Exploring the Power of Belief

Belief. It’s a word so intertwined with faith, even the origins of the word in Old English - geleafa - was used interchangeably to mean faith or religion. Although it came to us originally from the Old Germanic language, it can ultimately be traced to an Indo-European root word “leubh”, which means love.

Belief is so important to us that it can alter chemicals in our bodies. It is foundational for all magical practices and the root of all religions. Let’s explore the concept of belief further, and you’ll see how our beliefs shape our reality.

The nature of belief

The impact of belief on our biochemistry is well documented. The mind-body connection operates through measurable pathways - stress hormones like cortisol can suppress immune function when we believe we're doomed, while positive expectations can trigger endorphin and dopamine release. Neuroplasticity research shows that sustained beliefs reshape neural pathways, creating self-reinforcing cycles.

We’ve all read or watched stories of people who were told they would never walk again, or that they have an incurable disease, and miraculously they do walk, or their tumor disappears, or they are somehow healed through faith - through belief. And likewise, most people have also seen stories of, or know personally, people who doctors told they have an incurable disease, they have weeks or months to live, or they cannot walk again, and that’s precisely what happens. Doctors are trained to diagnose and treat illnesses and injuries. They cannot see the future. But often, when a trained physician says you are dying or you are too injured to walk, their patients believe them. They take it as truth, and as soon as they believe, their body responds by releasing chemicals that align with that process. 

Belief and will are the foundations of magic, which relies on the practitioner’s capacity to focus their will, hold their belief in the outcome, and amplify both through the use of rituals and symbols. This is, of course, an oversimplification of magic, which has many nuances and complexities. Belief also has limitations in this context. For example, no matter how much I will or believe it, I will never be six feet tall. I cannot “magic” myself to be 20 years younger. It is also unlikely I can manifest a million dollars/euros/British pounds, despite what you’ve read on TikTok. And yet there are so many things I can change about myself through belief and will, including my physical and mental health, where I live, what I do for a living, and what of myself I give to the world and others through art, music, writing and service. 

There's an interesting contradiction in belief work: forced belief often fails, while authentic belief flows naturally. The pressure to "manifest" can actually create doubt and resistance. True belief often requires a kind of surrender rather than force. This surrender can open the way for what Deepak Chopra calls “synchrodestinies”. 

“Attention and intention are the most powerful tools of the spiritually adept. They are the triggers for attracting both a certain kind of energy and a certain kind of information.” 

Deepak Chopra, SynchroDestiny: Harnessing the Infinite Power of Coincidence to Create Miracles

What you pay attention to, what you believe in, and put your energies towards, becomes your reality. So how do we utilise this to shape our reality, and is it possible to create a shared reality with others?

Shaping our reality through belief

Many of our beliefs have come through social and cultural customs and our personal experiences. If people in your family, who are supposed to love you, tell you that you are worthless, you may come to believe it. If your friends say you are an amazing writer, you will likely believe you have some writing talent. These beliefs are like computer programs; they are coded into your brain. People who lack confidence may have been programmed to believe that nothing they do is ever “good enough”. Wealthy politicians may believe they are entitled to rule because their programming reinforces the idea that normal working-class people are “below them”. 

Harmful words heard in childhood can shape our beliefs and how we see ourself and the world

The wonderful thing about beliefs, though, is that you can change them! Though it takes some effort, you are not “stuck” in an unhappy situation forever. The first task is to believe you can make the change, that you are worth investing in, and that the change you want to make is achievable. As I mentioned, I will never be six feet tall (I don’t want to be, just so you know), so I will not put my energy or willpower into that. But I do want to “follow my bliss”, which is writing, and specifically writing poetry. This is something I can achieve, and it is worth doing. I write poetry constantly in my head already, but it just rarely sees the light of day. I might also believe that I want to live somewhere, not in a city, somewhere peaceful near a forest or ocean. This is also possible, but it takes planning, money and effort. These are just two goals that I have where belief is foundational. If I buy the narrative “oh, I’ll never move, I’m stuck in this city the rest of my life”, then likely I will be. I must fully believe in a future that can be achieved with focus, energy and direction. Think of it as a current that you must direct. This is why people create vision boards, but many times this is too direct for manifestation work. It’s great to have goals, but belief works more subtly; sometimes you need to turn your vision board into something else. This is where ritual and symbols come in - they can help you seed your belief, your vision, into the unconscious mind, where it has a greater chance to align with synchronicities that will help you achieve your desired reality.

Creating a shared reality

Individual belief is powerful, but collective belief creates entire cultures and movements. Consider how shared beliefs have built civilisations, started revolutions, and created social norms that feel real to those within them. The "reality" of money, for instance, exists only because we collectively believe in its value. 

Let’s think about ageing, for instance. Cultural beliefs about ageing didn't emerge in a vacuum - they are supported by entire systems. In Western societies, youth-centric values developed alongside industrial capitalism, where productivity was the key focus, and innovation was rewarded. The belief that "old means obsolete" was embedded into the culture, it was reinforced through the media, and continues today to be prominent in hiring practices and healthcare approaches. In Eastern societies, elder knowledge is still seen as valuable, but in the Western world, elders are more likely tucked away, hidden from society, forgotten about, as they are not seen as productive or “useful”. But we all get old, or if we’re lucky enough to live well, we should get old. 

Changing deep-rooted cultural beliefs takes time and effort. Starting with small groups, though, you can change the reality of a culture or civilisation over time. In this example, pairing elders with younger adults as mentors, empowering elders to see their own value, and providing elders who want to contribute to have a place in the workforce could be good starting points. 

Art, music, and writing can also help to shape reality by pointing out injustices in a way that is not controversial. Art has a way of also seeping into your subconscious mind, depending on the art, and influencing your beliefs more subtly. If you’ve not picked up on it yet, subtlety and surrender, or openness to change, are drivers needed to change our shared reality.

The Dark Side of Collective Belief: When Shared Reality Becomes Destructive

This is perhaps the most important aspect when talking about belief - and the one that demands our most honest examination. The same mechanisms that can heal individuals and transform communities for good can just as easily justify genocide, oppression, and systematic dehumanisation.

Beliefs can create situations of “us” and “them”, weaponising the belief as a form of identity protection. Existing prejudices and cultural belief systems can become dangerous breeding grounds for hate. Genocide doesn’t happen overnight; it is built on fear of persecution, economic anxiety, loss of land or jobs, and the need for us as humans to solve problems that we face by creating simplistic solutions - sometimes scapegoating an entire race, religious group, or person who is to “blame” for our situation. 

The belief system provides moral justification for actions that would otherwise be unthinkable -  soldiers committing atrocities, citizens turning against neighbors, societies turning against immigrants who are fleeing war - they're all operating within belief systems that make these behaviours feel necessary, mandatory, even righteous. Shared reality can become so distorted that atrocity feels logical, even virtuous. The belief system becomes self-reinforcing: questioning it feels like betrayal, while conforming brings belonging and purpose.

The Choice Before Us

Belief is one of the most powerful forces shaping our collective experience, with the capacity for both miraculous healing and devastating destruction. It operates as the invisible architecture of our individual and shared realities. It reshapes our neural pathways, alters our biochemistry, and creates the very societies we inhabit.

The question isn't whether we should believe - we're believing all the time, often unconsciously. The question is: what are we choosing to believe, and how are those beliefs affecting ourselves and others? When we recognise that our current reality is largely a product of inherited beliefs - about ageing, success, worthiness, who deserves compassion - we also recognise our power to consciously participate in creating something different.

If we want a better reality, we should start from a position of  "conscious believing" - approaching our beliefs with both reverence for their power and responsibility for their consequences. It means staying open to the mystery of what's possible while remaining grounded in empathy and compassion. It means being willing to surrender our attachment to beliefs that no longer serve, even when that surrender feels like loss. Most importantly, it means remembering that the same force that can divide and destroy can also heal and unite - and that choice, moment by moment, remains ours.

What reality do you choose to believe into existence?