Beliefs cannot be taught in my experience, you must discover them for yourself. 

The view I have gradually adopted over the last forty-seven years is that schools, teachers or books may give you external wisdom, however, beliefs are primarily gained from within.

What is the value of belief?

I thought of them as religious practices or a pointless activity that none of my friends appreciated or understood during my youth.

During my young adult years I would hear people say, Believe in Yourself or I Believe in You, which made it clear that belief was more than I thought.

Beliefs eventually began to intrigue me as I realized they could apply to many things.

For example, we may believe in friends, family, hobbies, health, education, community, spirituality, ourselves and many more.

We are free to practice what we feel is right and forge our own unique beliefs.

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Since 2001, I have been transforming negative practices into positively impacting ones to create powerful long-lasting beliefs.

Replacing alcohol with healthier beverages has increasingly strengthened my body and energy levels.

Letting go of toxic relationships and forming mutually-supportive ones have brought me peace of mind and lower anxiety.

Shifting ongoing laziness and partying to regular meditation and self-reflection has boosted my self-esteem and faith.

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Please note that I would never support the practice of negative or ill-intended activities to create beliefs.

Anything we practice, in turn, grows, similar to watering your garden.

That is why it is important to develop healthy and strong practices for your own well-being as well as those around you.

In my case, it all began while biking on a beach twenty-six years ago when a kind elderly woman handed me a flyer about qigong meditation.

What an amazing practice, I thought, as it teaches the philosophy of Truth, Compassion and Tolerance while doing daily exercises.

Practicing regular meditation shaped and bolstered several beliefs, which later transformed my life into something miraculous.

Being an honest man, confident human being and faithful practitioner of Falun Dafa have been the core elements resulting from that practice.

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If you are stuck in some area of your life, ready for a change or could use some empowering beliefs, consider the following:

• Be honest with yourself and ask, What do I need in my life right now?
• Write down any answers or information that comes up.
• Keep a positive, open mind when someone offers you an invitation to try something new.
• Watch your reactions and reflect on new experiences as they come.
• Create and manifest empowering beliefs in your life by repeating these simple steps regularly.

Step three reminds me of the film Peaceful Warrior, based on Dan Millman’s classic story, implying we need an open mind as the teaches instructs the student to ‘take out the trash’.

My experience with the film and life is similar in that you need to clear your mind of any past or future thoughts before you can open it to anything new in the present.

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Sources

Salva, V. (Director). (2006). Peaceful warrior [Film]. Sobini Films; Dej Productions. [Online] Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXAxBnQuHwI&t=1s [Accessed October 27 2026]