Questioning Beliefs

Why?
Why not?
Are they yours?
Who came up with them?
Do you really believe they´re true?
Do you know where they came from?
Who do they serve?
Do they make you happy?

It is strange to me sometimes when I hear people say things like "war will always exist".
How do they know this? Why would they give their energy to such a belief?

Are we learning from our mistakes?

Evaluation, assessment, contemplation, processing is a matter of looking at our experiences and finding out if we might want to change something. I have looked at civilization and wondered why haven´t we ever gone back to the drawing board to start over. It seems, collectively, we never make an assessment and re-design our approach to things. We just go forward, pall mall, it seems blindly, without really looking at things and asking the question - is this working?

This is one of the most important factors when designing anything (a piece of furniture, a car, a essay, a project) - evaluation. We do this when we are walking - look out for obstacles, alter our route to avoid trees, etc. But do we do this with societies?

Or maybe we like, prefer, desire, things like conflict, strife, people not having enough food, seeing people being killed, not being able to drink out of the river like I suppose we could do at one time in the not-too-distant past.

I don´t think we really prefer these things. I suspect we are just caught up in the idea of history repeating itself - that life is constituted by "our" beliefs - which were created by other people, or someone, likely long ago. Maybe these people were really stupid - or mean.

Am I really my name? or my ID number? or the job that I hold, or the amount of money that I have in the bank?

Where did all these ideas come from? Do I agree with them?
Do they serve a greater good?
Do I want my children to carry on, along the same lines?
Am I happy with the results?
Could things be different? - better?
Does the past actually exist?
Who came up with the idea of guilt?
Do we really need money?
Could we make the world peaceful?
Could we feed, house and clothe everyone?
Who has the power here?
Who have I been following? Why?

I don´t know. These are some of the questions that I Am asking, some for a very long time. Mostly in my head. But today I have decided to share these questions. Maybe you have wondered too? What if we got together?

Socrates asked questions. That, I think, is how he figured so many things out. He believed that we don´t learn things, but that we actually remember. This really makes sense if you put it in the context of there being only One thing (God, creation, existence, or whatever you might believe). This idea is contained throughout most ancient teachings about who and what we are. Where we came from. Where we are going. If there is One thing - it would know everything, right - we have just forgotten.

In asking these question I have discovered a great many things. Like, I am very powerful. What I am thinking is very important. That I am always being guided. Love is the truth.

What would love do?
How would I prefer to be treated?
Is cause and effect real?
If I do something to someone else, what happens?
What can I do?
What can I share?
Can I make a difference?

The surprising thing is that living in this mystery, this place of being open to new answers, new beliefs, new possibilities is quite interesting, and exciting. I never know what to expect next - what new information might come in.

And, it seems, as long as I continue to guide my questions, actions and beliefs by the truth of love, it keeps getting better and better.