Assumptions & Beliefs are Personal Preferences

Looking at our own assumptions and beliefs can be inspiring in its ability to generate change and deeper understanding. The practice involves being with our internal conflicts, and continually taking time to reflect, question, and disassemble some of the assumptions we make about life and ways of knowing. How do these assumptions fuel our beliefs? Being vulnerable and willing to engage in deeper personal inquiry gives room for learning, growing, and expanded understanding. This practice includes cultivating mindful responses, the ability to listen deeply, let go of unfounded judgments, and realize that assumptions and beliefs are personal preferences.

This reminds me of working towards autonomy; the ability to deconstruct thoughts and beliefs that hold us back from taking responsibility for our own actions. Remember that we have the power to change what we feel, think, and say by deconstructing assumptions, reframing stories, and empathizing with the experiences of others.

To be mindful of the complex, diverse, and multidimensional beings we are, helps us notice assumptions, judgments, and integrate new ways of knowing into our perspective. Assumptions seem to be saturated in ignorance and the unwillingness to learn. This idea of coming into conflict with an open heart and humility feels like it has the power to transform.

We never stop to consider

that our beliefs are only a relative truth

that’s always going to be distorted

by all the knowledge we have stored in our memory.

-Don Miguel Ruiz