more than they know - because they do not recognise yet what is happening right in front of their faces, there will be factions of belief in conflict everywhere, all the time, forever.
Those with a different belief thinking they know better. Will act with great confidence and impunity in getting their beliefs recognised by others or forced upon others. And we all know where this always ends up. All because we think beliefs are real and deny that what we see in front of our face is knowledge.
All anyone has to do, is look at what is on front of your face. And remember, through prayer, that beliefs are just occasionally useful stories.
"there is nothing hidden that will not become manifest"