John Lennon in his song “God” makes a list of things he doesn’t believe in to then say to all – he, who was the idol of his time – that he only believed in himself and Yoko.
So here’s my question : do you think that in order to believe in yourself you have to renounce first to all other beliefs?
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The idea of “believing in oneself” to me primarily denotes confidence. “Belief” in a religious/spirituality context suggests doctrine, whether mainstream or alternative.
To me, the two appear independent: there are both self confident and underconfident atheists and theists.
Buenos dias desde Grecia…!
A very good question, which yes it may be considered as debatable…
not due to the fact that John Lennon said it, but it is a fact. Many people who dont have the inner stength of admitting their beliefs and who they are in general, feel lonely and depressed. Usually, they tend to oppose every option which is contrary to theirs.
Someone who admits his beliefs,[religious,humanitarian,political and even sexual],for me, is considered as a hero. Because not only he dares but also he decides to live life…
Even though, sometimes its hard to announce some beliefs, that does not mean they must not believe in themselves..
From personal experience if you dont accept yourself and feel confident about your decisions then, even if u say ur beliefs worldwide, you shall still feel lonely and empty.
words and thoughts, are linked very easily. You may say something because you might have thought about it, but you cannot think if you dont say something..
Quite confusing the previous quote.But its true. You may speak out and talk about everything, but if u dont feel it and say it just to be heard then inner darkness comes and we feel lonely.
so, to conclude, since its been a long response.
Yes, you must feel in yourself, not only to admmit something or to state your beliefs, but because like that you will know thats your decision and you feel good with your personality. In order to live life i think its vital to know who YOU are, and once we feel like this we shall be the winners :)
With respect,
Juan
Greece
I think it’s really important to remember that the person who wrote this song had been elevated by society to the status of “godhood” for him it was absolutely necessary to separate himself from the external views of other mythical (ie: humans or systems that have a subjective charge). As a human he needed to do this as well as remind his listeners of this. Most humans do not need this level of ego anniellation(sp) as they never achieve that level of almost universal acclaim. For many of us the first steps at least are accomplished with the aid of a connection to something or someone we perceive “greater” than ourselves.
- Todo es Nada. Nada es Todo.
- La vida no es un juego; “cuidado”
- La Fé mueve montañas.
I tend to think that for most people to renounce is much more easiser than to accept, though it depends on many factors certainly..but just imagine, it’s way more simple to ignore something than to love it, to take care of it, to protect and support not only the subject of admiration but also your belief in it, as it’s clear that sometimes we face the lack of faith that we have to deal with. It’s humain, it’s natural.
Anyway, I’d say that a person should be enormously brave and strong inside to accept noy only himself, but the unity of what surrounds him.
I believe in my potential. I believe that if I develop in m mind universal compassion and love I will change the world into pure land but that implies that I believe in good qualities of compassion and love and that I believe that pure land is possible.
As others have said our beliefs are part of our identity so we don’t need to renounce them, it would be like renouncing ourselves.I have heard people saying they don’t believe in God they don’t believe in anything..If they are telling the truth I admire them because I can not think of myself not believing in anything.I would be sad and desperate.For me it’s a need and a consolation.It gives me strength to believe in something superior or in a value..Personally,I started to believe in God when I desperately needed to believe in something..
Love,
Lia
God is in everything and everything is in the God. Denying to believe in yourself is to deny to believe in God (you reject His creation). Denying to believe in God is to deny to believe in yourself being a God’s creature. The Atom is part of the molecules of your body. Will the Atom deny your existence? Or will he proclaim him self being you? If you don’t believe in the God’s existence so you in the most cases believe in something else, outside you – the Nature, the Chance etc, so you believe in a Major Force that you just don’t want to call God. Denying everything outside you and really believing in yourself forces you to take care you obvious cant resolve. And after all, Lennon couldn’t save himself from the bullet or we should admit he made everything that way by his own will?
May be so. In order to believe in yourself, you simply have to empty yourself. free man. love
in order to believe in ones self i think one has to embrace all the manifestations possible of the higher being and accept that the universe works in mysterious ways and with this basis, let go of control, have no expectations and love unconditionally following the signs along the path. true belief of one self is only found in the knowledge that we are perfect beings with all possibility, potentiality and infinite love. accepting all beliefs ones and everyone elses, as to collect tools to fulfillment.
How does one understand about ‘believe’ if not for what they reflect from others. Surely Lennon must have seen believe somewhere in order for him to believe in ‘believe’.
Can we survive without believing in anything but yourself? You believe in yourself but not to others?
I respect Lennon’s and others decision to believe only in themselves. But I chose to believe in God, magic, miracle, people and myself. It’s too lonely to do it yourself.
I am sorry, but either I don’t understand the question, or I don’t believe in myself. The one and only thing about myself I totally, undoubtedly believe is that I exist. And there ends it.
Everything else, is a story, an illusion, a time-pass.
One story I do like about myself is that I am a screw. In a big machine. Which basically means that a screw does what it is supposed to do. Not, what it wants to do. It cannot unscrew itself, it cannot pull itself together, it cannot ask questions, ‘why am I a screw, and not the whole machine?’
When my guru, Shri Ramesh Balsekar, told me that I am a screw, yes, I had to disregard all my other beliefs : an un-obedient daughter, a sexy girl, a writer, a film maker, a soul, etc, etc, that this world had loaded me with.
I believe that God is faith…
We just have to have passion for whatever we do in this
wonderful world and always keep in mind to come back to the present
moment and enjoy a great cup of coffee or tea…
Amor y Paz para todo el universo…:)
Paulo,
Parabéns!!!
Que Deus continue te dando inspiração para nos dar prazer em ler seus livros.Saúde e Paz.
Mônica
Of course not.
Sorry excuse me…. or HER!!!:)
Absolutely you must be open to the idea that all you have been taught is based on myth and superstition,, How vein to believe that YOU had been chosen to be taught…. the Ultimate Truth,, I believe you must break free some how and free your mind enough to know that if there ever was a creator we are what we are because of him,,,, warts,,, questions ,, denial and all…
but this is only the beginning of understanding the amazing mystical thing that is conciousness…
Yes, without believing in God there’s no…you; there’s no light around you and inside you.
“I’m the Light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John 8:12
love
Agnieszka
There is a context for this lament: Lennon´s doubts about a decadent system using powerfull symbols for masses domination. I´m a catholic, but there are priests abusing children; there are banks at El Vaticano, meanwhile millions of people around the world are starving.
Is Jesus guilty for this decadent system? Absolutely Not!
If Lennon blames Jesus is because Jesus is the only One there.
Si es correcto…conocete primero a ti mismo, si aprendes a controlar tus pensamientos nunca necesitarás ayuda…todo es un invento que ha sido formado para darle sabor, color, sentido y adrenalina a nuestras vidas…vivimos mas en un sueño que en la realidad…actuamos como simios..la creatividad esta cada vez mas inexistente en nuestras vidas….todo este ruido que nos programa para actuar y pensar de una determinada forma, porque es de esta forma como nos sentimos confortables, todo es acerca de como nos sintamos…todos estamos leyendo a Paulo Coelho, para buscar una respuesta a todos estos ruidos…esta es la respuesta…Live is a dream…
No, not at all!!!
Ok I forgot something…I believe youu need both…
There is a level of truth to this statement if perceived from the precept of recognizing and understanding one’s subconscious. The only time you will achieve ultimate pure clarity and be able to know yourself is to denounce all preexisting beliefs. This is the only way to truly and fully achieve enough consciousness to believe IN yourself , BE yourself and truthfully liberate your mind. There is a difference in understanding, respecting, appreciating other beliefs and simply Believing. So yes I agree that to truly believe in yourself you must denounce other beliefs. Ever heard “to know god you must know me”?
I think John L. was alittle high on himself, I def. think some humility was in order
Eu acho que a gente tem que acreditar no faz com Amor e com quem vive o Amor, no caso que ele sempre exaltou e Amou muito a mulher dele, mas não precisava ser tão radical quanto ao que ele achava “resto”. Mesmo porque as pessoas que ele cita também marcaram presença na vida e na mente dele, a ponto equivalentes, da comparação do comentário.
Mas…cada um é cada um…
Beijos,
Mari Raphael.
I agree with all the responses so far. Yoko probably wrote this! No. Kidding. If I remember correctly, John Lennon also said at one time about the Beatles; “We are more popular than Jesus now”, which outraged a lot of religious people. To me, I love John Lennon, and his songs, and as an artist, I cut him a lot of slack, and my impression is, he always has a little smile behind his controversial opinions. To me, John Lennon and Yoko believed in peace and love, and what they tried to say was, all that people believe in, it isn’t representing good enough peace and love. We need to do better. In this song, he sounds pretty convinced that he and Yoko had found something better than what everybody believe in. And may be they did?
Of course I don’t believe literally, that John Lennon mean every word in this song. He is trying to provoke, wake people up, we have to do better. To me, John Lennon is a martyr. He stood for peace and love, and was brutally shot down and killed.
Now. Do I think to believe in myself I have to renounce other beliefs. No. I will turn it upside down. Unless I have other beliefs, I will not be able to believe in myself. I see newborn, babies and toddlers in interaction with their parents all the time. There is no way those little children would learn anything about peace and love, unless that mother and father started to interact with them, attach and bond with them. So, in the beginning is; other beliefs.
However, to believe in yourself, to become an individual person, I agree with John Lennon, one have to renounce other beliefs. Have you heard about “the Terrible Two’s”? It is exactly what those young children do, to tell everybody, I want to do peace and love in my way. Also as adults, we have to separate ourselves from everybody/everything else, to develop our very own personality. I do not believe John Lennon means to hate the Bible, Hitler, Jesus, Kennedy’s, Buddha, Yoga, Kings, Elvis. He was just critical to a system suppressing the individual freedom.
bo0om paulo,
the first true words that resonated in my mind was Imagine,
that was pure weed indeed Healer, its a warning of what is happening today.
why are we behaving so much anti ourselves ?
for who ??
for what ???
the world today feels so crazy,
a shiver runs down my spine,
and this constant pain of sadness,
of what we can be and are,
and of what we are now in the moment.
bo0om
fLUXman
I agree with some of these comments here -but for me I believe in God first and foremost ,and seeing the father and I are one – that means I believe in myself too .I also respect others beliefs, plus I also love and believe in all of Gods childrens .And all we need is —-just to be …Blessings Tania
I guess it depends on what you believe. If you believe in routine and habit, I mean, if you believe that it can bring you happiness – you have to put these beliefes off.
But believing in love, in beauty, in the Creator, the beauty of creation – how could that disturb believing in yourself? Believe that you were created to do something in your life and you automatically believe in yourself.
No, sometimes we can actually FIND ourselves through our beliefs. But, I do think it is important to remember that, other peoples beliefs or truths are not ours. The path to truth can be found anywhere or experienced anyway. We just have to find it and experience it for ourselves.
No, no hay que renunciar a las creencias pero aveces creemos en todo eso y no en nosotros mismos.
Es precioso que su amor por Yoko esté por encima de todas las creencias quizás sea por que el amor le hace sentirse fuerte, único y pleno, esa es la energía del amor.
Un beso Paulo y Feliz Cumpleaños.
I think it is important to question all beliefs, especially within ourselves. Was the belief fed to us, and we bought it without thought? In other words, did we consciously choose to believe this or that?
I had a husband who told me one day that he hated cats. I asked him why? He then repeated what every one says who doesn’t like cats. I asked if he’d ever had a cat. He told me no. Then how did he know he did or did not like them? He finally admitted that he didn’t like them because his father never liked them. It was his father who said all those things about cats. This man liked to believe he was independent of his parent’s beliefs. That he was his own man. I asked him if he’d like to try having a cat so he could decide for himself. What could he do but say yes? He was caught between 2 belief systems! So I brought a cat into the house. He found he enjoyed them immensely. In fact, when our relationship came to an end, he asked if he could keep the cats!
Who is it that decides what I believe in or don’t? Me! So perhaps that is all John is saying. Perhaps it’s not a question of believing in myself, or anything else. Perhaps it’s a matter of listening to myself instead, and trusting the answer I find there. And if I don’t know, like my ex husband with cats, I will hopefully have the courage to be open to a new experience to find out what I believe.
No, I don’t think so, but it is said that we could reach a state where belief is unecessary when you are yourself.
It still based on the same principle whether he believes in God or himself: Faith. I don’t know what John was smoking…
John Lennon had some great songs but also a huge ego which attracted his tragic end. If he believed in himself so much and in Yoko, how come he wasn’t able to protect himself, if he was “God” like… This is a proof of a great pride in the negative sense of the word.
I have an ex-colleague who always used to believe that it is O.K. to offend people, especially when you are right, to yell at them in order to feel superior. Anyway, any kind of complex, of superiority or inferiority comes from fear. Now I met her again, saying that she had severe problems with her stomach, that she was stressed, people avoiding her and all that. I asked her whether she changed her mind about her attitude towards others. To my amazement, she admitted that she realized that it is not O.K. to make people feel bad, to offend them, even when they are wrong or when they don’t have the same opinions like yourself and she had health problems because of that.
So, in order to respect yourself, you should respect others too because they are your reflections. I believe in God first of all, then in myself and others. You should have the three of them fulfilled, it’s an ecuation and its elements go together.
Even if people treated me like a fool sometimes, I still believe in the power of good and I will always believe because this way I feel that I believe in myself, the true Self, the Light of the Spirit, unconditional, eternal, Love.
Lots of hugs and appreciation,
Carmen Larisa
hahaha,
this morning I asked myself this question as i was pondering the thought of renouncing everything that I have put a label on. But I found it hard to drop my belief in Christ, in Love…. My heart told me that I believed in those things because I am apart they are apart of all that i am made including this thing called Universe. So of course I asked God, would you be upset with me if I decided to try this out (trying to drop everything that I have learned through conditon and start from scratch)? Then of course I got this FEAR that appeared instantly saying “of oh my would I have to learn everything over and started like a baby I will get hurt bruised become dumb”. Ok i feel like i’m rambling. I haven’t a clue what the answer is but I’m sure if I renounced my belief so i could find belief in myself I would find belief in others later…
Belief in our life force and ourselves goes hand in hand and need each other….kind of “source and expression”
No. You don’t have to denounce all your othr beliefs in order to belive in yourself as long as they’re not in contradiction with each other.
Beliving in yourself (for me) has nothing to do in your other beliefs because you sometimes get ste=rength for your beliefs in order to gain self confidence.
Dear Paulo,
I love The Beatles but it is complete nonsense !
John Lennon might have been one of the idols of his time but mostly because of The Beatles. Idol of his time, like Bob Dylan or Mick Jager, with his early and violent death, he reached further then alive.
It does not matter if you believe in God, Higher Conscious, Mother Nature or that algebra’s 2 + 2 makes 4….to believe in yourself !
So my answer to your question is : Definitely not !
Love and self-esteem are essential and respect for others.
With love,
Luce
Hello Mr. Coelho:
I would have to say the answer to your question is, no. Believing in yourself is the result of acknowledging and accepting all the other beliefs in your life. The end result of having those beliefs or morals or faiths tested is the person you see in the mirror. And I believe a person gains greater confidence in themselves AFTER being tested and proven worthy of those foundational elements that make up who they are.
Great question!
Olá!
Não acho que para acreditar em si mesmo, deva renunciar a todas as outras crenças. Creio que acreditar em si reforça nossa crença em todo o resto, principalmente em Deus!!! Afinal, o exercício da crença é ter fé, e a fé primordial vem de Deus, se temos fé em nossa existência consequentemente temos fé na origem!
Beijos
i don’t know which is better: to believe in yourself or to believe in others. if they are exclusive, right now i’m tending towards the latter.
though i guess the latter only comes with the former.
No.
One is a composite of so many things.
Of learning, events, thoughts, influences.
Because these are intrinsic, they ARE the “you”- No.
Negate all, and what will be left?
No, but I do think that believing in yourself is more important than anything else, and perhaps some people find it easier to believe in themselves when they renounce themselves from other beliefs.
I think that this is ‘blasphemy’..I am not a narrow minded person, but the first thing that Jesus -who was God- has taught us, was to be humble. He rode the donkey in order to go to Jerusalem.., we all know the story..
Where is John Lennon’s humility?
Of course, to know ‘who’ you are is important, but we must never lose sight of the End of the road.
Love,
Thelma
For me, having other beliefs strengthens my belief in myself. When my son was born the weight of the responsibility crashed down on me. I’d thought I was prepared, I had no idea what I was getting into. Looking back I realize I must have been suffering from postpartum depression. But the turning point came when I realized that the baby was not mine, but God’s. That realization gave me the strength to believe in myself and be the parent my son needed.
There is no need to renounce other beliefs to believe in ourself. Detached attachment or attached detachment will be enough.
Une amie m’a demandé quel était le personnage auquel je m’identifiais le plus dans “La sorcière de Portobello”.
Je lui ai répondu la sorcière.Elle est une,elle est multiple.Pourquoi ne pourrait-il y avoir une et des croyances?sans ordre fixé…
Absolutely not. A belief system is a part of who we are, so first denouncing a belief system for the sake of denouncing it or simply to have better self-esteem is ludicrous. It would be equivalent to saying you need to deny that your arm is a part of you.
Having said that, questioning the validity of your belief system is necessary. Self-esteem stems from a profound understanding that who we are and what we are offers value to the world around us. You cannot achieve that understanding without profoundly knowing what is it that you believe (or don’t believe in some instances).
For me, it is interesting that this question comes from this Lennon song. The song, at least for me, represents a profound rebellion of his own fame, a mockery even, not an ego-trip. That is the beauty and sadness of his songs. They are open to incredibly wide interpretations.
Thanks for the question!
I beleive that in order to beleive in yourself you must first Love yourself enough to have faith in your beliefs no matter what faith you choose to belive in… You must also love others enough to respect their beliefs and know that we are all just pieces to a beautiful mosaic called “Life”….
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