To be believed to be seen

by Paulo Coelho on May 23, 2008

Recently I found this beautiful quote by the English poet – Ralph Hodgson

“Some things have to be believed to be seen”

Do you believe in this? Why?

It would be interesting to see your personal list of things that have to be believed to be seen.

Love,
Paulo

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{ 87 comments… read them below or add one }

nikamarie May 22, 2008 at 12:31 pm

Here is a testimony~~~ my father was seriously injured in his spinal area that caused paralysis in his left leg making it very difficult for him to walk. I believed for sure that I would see him walk again; with prayer, faith and encouragement within two years my Dad is now walking and able to do things that he was not able to do because of the injury. As long as you believe it is sure to come visible to the eye.

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nikamarie May 22, 2008 at 10:29 am

I believe this true “that some things have to be believed to be seen”.

I’m one of those people that have to believe with the heart and soul even though I can see it in front of me that it is truly factual. Once my heart and soul is convinced then my eyes are opened and can see.

My first experience would have to be with believing in God. That was a struggle for me for sure but once my heart and soul was able to believe I was then able to see God with my eyes my heart and soul but I could also see God in all of His Creations even in myself.

I also believe that one day my mother will get better even though looking with my naked eye it shows no sign of improvement. I know with prayer and faith that she will be healed.

I also believe that one day I will be fulfilling my purpose in life, that I will get married, that I will climb Machu Picchu, I will see some old friends again, I will walk the Camino, have my own book store/coffee shop and help troubled teens find their way. I can’t see it yet but I believe it with my heart these things will come to pass; I have faith it will happen.

I like to call it the Law of Attraction :D

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Lia May 22, 2008 at 9:40 am

Well, and love of course, as many others have already said!

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Egyptianmomma May 22, 2008 at 2:00 am

“Some things have to be believed to be seen” ~ Ralph Hodgson

Strongly agree.
To understand this the question should be “Do we see concrete entities only?”
In the light of the quote, I say No!
What do you say when you understand someone’s point after he/she starts explaining it. you say “I see…” don’t you?
when an athiest asks me about an evidence of God’s existence I’ll just throw these two cents: “some things have to be believed to be seen.”
When someone asks me about a value such as love I’ll just answer : “some things have to be believed to be seen.”
When an orphan who is deprived of mercy wonders if there is such a thing in the world ?I’d say “some things have to be believed to be seen.”
when I wonder if my child “sees” me as her role model I’ll just remind myself that:
SOME THINGS HAVE TO BE BELIEVED TO BE SEEN

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Daisy May 21, 2008 at 9:09 pm

Hi all
My trouble would be that I can believe everything or nothing, the former as a child, and after people let me down, as an adult, difficulty to trust.
whoopsicles
If both people are committed to make it work then it will work, but you both have to believe it is worth it; – But also as Susan said; Letting go.
your first quote was I think spot on
love x

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Gabriela May 21, 2008 at 8:10 pm

And well…I choose (I beleive) that I achieve everything that I want! (Wicca to the taxi driver in the first time in the forest)
This phrase is the Magic Wand ;)

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Gabriela May 21, 2008 at 8:05 pm

Or maybe “beleiving” in something is the ticket to see that special movie related to that something that already exists in the infinite soup of potentials.
Everything has existence, already…and believing is the condition to see it.
Our job is not to create…but to choose.

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Susan ...entertaining Angels May 21, 2008 at 8:01 pm

“Some things have to be believed to be seen” ~ Ralph Hodgson

These words touch my soul and with good reason. For I have recently arrived at a very liberating junction in ly life; one of faith. And that is what these words mean to me: Faith. For I have finally discovered after all these years that the very nature of love is in letting go. Whereas my fear and my lonliness were driving me to hold on… and untimately driving love away. But love and faith (for one cannot exist without the other) told me to let go. So you see, we search all our lives for love. We spend our time, our fortunes, and our youth searching. And now I have decided to let go and to let love find me.

And it is true, that because I believe now I will see. And because I let go, now I may receive.

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Gabriela May 21, 2008 at 7:57 pm

It’s all about perception by the brain.
If we give “green light” (to think) in our consciousness or subconscious to whatever we decide, it manifests in “reality” in every of the infinite realms of existence, and it has to be perceived by our corporeal eyes or another type of mediums.

First is the Mind…then the matter.

And the true is not “some” things have to be believed to be seen…
ALL things that are seen were or are believed first!!!

Gabriela

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Aayanka May 21, 2008 at 7:37 pm

hi evryone!

To see something you shud first feel and to feel you shud believe…we all are writing down are thoughts bcoz we believe that are thoughts are being acknowledged!! we need to believe to achive. I believe bcoz only then i’ll be able to “see” my dream being fullfilled.
so…keep believing…..

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Monika May 21, 2008 at 5:17 pm

This sentence leads directly to the problems that often get in the way of the search.
Who believes in God is also able to see his presence. Who does not want to believe in God, has not the wish to see him at all. On a restless search are those, who are longing to see him, but are failing ever again in this sentence “ Some things have to be believed to be seen”.

To see something and then believe in is the way of awareness we are used to. The other way round is not familiar to us or we have never learned to think so – therefore going this way is so difficult for us. To break new ground demands devotion and faith without limits, but is ever worthwhile. It is like undertaking an expedition in unknown regions – exiting and promising, but always accompanied by the fear never to arrive and never to find what you had hoped for.

Can I ever feel God being near to me this way???

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Apostolia Papageorgiou May 21, 2008 at 4:29 pm

Hi Mr Coehlo! Thank you so much for the support you offer to us with your books.

Well, true happiness I think, you know the one which is derived from moments, activities or actions of our everyday life, has to be believed to be seen or felt.
On the contrary, if we look for it in ‘special’ or ‘extravagant’ situations, we’re bound to miss it…

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rocari May 21, 2008 at 3:55 pm

Dear Paulo,

we, the “rochari” like to express our greatest gratitude:

The angel says: “Spread your wings and fly, as far as you can, as far as you wish.
I will be there to guide your way, so you may achieve what you wish.
Make the dream come true, now is the time,
You have the treasures of wisdom and the power within.
The doors will open one by one, balance will be restored, and the judgment will come.
So fly and don’t look back, the journey ahead is beautiful, and destiny is in your hands.
Light your light and spread it all over the world.”
The world is waiting for us to make the angels dream come true.

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Deepak Saini May 21, 2008 at 3:25 pm

beautifully expressed isnt it? I guess most of the things have to be belived before we experience them and as they shape up.

A child believes his parents love him and it becomes a reality, A teenager see the world with his eyes and beleives all the beauty around and he sees it, A man in love sees the beauty in and around his love no matter what the world says.The beleif that you can do it can shape up in great success.

I beleive life is after all made up of various beleifs and our experiences shape them.

Love
Deepak

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Karen May 21, 2008 at 12:35 pm

I believe that ALL THINGS MUST BE BELIEVED FIRST INORDER TO BE SEEN.
This is the essence of all spiritual teachings.
They all teach that our physical eyes show us nothing of the REAL WORLD.
Because what is REAL is of the Spirit. And these things are LOVE, COMPASSION, TRUTH, MERCY, FORGIVENESS, AND PEACE.
KAREN.

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rinitante May 21, 2008 at 11:19 am

the next questions is: “what is seeing??” and “what is believing?”

seeing is a projection of our interpretation upon external nor internal stimulator combine with a pint of wisdom and a bowl of experirience.

in order for us to see in phisical contex we need some hardware such eyes…and brain n stuffs, But seeing in much deeper yet wider contex, what kind of hardware do wee need?…
we only need one thing: a clear heart…

and how we can get a clear heart? only by believing, not with all the things that we want to believe but believing at our selves…

so somethings do have to be believed to be seen..

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aditya May 21, 2008 at 11:02 am

Hi friends !!

Interesting, no ! almost all of what all has been said above!!

It seems to be a cyclic process
beleive see beleive

when the world itself is ‘make-beleif’ beleiving comes first. if one remembers the movie Matrix, we can further say that , if we change our beleif systeml, we can change our ‘being’.

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Midge May 21, 2008 at 8:38 am

If believing = feeling and seeing = perceiving,
then you must feel or believe that something is true or real to perceive its existence…
my list:
.self-accomplishment
.our own beauty and strength…

If you don’t believe something before you see it, it will be appear as a canvas, a background instead of something to be remembered or enjoyed or learned from…

Can you see goodness if you don’t believe in it?

I keep finding many more questions than clear ideas…

Such wonderful writing and expression on this page!

Much respect to you all.

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chieko May 21, 2008 at 3:08 am

“some things have to be believed to be seen. ”

beautiful words.

and I think in order to believe, I have to take a great care of my feelings.

love

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Derek May 21, 2008 at 12:12 am

I tend to think of “seen” more in the percieved realm really. Take Gods miracles, a religious person will see something and recognize the miracle that was performed. But someone who does not believe in God will not see the miracle, though they may see the event they will not see it is a miracle or sign of God.

Daniel, Americans do not believe everything we see on the news, infact we believe very little of it. That is why shows like The Daily Show are so popular here.

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Agnieszka May 20, 2008 at 9:28 pm

There’s something mysterious about believing and seeing; you can never tell what is real and what is not; things can be presented in such a way that you may have no clue, and how can you, when sometimes you may not even know yourself, what you believe, what you feel..:-)
Maybe life is one big game when we constantly checking ourselves out; how we believe, how we feel, and how we see…hmm..one big mystery.:-)

Love
Agnieszka

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alexnote May 20, 2008 at 8:34 pm

Believe before you’ll see …
The businessman, who begins a case initially keen on the idea, and then sees positive or negative result of the efforts.
A person who starts anything at first believed the first thing that will find the answers, then making efforts, and then saw the result.
The ideology or religion – first, people believed in Christianity, but then it suffered the world. First believed ideas of capitalism or communism, and then tried to translate them into reality.

But unfortunately, what you believe, does not mean that you’ll see something. Maybe only faith you will.

Sorry for English, I know it badly.)

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Rebecca May 20, 2008 at 6:43 pm

What we believe in our heads always effects what we see, even the most rational of us. I don’t think it ever happens the other way around, as much as we would like to believe that it does.

What we hold to be true in our core selves, and in our hearts, changes the way we see the world when we manage to get our heads out of the way, and you never ‘see’ this information first. It can only be reflected back to you once you have expressed it.

Here are some of mine:
Believing that the God in all life matters means that I see God in everything and my relationship with the world changes.

Believing in the luminous energy field of my soul informs my physical body changes the way I see and treat myself.

Believing that I am more than my feelings and my personal dramas helps me handle them with grace.

Much love

Rebecca

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Whoopsicles May 20, 2008 at 5:29 pm

i’m just wondering if i can believe something into reality… like for instance 2 people getting along even though they don’t.

i just realized sth about myself… that very often the people ard me live hugely by faith because i don’t give them very much to go on… hmm. just bedtime talk.

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Whoopsicles May 20, 2008 at 5:27 pm

how’s everyone? Missed you too. think i just had my moment, reading one of them posts :) you know that magic moment.

Eeeee, i think, many many things have to be believed first before they are seen. If we live life only by sight, that would be very sad. And many things also occur only when someone first believed, sometimes really hard, and for some time. me monster-mom taught me that.

but that also makes things dangerous, because people can believe things that are false, and believe it so much it becomes true for them but only for them because in the agreed reality it is false.

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Carmen Larisa May 20, 2008 at 3:32 pm

Believing is essential in one’s life!
If you don’t have faith, if you have no hope, I guess that then life has little meaning, really.
For me, having a vision first, believing that a dream can be true and visualizing it as being real, enjoying it completely, means a lot and this way makes things easier especially when we have to wait for a while for it to become real. And sometimes, the vision can be so fullfiling and bring so much joy that you don’t even get upset if the dream doesn’t come true after all! :-)
For example, I often imagine the world I would like to live in, full of love and peace and colours, lots of beautiful colours! People are dancing, singing, laughing together, all the races, all ages, united in God’s Love! Animals are nice and gentle, there are no bad things anymore, no suffering, no cruelty just absolute goodness and freedom! It is so alive that it amazes me, so many sounds, colours, movements, it’s like floating in a fairy tale…
Another example is that when I have to work, translations and others, I don’t picture the whole volume of the book, but only one page that has to be completed and another page then another one and so on. I don’t have a book to translate but only one page and then one page… It is easier to concentrate on the final result, than on the actual process and its development. I am amazed when seeing the effects so soon, or at least sooner than I have ever thought.
I guess that believing is the key to seeing a dream materialized, but sometimes it happens the other way round… ;-) You just experiment, you see and then you believe fom all your heart. It can happen both ways.
When I try the Experiment of Self-Realization from Sahaja Yoga, by putting my palms above other people’s hands, I feel the Kundalini energy flowing, but sometimes they don’t, but this doesn’t mean that it doesn’t flow. I guess that they don’t believe enough and that’s why their sensitivity is diminished.
As Jesus Christ said: “Your faith has saved you.”
Believing brings courage, hope and light! Faith caresses our souls… :-) And I believe in God, good, light, love, freedom, purity, joy, and immediately feel like being in Heaven. But till there, optimism needs work, constant, hard work performed out of the infinite fountain of enthusiasm!

Lots of hugs, love and all the best in the whole world!
May God bless all of us with love, wisdom and faith!
Affectionately,
Carmen Larisa

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Madonna,SYRIA May 20, 2008 at 1:26 pm

I think that we spend more time trying to realize our believes than we do to see what really exict in this life.
if we just see things without pre-expectations,i think we will live a much happy and interesting life.
thank you marie, i enjoyed your answer.

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shreya May 20, 2008 at 1:05 pm

some thing hase to be believed to be seen ..

… I do beliv in it ..I believe tht BELIEF is some thing over which the whole world survives.. as a few frends has said the feeling like love , respect then power of god all these things are built upon belief.

…. i have heard people telling they have seen ghost or god … some super natural forces. It is the belief they hold that they see rite.? . or is it a mere illusion .?..

.. not always v can believe the things we see also … rite? according to our belief the whole world is an illusion ..”MAYA” … nothing is real … but v believ it not like that .. and we r able to survive …

…….. I myself is getting confused now …
Wud like to hear from ur words how u will define those lines ..

with respect

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Agnieszka May 20, 2008 at 12:55 pm

Believing..,seeing..
mysterious moments..yes..we have those moments,..of coincidences, feelings, of reaching this higher conscious, this light..,and they’re incredible but…living in this reality called life, you cannot base things only on this sixth sense, you want to use all the senses, so you can experience the whole beauty of life; taste, smell, touch, sight…
Life is too amazing and too short, to not open the wings and fly, to not swim in the ocean, to not taste the sweetness..
Besides, how long should you believe in something? Life goes on, time flies…
When you waiting for the rain..it eventually comes, when you going up the mountain..you eventually reach the summit; there are things you can believe, but…the rainbow..you don’t know when it appears, you hope..that’ll come when the rain stops and sun comes up..but you can only hope.
Yes, we believe in God without ever seeing Him/Her but…that’s different. Things in real life need to be sensed by all senses in order to go on…
love
Agnieszka

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Des May 20, 2008 at 11:48 am

I like what anna said: “We can see God’s greatness because we believe in Him.”, and Ivs sharing: “If you BELIEVE in something
then you will WORK for it
and you will SEE the results”. These reverberates with me in my heart.

Usually it is “to see is to believe”. Exchanging the 2 and making it “believed to be seen” makes it one unique point to ponder.

I have to believe in

God
Love
Kindness
Dreams (goal in life/aspirations)
Hope

to see them…

Mostly intangible “things”… Love, for example, may hit me right in the face but I may not know it, i may deny it even. But if I believe that I am capable of Loving and receiving Love, then I stand a better chance of seeing the manifestations of Love compared to those who has lost belief in it. I will seek it because i believe it exists. And, as Scripture says, “seek and ye shall find”. : )

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IN May 20, 2008 at 9:58 am

wel yeah, a lot of things don’t you think? I have a friend who says well If I can’t see it, than I don’t believe it. But what you feel when you believe is terrible. It’s something we can’t see, touch, taste and not materialised. It’s the one hting we can not prove. and what is wrong with that. As written in Brida, it’s a plunge in the dark night. We are never certain of some things, because those things are a mystery. And what’s wrong with a little bit of mystery. For me love is something we can’t touch but strongly believe in. And believing in love, I see the light in someone else’s eyes.

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iwona May 20, 2008 at 9:36 am

Paulo,

All my heart with Ralph Hodgson /not know but believe to see his poetry :) /.
Some other samples from the list of experiencing “believed to be seen”…

Believe in your own freedom, to see yourself free.
/being a black belt, committed karateka fighting
6 years long inner war to be able to stand up straight and admit – this is not my path, it’s somebody else’s = now belly dancing with great Joy, almost every day, with a deep feeling of being home…/

Believe in your own warmness, to see people heating themselves by.
/feeling since always a strong call/need of people, trying to approach them in many fancy ways = being with them only when simple as the true myself is, see them now dropping down from past, present and kind of future so close, happy and deep, in both directions…/

Believe in your own ability to do, to see things being done.
/following Your blog for few months now, commenting on so many topics within my own space, unable to express and share it with you and other bloggers, frozen by shyness, unworthiness = now sending this post… :)/

Believing in You to see you replying to these little words of mine :)
/there is always something felt by one heart waiting to be shared with and seen by another./

Needed to pass through many different… miracles!!! since just last summer, to reach into that Me of Today. Some of witch I simply call: “Czarownica z Portobello”, “Demon i panna Prym”, “ Jedenasci minut” and “Brida” /”Brida”!!! – Thank You, Mr. :-D./

Believe in your own growth,
to be able to see yourself growing…

Love – i.

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Alexandra May 20, 2008 at 9:24 am

I had strange experiences.I saw in the eyes of a man,a friend,a very strange and powerfull light. I am not a little child,and I knew some men in my life ,even more than one.But that light was really so powerfull that I made great efforts to look at him.I read little time before that about revelation,and about the light of love.I think maybe these things were linked.Hoping that I was not boring.see you

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Tania May 20, 2008 at 7:38 am

I believe that most things do not have to be seen to be real or believed. I sense through feeling things ,and seeing them in my minds eye ,but I trust with knowing which is a wonderful gift to have ,I believe things are felt first ,seen later ..but some people have to physically see things in order to believe it will happen or has ..you know that saying “YOU WONT BELIEVE What I seen or heard .. And why wouldn’t you believe it ??WT
I have often thought though I would need to know someone in order to be friends with them or so forth, but some things or people just know when they first meet someone or see them that feel connection to a place or person ,you can feel this without seeing it to believe it.I Believe that if you just believe in yourself and that life’s a piece of cake then thats how it will be.Blessings Tania

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lvs May 20, 2008 at 7:38 am

I got one:

If you BELIEVE in something
then you will WORK for it
and you will SEE the results

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lvs May 20, 2008 at 7:32 am

Wow this is deep! Ok let me think a bit and see if I have one for this.

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Shveta May 20, 2008 at 7:12 am

“Some things have to be believed to be seen”

A simple answer to your “WHY” is Power of faith, those who belive in GOD can feel his presence, can understand his signs and also made others to feel same. You need to belive in somethings to make others understand your belief.

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Leeca Desforges May 20, 2008 at 1:52 am

It is not that beauty does not exist, or that the mysterious does not surround us, but that we are focussed on our inner world. We are blind to what is there, so conscious are we of our thoughts, our regrets, our anxieties about the future, that we are rarely fully present. The belief is materialized in the action of Being.

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Rami May 20, 2008 at 1:17 am

I interpret “seeing” in this quote as not necessarily physical. Simply put, If I believe in God there are many ways in which I may see His presence. Physically I see Him as the earth but spiritually I see Him in all the miracles that happen everyday, all that guides me to do whatever on a daily basis, and moreover the impact He has on absolutely everything in this world and beyond.

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Kazendim May 19, 2008 at 10:41 pm

Yes, I think that everything was created from a thought or a sound.
In India, a soul as Babaji (a great Yoga master : a paramaguru) is so closely related to God that he can materialize anything, as a golden temple for exemple.

My list of things to be believe in to be seen is short: rainbows.

Love & Peace
Damien

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Marie May 19, 2008 at 10:34 pm

Hello All/One,
I read this blog daily, enjoy reading what people are saying etc. and only every now and again feel strongly enough to respond. I so very firmly feel that where we people get so mistaken is to believe first and then see. If only we would see, without preconceptions and conditioning, then perhaps we might truly see what there is to be seen. I so very strongly think that what we do is to believe first and then allow those beliefs to filter and cloud what we see. We are truly blind to things that we believe do not exist or are not posssible. If any one of us were to look for long enough, then we would always find what we believe to exist, but do you really want to limit your awareness to what you believe to be so. Therefore for our sanity; spiritual, physical and emotional well-being and if you have any interest in what is true, it is vital to give up all beliefs, become totally open-minded and open-hearted in order to be truly seeing what is and not just seeing what we ‘know’ to be there. Love to all. :-)

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the Greenies May 19, 2008 at 9:56 pm

On a basic level – everything.
That is; if I didn’t believe that the ‘shop’ or whatever, was there, I wouldn’t walk down the street to buy anything, therefore I would not see the shop….okay, so I saw the shop when I was a kid – but that doesn’t alter anything – I had to believe that it was a shop, when someone explains to me its’ purpose…I take it in faith that that is a shop and I have to experience its’ purpose.
This can get really complicated; I’m still feeling a bit surreal, Robbie’s rockin and swinging at the same time (no not like that) and unofficially AWOL; Miss ya, babes.
anyway
yes,
miracles have to be believed to be seen
Love has to be in the heart before manifest around
you.
XXXX

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Daniel May 19, 2008 at 9:26 pm

I think that this ties in good with the people of America. In America, people only believe what they see on the major international news stations. They believe that these networks tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. But if people just believed that there are other possibilities out there, then they would be open to things they never knew could be true.

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Agnieszka May 19, 2008 at 5:11 pm

Hmm…
“..believed to be seen..”

Yes.. although..I would say…that some things have to be believed, period; they don’t even have to be seen;
they can be.. felt.
Some..
but..depends what it is.
Yet, believing makes it more possible to be seen.
Although..
If we’re lucky, some things can be seen even without believing, that’s what a miracles are about, they simply…happen, even if we do not believe.
but they…are not up to us…they’re up to God.
but when we have this love, this light inside us, we can…hope that one day…the miracle…will come our way..

love
Agnieszka

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anna May 19, 2008 at 5:02 pm

I personally believe that there are some things that really have to be believed before it can be seen.

Best example for this is GOD.

There are lots of atheist nowadays, so they CANNOT SEE GOD’S GREATNESS, because they don’t believe He exists. We can see God’s greatness because we believe in Him.

Seeing is not only through the eyes, it is also a part of your understanding, your way of believing and faith.

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Love May 19, 2008 at 3:55 pm

“Some things have to be believed to be seen”

A house, in a Beautiful and Inspiring place, living with someone in the Light who is Helping me to provide an interesting Life to my little angel (Home).

A Good Job.

A pleasant way to get there (you know, my “little” angel is not so little that … ).

By believing.

Love.

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Jamie May 19, 2008 at 3:13 pm

I think this is spot on. I see it all the time in groups. If you don’t believe one of the other people has anything worthwhile to say, you will literally not remember what they said (I’ve done this). Our brain, through beliefs, simplifies the world and in the process helps us to not notice–not see or hear–things that objectively happen.

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cawee May 19, 2008 at 2:53 pm

i understood it the other way around. my bad. though, my point is still, in experiencing such wonder before believing something. and to continue experience and to believe, makes the possibility of seeing that wonder greater…

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cawee May 19, 2008 at 2:50 pm

the wonder of things depends on the belief that you have. some wonders we see, some we feel. so it is true that you have to see it. at least experience that wonder in whatever way you would understand, for you to believe it.
because not experiencing something, or not experiencing wonder and believing is foolish.

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vishesh May 19, 2008 at 2:32 pm

i agree and don’t agree with that.

there is a saying in tamil(my mother tongue) which says that what you see and what you hear are false( false would be a crude translation as in most languages,when a word is used,it can mean so many things,but the meaning is conveyed i think).. i think we can future add to that what we think is reality is the one you will believe in….if we see someone as ‘good’ then they are ‘good’…

i disagree because even not believing in something can show what it means…for example if i didn’t believe in god(which i did ,so that i can understand the other side) ,we will still find that there is something beyond us,which holds the strings(which is us)…we can it coincidence but even coincidence is conditioned such…

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