How To Get Clear on What You Believe

Photo by Patrick Janser on Unsplash

I’ve recently been through a spiritual crisis, though it wasn’t as extreme as some I’ve read about online. It’s just that, after a series of events, I came to a place where I didn’t know what was right and wrong anymore. I didn’t know what I was supposed to believe or what God expected of me.

Through a lot of soul-searching and time spent alone and in meditation, I have finally gotten through this crisis. Now I feel like I’m practicing a more authentic version of my personal spirituality, though there is still room for improvement as I’m sure there always will be.

I offer more details about what led to my spiritual crisis in this post. Here, I want to talk about something that helped me get through the crisis: firmly establishing what I believe. To get through a spiritual crisis like the one I went through, you have to be clear on what you believe. This is a breakdown of the process that helped me do that, though when I did it, the steps were not so explicit.

1. State your beliefs.

   You don’t have to write down every single thing you believe, like that you believe the sky is blue and the grass is green. But take time to write down beliefs that deal with the areas where you’re struggling spiritually.
   
   For instance, you can write, “I believe in God” or “I believe in heaven.” Right now, you’re not concerned about whether these beliefs are authentic for you or not. Just write down your beliefs as they are, either as a list or in paragraph form.
   
   And it’s best to actually write them down, either by hand or on the computer. Don’t just keep them in your head because that will make it harder to do the following activities.

2. Discard beliefs that no longer resonate with you.

   Now is when you start examining your beliefs for authenticity. Go through your beliefs, one at a time. For each belief, evaluate whether that belief holds true for you or not. Feel the belief in your mind, heart, and body. Does it feel real to you? Does it resonate with your soul? It may have at one time, but you might find that now it doesn’t.
   
   For instance, I used to believe that Christianity was the only true religion. I no longer believe that, so I discarded that belief.
   
   It might be that as you come to certain beliefs, you won’t know right away whether you believe them or not. That’s ok. Work on the ones you’re clearest about first, and leave yourself time to ponder the others.
   
   This activity doesn’t have to be done in one sitting. You can take a few days, weeks, or even months to do it. But if you’re serious about pulling yourself through a spiritual crisis, make sure you are referring back to your beliefs every now and then. As you live your life, you may discover what you truly believe about things you may not have been certain of right away.

3. Replace discarded beliefs with new ones.

   In the example I mentioned above, I had to replace my belief about religion with the belief that there are as many right ways to worship God as there are people. For all the beliefs you’ve discarded, you’ll have to replace them with new beliefs. If you don’t, you’ll find that your old beliefs will still fight to have authority in your life.
   
   It may be possible to discard some beliefs without replacing them with others if they aren’t very contentious for you or deeply held by you. But for the beliefs that you’ve turned over and over in your mind or the ones that have caused you to lose sleep or question what you once considered certain—those beliefs will have to be replaced.

4. Modify beliefs that need modification.

   Some beliefs you may not have to throw out altogether. You may just need to modify them so they hold true for you. For example, during my spiritual crisis, I knew that I still believed in God. But I had to modify the way I saw Him.
   
   I used to see Him as a Being who could be greater than the universe but also here with us. Though I still see Him that way in some respects, now I understand Him more as spirit. He is the Divine, that something that’s greater than all of us. And with that belief I understand how I experience Him in everything that moves me profoundly, especially music.
   
   Any beliefs you still find meaning in but whose meaning has changed will have to be changed. But, again, this process will take time as you uncover your authentic beliefs, so don’t rush it.

5. Explore other forms of spirituality or belief systems.

   This step may or may not be necessary for you. If you find that you’re clear on what you believe without exploring other forms of spirituality or belief systems, there’s nothing wrong with that. But if you’re going through a spiritual crisis, it might be helpful to hear about other people’s experiences with spirituality.
   
   Maybe there are other ways of believing or experiencing God that you hadn’t considered. If you learn about them, you might find new things that resonate with you, and you can add them to your beliefs. Keep in mind that this is not a fixed list or paragraph. You can add to it and change it as you change and grow in spiritual maturity.
   
   You can also look at other ways of practicing the belief system you’re familiar with. It was through reading books on other ways of practicing Christianity that I became clear on some of my own beliefs.
   
   (For the record, I no longer consider myself Christian. Instead, I think of myself as a child of God.)

6. Practice what you believe every day.

   This is the hardest part of this process. It’s easy to write down your beliefs, though how you uncover your authentic beliefs can be challenging. But the hardest part is to actually live what you believe.
   
   Your old beliefs will constantly try to resurface as you start to live your new or modified beliefs. But that’s another reason it’s so important to have them written down. Whenever you find the old beliefs fighting for authority, look at your true beliefs to remind yourself of what you actually believe.
   
   It’s a good idea to put your beliefs in a place where you can see them every day, just in case you need a reminder. It also can’t hurt to reread what you believe at least once a day for the same reason. And you don’t have to have all your beliefs written there, only the ones that you feel most shape the way you live your life—the ones that make you feel the most free.

I’ve found that beliefs are like the stuff in your house. Over the years, stuff accumulates. And if you never take time to clean out the old stuff, when you want to bring new stuff in, you find that there’s no room.

From time to time, it helps to go through your stuff and discard everything that no longer works or that you no longer use so that you have plenty of room for new stuff.

Beliefs are the same. Over the years, they accumulate in your mind, often unconsciously. And if you don’t take inventory of those beliefs once in a while and remove the ones that aren’t or are no longer authentic to you, you’ll find that you don’t have mental room for new beliefs you want to invite in.

You have to clean out the beliefs in your mind regularly, like you would clean out the stuff in your house. This is part of the process of practicing your authentic spirituality, which is something I think everyone should strive for.

And never forget what Robert Bolton said: “A belief is not merely an idea the mind possesses; it is an idea that possesses the mind.”

Now I turn it to you. How do you get clear on what you believe?

~ Ashley C.

Last updated: June 23, 2022