Believe In The Moment

Barbara Joye

July 28, 2010

13 Steps to Shift Your Beliefs and Shift Your Life

1. Look at your life and determine what you would like to shift (change). Look for one small aspect/element you would like to shift. We call this the Outcome of a Belief. Start small for success. On a sheet of paper note the shift you have decided to create in your life.

2. Once you have determined what you would like to shift, think about all of the positive ramifications this simple shift could bring into your life

3. Then, think about all of the negative ramifications this simple shift might bring into your life…changes you may not want to have occur in your life.

4. On the sheet of paper you have noted your shift you desire to make, draw a line down the middle. On the right side of the paper, note the positive changes this shift could bring into your life and on the left side of the paper note the possible negative changes this shift could bring into your life. Decide if you are really ready to move forward with this shift. If not choose another shift and repeat the process until you have a shift you would like to make in your life.

5. Consider this aspect/element of your life. Make note of the things you hear yourself say either to yourself, in your thinking, or to others. These are what we call the Mentalities of a Belief.

6. The Mentalities are those things you think or say about a certain situation. They are the best pointers back to the belief itself. So consider all of the mentalities you have around this outcome in your life that you would like to shift. Note: This is not a time for ‘positive speak’. It is a time for clear and concise honesty.

7. Speak to a number of individuals in your life about how you are going to change this aspect of your life. Speak honestly. Note the Mentalities you hear yourself saying at this time. Ask the individuals (hopefully those whose opinion you respect) why they do or do not have this outcome/aspect/element in their life and listen closely to their response.

8. If their life reflects the same ‘outcome/aspect/element’ of life, ask them why they are not changing this outcome. Because they are someone in your sphere of influence whom you respect, you most likely will trigger some distinct challenges in your friendships if you do change your belief and therefore outcome and they do not. This is a potential ramification of any belief shift.

9. As you hold these conversations, note the body posture you are holding as you have this/these conversations. There are several body positions that reflect how deeply beliefs are held.
a. If you have this discussion and find yourself naturally ending up with your arms crossed at your chest, your belief is due to an emotional decision you made years, even centuries ago. Making this shift will create a shift in your emotional patterns.
b. If you have this discussion and find yourself tense and leaning forward, this is a belief you are holding due to cultural norms and you are concerned that in challenging this belief you may be putting yourself outside the cultural norm. This is a belief held due to fear of being outside the norm. And, although these are often some of the easiest beliefs to shift, they often have wide ranging implications for feeling a part of the dominant society. It might be important to locate a group or an individual or two who hold the position you intend to hold once this belief is shifted.
c. If by simply having a discussion on changing this belief causes you any level of physical discomfort, including sweaty palms, nausea, light headache, you are holding this belief deeply in your core and at some level believe it to be critical to your survival. Shifting this belief is best served accomplished at a slow pace and with support.
d. If, in your conversations, you find the discussions to be humorous, then the belief is one of those whose time has naturally come to shift it and you are simply in the right place at the right time. Congratulations on choosing this is a first belief to shift as it will occur more naturally and with fewer unexpected changes in your life.

10. Knowing where your belief is held and most likely how it came to be, begin to gently unwind the belief. This is not about pulling the belief out by the roots…the roots are very powerful and can support the nurturance of any belief you determine to insert into its place. Also, you may want to simply shift a belief. It is much easier to prune a tree and keep it alive and well then to uproot it and then prune it and then replant it…the success of re-establishing the adjusted belief is quite tenuous at best.

11. Unwinding a belief is about determine the value the belief once held, acknowledging how this belief has supported you (whether in this lifetime or a previous incarnation) and then adjusting, revamping, or replacing the belief. An example, as a two year old, you most likely looked to your parental figures for daily, minute-by-minute guidance in keeping you safe. If, at the age you are now are continuing to look to your parental figures (or whomever you may have replaced for those parental figures) for daily, minute-by-minute guidance you may be well served to adjust that belief. The adjustment may resemble changing the guidance to more of a mentoring; it may look like adjusting the focus to be to your own knowing or higher self or The Divine; or it may be to take a stand to be your own person. All of these are adjustments to a belief that once was valuable and is now no longer valuable in your life.

12. Make the change in your life gently. This is not about being a ‘bull in a china shop’. Rather this more like a degree or two temperature change on a thermostat. Remember, whatever change you make will have wide spread ramifications in your life and the gentler the better as some of those other ramifications may take you by surprise.

13. And finally, integrate the change into all parts of yourself and your life. If you are dealing with a change of feelings towards something, then making the change and keeping it in your head is not necessarily going to create the change at all. Shift in the area that the belief is impacting. Live with this simple belief shift for a few days or weeks before you move onto the next belief shift, allowing each shift to become larger and larger as you progress in your confidence to make the changes in your life.

Shift Your Perspectives - Shift Your Beliefs – Shift Your Life
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