Helping you to transform your
life, one belief at a time.....
Level 3 - The Belief Code®
What is a Belief?
A belief is a subjective feeling of certainty held by the subconscious mind that something exists, is true or real even in the absence of empirical evidence or proof to support it.
Beliefs involve placing trust, faith, or confidence in a person, thing, or idea, and they represent a global and absolute truth created through self-conclusion or suggestion.
Beliefs are often deeply personal and act as filters through which we view and experience life. They shape our perspectives, influence our decisions, and have a profound impact on our lives.
These beliefs whether about ourselves, others, or the external world, can be formed through personal experiences, cultural and societal influences, or the acceptance of certain ideas or values.
It’s important to note that while beliefs can be powerful, they are not always accurate or beneficial. Some beliefs can be changed or influenced by new information or experiences, while others may be deeply ingrained and resistant to change.
A key part of personal growth and understanding is to remain open-minded and willing to challenge and reevaluate our beliefs in light of new information or perspectives.
How Limiting Beliefs Are Formed?
Where do limiting beliefs come from, and how do they develop? Psychologists have identified several factors that contribute to the formation and persistence of limiting beliefs:
Early Childhood Experiences: Many limiting beliefs originate during early childhood, particularly in formative years. Messages from parents, caregivers, or significant figures can shape a person’s self-perception. Constant criticism, rejection, or unrealistic expectations can lead individuals to internalise negative beliefs about their abilities, worth, or potential.
Social and Cultural Conditioning: Society and culture significantly influence beliefs. Cultural norms, societal expectations, and stereotypes can lead individuals to adopt certain beliefs about what is possible or acceptable based on factors such as gender, race, or socioeconomic status.
Negative Self-Talk: The way individuals communicate with themselves, often referred to as self-talk, can reinforce limiting beliefs. Negative self-talk involves a continuous stream of pessimistic thoughts that undermine confidence and self-esteem.
Fear of Failure or Rejection: Past experiences of failure or rejection can lead to the development of limiting beliefs. The fear of repeating such experiences may cause individuals to set unrealistically low expectations for themselves to avoid potential disappointment.
Cognitive Biases: Cognitive biases, such as confirmation bias (favouring information that confirms existing beliefs) or self-serving bias (attributing success to internal factors and failure to external factors), can contribute to the maintenance of limiting beliefs.
Lack of Positive Role Models: A deficiency in positive role models or exposure to individuals who have overcome similar challenges can create the perception that certain achievements or successes are unattainable
Traumatic Experiences: Traumatic events can significantly impact one's beliefs about themselves and the world. These events may lead to the formation of limiting beliefs as a way of coping with the trauma.
Reinforcement from the Environment: Limiting beliefs can be reinforced by the environment in which individuals find themselves. If friends, family, or colleagues share similar beliefs, it can create a reinforcing cycle that sustains these negative perceptions.
Fixed Mindset vs. Growth Mindset: Psychologist Carol Dweck (2012) introduced the concepts of fixed mindset and growth mindset. Individuals with a fixed mindset believe that their abilities and intelligence are static traits, which can lead to limiting beliefs. In contrast, those with a growth mindset recognise their potential for improvement and are more likely to overcome these limiting beliefs.
Three main categories of Beliefs
Beliefs About Yourself: These are the beliefs you hold about your abilities, characteristics, and potential. They can be positive, such as “I am capable and competent,” or negative, such as “I am not good enough.” These beliefs significantly influence your self-esteem, confidence, and actions.
For example:
Helplessness/Inferiority: This includes beliefs related to personal incompetence, vulnerability, and inferiority. Examples include thoughts like “I’m not smart enough,” “I’m not talented enough,” “I’m not good enough,” and “I can’t handle problems or setbacks.”
Unlovability: This includes beliefs associated with the fear of being incapable of forming close relationships or receiving attention. Examples include thoughts such as “I’m not worthy of love or happiness” or “I’m not attractive enough.”
Worthlessness: This includes beliefs that make you feel morally flawed, insignificant, or like a burden to others. It includes thoughts such as "I’m a failure" and "The world would be better off without me."
Beliefs About Others: These are the beliefs you hold about people in your life and how you think they perceive you, which can significantly impact your relationships and interactions. These beliefs can be general, such as “People are inherently good,” or specific, like “My boss doesn’t appreciate my work.”
For example:
Everyone is judging me
No one loves me
People will hurt me
People aren’t trustworthy
I can't rely on anyone but myself
Beliefs About The World: These are the convictions you hold regarding how the world operates and what is possible within it. Such beliefs can be optimistic, for example, “The world is full of opportunities,” or pessimistic, like “The world is a dangerous place.” They shape your worldview and significantly influence your decisions and actions.
For example:
It's impossible for me to achieve my goals
The world is unfair
I have no control over my life
Good things don't happen to me
The world is a dangerous place
It’s important to remember that these beliefs do not necessarily reflect reality. Beliefs are not facts; they are interpretations or perceptions of your experiences.
Can Limiting Beliefs be changed?
Everyone has the potential to succeed and grow, and limiting beliefs can be changed or overcome through self-awareness and reflection.
Here are some points to note:
A subconscious belief exists as a distinct and singular pattern of energy
A person must have the desire to change incongruent beliefs
Self-actualisation is a fundamental concept in humanistic psychology. Carl Rogers (1967) argued that every individual has an innate drive to fulfil their potential and become the best they can be.
This process can be hindered by the discrepancy between how we perceive ourselves and how we actually are, which can lead to psychological discomfort. This discomfort can act as a catalyst for change, motivating us to resolve this conflict. However, there must also be a desire to change these unfounded beliefs in order to align our self-concept with reality. Without this desire, individuals may remain stuck in a state of incongruence, unable to progress toward self-actualisation.
It’s important to note that this process of change isn’t always easy. It can involve facing difficult truths about oneself and making significant changes to one’s beliefs and behaviours.
A conscious belief cannot be changed without conscious effort
Conscious beliefs are often deeply ingrained, resulting from our experiences, upbringing, and environment. Changing these beliefs typically requires a conscious effort, such as challenging our assumptions, seeking new information, or engaging in self-reflection. This can be a labour-intensive and time-consuming process, as it involves cognitive processing.
Only subconscious beliefs that are incongruent with conscious beliefs can be energetically changed
While conscious beliefs cannot be altered without conscious effort, subconscious beliefs can be addressed energetically. For example, a person might consciously believe they are capable of achieving their goals, but subconsciously, they might hold a belief that they are not good enough. In this case, energy healing can be utilised to address and change the subconscious belief.
What is a Belief System?
Belief systems are the narratives we create to define our personal understanding of “reality.” They often encompass our life purpose, moral principles, and empirical truths. Every individual has a set of belief systems that they rely on, and it is through these frameworks that we each make sense of the world around us.
These belief systems shape our personal code of conduct and extend beyond individual ethics. They provide a foundation for cultural groups and influence significant areas such as politics, legal structures, religion, philosophy, ideology, and cultural norms.
How do Belief Systems influence behaviour?
Belief systems significantly influence our actions by shaping our perception of reality and guiding our responses to life events. They affect our attitudes, behaviours, and decision-making processes, ultimately determining how we interact with the world around us.
Belief systems fundamentally impact human behaviour in several ways:
Guiding Decision and Actions: Our belief systems provide a framework for understanding the world. They help us determine what is right and wrong, influencing our decisions and actions accordingly.
Influencing Perception and Reaction to Life Events: Our beliefs shape how we perceive, interpret, and react to our environment and the events that occur in our lives. They serve as a lens through which we view reality, affecting our thoughts, emotions, and responses to various situations.
Shaping Attitudes and Communication Styles: Our beliefs often dictate our communication styles and attitudes toward people, events, and circumstances.
Providing Purpose: Belief systems, especially those that are religious or spiritual, can offer a sense of purpose or meaning in life. This sense of purpose can motivate individuals to pursue specific goals or exhibit certain behaviours.
Creating Social Cohesion: Shared belief systems can foster a sense of community and belonging, encouraging cooperation and establishing shared norms among group members.
Serving as a Coping Mechanism: Belief systems can also act as a coping mechanism, helping individuals manage difficult situations by providing comfort, hope, and explanations for life's challenges.
Belief systems are complex and can vary greatly among individuals and cultures. They can evolve over time as individuals gather new information and experiences. It's always important to respect the belief systems of others, even if they differ from our own.
The Belief Code® is an advanced and sophisticated energy healing method that builds upon the principles of the Emotion Code® and the Body Code™. It is a mind-mapping energy healing technique that enables practitioners to access the subconscious mind to identify and release unwanted beliefs.
This process can help reverse or replace negative thought patterns and create space for new, empowering beliefs. By using muscle testing, you can ask the subconscious mind Yes or No questions to determine what may be holding you back from aligning with your highest self or achieving your vision.
The Belief Code is comprised of seven categories identified below, with subcategories beneath each, and cascading lists of both negative and positive beliefs. These categories relate to both the chakra system and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (1943, 1962, 1987):
Divine
Insight
Communication
Love
Power
Passion
Survival
The layers of a Belief System in the Belief Code
Belief systems can consist of negative programs, limiting beliefs, faulty core beliefs, broadcast messages, unwanted memories and images, trapped emotions and more.
The Belief Code addresses the four main layers of a Faulty Belief System, enabling practitioners to systematically release unwanted negative beliefs. These four layers can be represented using a tree analogy:
Faulty
Core Identity
The soil, from which the tree sprouts and grows
A Faulty Core Identity is the origin story of the belief. These beliefs often begin when we are children and absorb the ideas around us without question. These become associated with our identity so closely; they may be unrecognisable to us.
Faulty
Core Belief
The spreading roots of the tree
When a negative belief is reinforced, and supported by other emotions, that belief begins to grow and even become additional beliefs. It spreads and compounds upon itself, becoming a tangled web of roots that becomes our belief system.
Limiting
Belief
The trunk at the centre of the tree
When you ask why the belief system exists, you will find the limiting belief at the centre. This belief is likely something you believe about yourself or the world. You might have no idea that thought was lingering in your subconscious mind.
Negative
Program
The outer branches and leaves produced by the tree
Negative Programs are the result of the full system, producing negative automatic thoughts. They are the easiest part of the Faulty Belief System to perceive and can be recognized as negative self-talk and negative chatter in the mind.
Belief Code Demonstration by Dr Bradley Nelson
Below is a Belief Code video demonstration with Guy Shahar from Heartful Healing so you can see how the process works.
Promoting positive beliefs for mental well-being involves several strategies
Focus on Strengths and Positive Qualities: Recognise and appreciate your unique strengths and positive attributes.
Practice Gratitude: Regularly express gratitude for the good things in your life.
Practice Self-Compassion: Be kind to yourself, especially during difficult times.
Shift Attention Away from Negative Thoughts: Try to redirect your focus from negative thoughts to positive ones.
Think of Best-Case Scenarios: Instead of worrying about what could go wrong, imagine what could go right.
Adopt Positive Health Practices and Lifestyle Changes: Embrace healthy habits such as regular exercise, a balanced diet, and sufficient sleep.
Practice Mindfulness: Be present in the moment and fully engage with your surroundings.
Savour Positive Experiences: Take time to enjoy and appreciate positive moments in your life.
Remember, cultivating a positive mindset is a journey, not a destination. It takes time and practice, so be patient with yourself and celebrate your progress along the way.
“Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle” Christian D. Larson
Do you believe in yourself
and have the
confidence in your
own abilities to
reach your goals?
✦ ALIGN ★ TRANSFORM ∞ THRIVE