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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feeble minded ones believe .let them. they are afraid of manythings …and believe in many nonsense like virgin birth, man from dirt , woman from rib, global flood , scorching hell…
let them believe in stupidities.
First of all we need love ourselves and believe in yourself like we believe in love, kindness,friendship…I think if you believe in yourself you believe in God. Because God loves us! There is no need to renounce other believes if they’re not against ur belief in yourself!!!!!!!!!For example if u believe u don’t deserve smb’s LOVE. Stop do it!Start believe in yourself!!!!!!!!But if u believe in LOvE! It’s just can help u believe in yourself! LOVE IS MAGIC! I WISH YOU LOVE///A song by Michael Jackson /KEEP THE FAITH/ CAN INSPIRE YOU! BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!!!!!!!!!!
no u dont have to renounce yourself… your belief can make you or break you… the larger your belief is the more God gives you… the smaller your belief is the lesser God can give you… to belive in yourself you should have belief in God.
A great song of a friend of mine, called “Believe”… fits excellent in the topic. Just click on “Website” or here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2IWq8HudgE&NR=1
that cheered me up!:)
Mr. Coelho, i believe in my friends, they are my favour and they love me and i love them and this love and favour are the most important things which i need to believe myself…so that is my responde is no, i dont think you need refuse all other beliefs because you can draw from them..
You have to believe in Santa Fe(e)
To find your way to San Jose!
:)
YO CREO QUE DIOS ESTA EN NUESTRO CORAZON Y A TRAVES DE NUESTRAS VIVENCIAS SENTIMOS QUE EXISTE… CREER EN NOSOTROS MISMOS ES CREER EN DIOS
we are a part in a huge univares so if we believe in our selves that mean we believe in this part so we have to believe in the rest of this univeres that’s it
I have always believed and believe only in love. Thanks, not in spite of it we become kinder, more joyful, happier! And again, thanks to her, even if it is not mutual, we become stronger and wiser, moving the bitterness of resentment, lies and betrayals
si, como el guerrero de la luz existen secretos que sòlo nosotros sabemos, por lo tanto separo esas dos facetas
For me, I had to stop pining for approval from those who did not understand me, and who I knew did not understand. Those who understood me and still do, I have felt the need to seek approval from–and THAT is where my confidence flourished. Because I was allowing certain people in my life define who I was, not who I was meant to be. I had already seen a vision of the woman I was meant to be and the need for approval was not on her list of things to do. I think belief systems help people figure out what they believe because you have a rough structure of how cosmologies work. It is up to the individual to reconcile, fall in line, or reject those ideologies.
You couldn’t have worded it better, this is exactly how I feel and was reluctant to acknowledge that I don’t seek any mortal’s approval to act, but have been hindered from moving forward for the social stigma I reject and at the same time feel oppressed by. Thanks for posting this!
All i would like to say is that believing in one self is really important. Like many people, I have been through difficult times, where I thought that there would not be any end to the problems.
What really matters is that YOU can get up and tell YOURSELF to keep moving.
*When you stumble, make it part of the dance*
Thats the ultimate truth that one should believe in oneself. if one doesn’t believes oneself nobody will believe him that the main aspect. I have been taught by my mom to always believe in own self, if we so that we have faith for ourself and if we have that we have confidence within us and which will led us to our success. Without believing yourself you wont be having faith and finally no confidence respectively.Well i loved to share this with u all.Please trust me do believe in yourself.
To believ love and trust fully in yourself is to believe in God…Jesus…Mantra…Buddha…Goddess…Spirit…Allah…Yahweh… ect. Or as I like to call it LOVE. Because by whatever name you call it, it exist inside of us and inside everything in the universe. I believe Lennon is trying to say that he doesn’t conform or believe in one name or religion, but in love which is most clearly and simply manifested in himself and in his love for and from Yoko. Simply beautiful.
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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140 Responses to “Believe in yourself”
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candieb
November 16, 2009 at 11:33 pm
Tough question.I think in order to believe in yourself,you need to reconnect with yourself first.You need to go on your own spiritual path.It’s personal.Yes,and no.Cause without following anyone or anything,you are still made of many different little things.Tough question.Might come back. :)
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November 21st, 2009 at 2:42 am
I agree with Candieb. We are all made up of many different things, whether we denounce what has been forced upon us or whatever it is we have learned.
I never met Lennon but maybe if he was alive, this would be the one song I would love to talk to him about.
We don’t have to denounce or renounce anything in order to believe in ourself. What we have to do, is formulate our own belief.
I don’t know if it happens to everyone but a point came in my life when I was young when I simply questioned everything… including God and the world and all of creation. And the years for looking for the answer was looooong and somewhat confusing. And I’m glad I met some of the right people not only in school to formulate my own answers.
I am only able to assume the context of Lennon in his song. I’m pretty sure he would tell me ‘What context are you trying to figure out?? It is what it is … ”
But still… I think what he is saying is he has reached a point of his life when all questions have ended – everything in his past which he calls a dream where all simply what he “theorized” the world and life is.
We all know that Lennon is an advocate of Love… of Universality… And I think that that is what he meant by saying all he believes in is Yoko and himself. Yoko and himself is the manifestation of that Love, of all he believes in and stands for, and he is able to do away with everything because he has found all that he needs to believe in in him and Yoko.
To me, he is simply saying, this is something real, concrete, can be seen and all and therefore I believe this… I can believe this… It’s not a theory, it’s not a lie, it’s not masked, it’s not a promise, it’s not a dream – It’s 100% REAL.
There’s another song almost similar to this but less harsh in it’s words;) Please listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GET9Eq6pvo
Candieb was right, it is important to reconnect with yourself. My Ethics Prof once through a very important question which lingers in me to this day, “What do you believe in? What are you willing to die for and give up your whole life for?”
Would you die blindly simply because your parents told you to? Or because your high priest told you? Or because the president told you? And why should you kill yourself just because they told you to??? Would you kill yourself just because they said it?? Or because of the reason why they told you to? And do you believe in that reason?
P.S.
Lennon was a man so in love with Yoko. And I love him even more because of this song (this is the first time I hear this song and read the lyrics). I hope God has prepared a Lennon for me – a man who would be so crazy to love me as much as Lennon loved Yoko ;)
Tough question.I think in order to believe in yourself,you need to reconnect with yourself first.You need to go on your own spiritual path.It’s personal.Yes,and no.Cause without following anyone or anything,you are still made of many different little things.Tough question.Might come back. :)
I agree with Candieb. We are all made up of many different things, whether we denounce what has been forced upon us or whatever it is we have learned.
I never met Lennon but maybe if he was alive, this would be the one song I would love to talk to him about.
We don’t have to denounce or renounce anything in order to believe in ourself. What we have to do, is formulate our own belief.
I don’t know if it happens to everyone but a point came in my life when I was young when I simply questioned everything… including God and the world and all of creation. And the years for looking for the answer was looooong and somewhat confusing. And I’m glad I met some of the right people not only in school to formulate my own answers.
I am only able to assume the context of Lennon in his song. I’m pretty sure he would tell me ‘What context are you trying to figure out?? It is what it is … ”
But still… I think what he is saying is he has reached a point of his life when all questions have ended – everything in his past which he calls a dream where all simply what he “theorized” the world and life is.
We all know that Lennon is an advocate of Love… of Universality… And I think that that is what he meant by saying all he believes in is Yoko and himself. Yoko and himself is the manifestation of that Love, of all he believes in and stands for, and he is able to do away with everything because he has found all that he needs to believe in in him and Yoko.
To me, he is simply saying, this is something real, concrete, can be seen and all and therefore I believe this… I can believe this… It’s not a theory, it’s not a lie, it’s not masked, it’s not a promise, it’s not a dream – It’s 100% REAL.
There’s another song almost similar to this but less harsh in it’s words;) Please listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GET9Eq6pvo
Candieb was right, it is important to reconnect with yourself. My Ethics Prof once through a very important question which lingers in me to this day, “What do you believe in? What are you willing to die for and give up your whole life for?”
Would you die blindly simply because your parents told you to? Or because your high priest told you? Or because the president told you? And why should you kill yourself just because they told you to??? Would you kill yourself just because they said it?? Or because of the reason why they told you to? And do you believe in that reason?
P.S.
Lennon was a man so in love with Yoko. And I love him even more because of this song (this is the first time I hear this song and read the lyrics). I hope God has prepared a Lennon for me – a man who would be so crazy to love me as much as Lennon loved Yoko ;)
Well i have strong beliefs in several issues, but these didin’t make me believe more or less to my self.
I don’t have to renounce all other beliefs in order to believe to my self because the way i see it there are not relevant nor connected.
If i choose not to believe to my self my other beliefs does not influense this fact. And vice versa.
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.
Crer em mim mesma faz com que minhas conquistas se concretizem,minha crença, somente eu mesma para entender o poder que eu obtenho atraves dela,acreditar que um novo ideal possa vir a se realizar.A palavra renuncia nunca esteve presente em minha vida,crer em Deus acima de tudo, ja dizia um velho sábio (Otavio Alves)
Exactly! The baby wasn’t your’s, but God’s.
and like children, every thing is his, and so are we.
People fail to realize this, therefore running after only money and nothing else on earth.
I don’t really understand where your comming from? when we are born we first learn to belive in ourselfs, to trust others to fulfill our needs, but belive in ourselfs first. as we grow older we beging to except other ideas of belife and subscribe to some of them. so how would you give up all other belifes to learn to belive in your self? A quote from Gandi says it all pretty well> ” Be the change you want to see in the world”. Of course my personal life runs more along the lines of “If at first you don’t suceed, redefine success.
like the mentality of Lennon, most of them comes from the situation they had met. some people learn and looks at the bright side of it.some blame on it and turns to their own self pity -side, thinking there is nothing to awaken them to see something that they thought that religion will show them.
beliefs is to make us understand and discipline ourselves in every aspects of our life! young, middle, old whoever and whatever! isn’t it good to have a guide to lead you? beliefs are the maps or guide that shows and leads you to the right direction , so that you reach the destination you have chose. i will not renounce or deviate what i believe to believe in myself..i would rather ask or search for reasons to make me firm. its not that beliefs are wrong its we who messes/makes the belief into something else.
Siento que para poder creer en uno mismo es necesario creer en todo.Expander posibilidades. Abrir los ojos y sentidos. Nunca negar.
I find it hard to believe that there are people who believe wholeheartedly in themselves all the time. For me, to truly believe you have to be able to challenge and recover your own beliefs.
I am not a Christian so could someone tell me whether God himself would ask you to denounce all belief in yourself in order to give your whole self to him? That seems like a loss of identity and a losing your place in the master plan, or the big picture.
i think you don`t need to renauce any other belief .i feel they both go parllel to each other .if ur external beliefs r good and strong than defintly ur inner beliefs are going to be good and strong.so all u have to do is create a cordination between both the beliefs and their uyou are a great human being
Well, I think the answer to this question deeply hinges on how we define “belief” here. If by the word “belief” we mean “religion”, then I think John was a very lonely man when he wrote the lyrics. Or perhaps he was so exceedingly in love with himself (and Yoko of course). I agree with Ann Hallenback that we’re all just pieces to a beautiful mosaic called life. I think renouncing other beliefs just to believe in ourselves is pretty much the same as (in a religious context)someone saying to other people that the religion he/she embraces is the holiest among the existing others.
But if we talk about belief in the context of “faith”, then I think he was right. I think one must keep on holding tight to whatever it is that you believe you are in order to achieve your goals and ignore other “beliefs” that might hamper your journey in life. I’m an Indonesian Catholic with a Moslem girlfriend. We’ve been together for more than a decade. Despite Indonesian laws and “beliefs” that inter-religion relationship and marriage is wrong, we’re still holding on to our “belief” of having a happily ever after. We don’t put stock in religion. We both believe that our beliefs are merely methods by which one tries to communicate with the Lord. But on top of that, we believe that if you want to believe in yourself, you have to believe in the universal faith called “Love”. Don’t renounce it, embrace it.
I wonder if an argument can be made to say that this song points to what he felt about God, you know, the old saying that “God is love”? At first glance, I noticed all the things that he was saying he didn’t believe in. I thought to myself that what was left after all these things on the list, were himself and Yoko. He wasn’t the only one left at the end, it was John and Yoko. What is it between John and Yoko? Love. And then I thought: Is love easier to describe by saying what it is or by saying what it isn’t. Maybe for him, it was easier to say what love isn’t, and then end the song with the two names, which to him, incorporated the essence of love. John + Yoko = Love and Love = God.
Just some ramblings…
Keep on writing and blogging. I wanted to stop by to let you know I picked your blog for one of my five choices in Blog Day. Best, and keep on blogging.
Quite to the contrary, I found that I had to renounce myself in order to find God. Through Him, I now believe in myself more than ever, in that I’m assured of what He has created me to be.
I dont think nihilism is the path leading to one self’s. Perhaps is encouraging some people to discover their inner self beyond cultural or religious myths, but this happens when the latest used to rule their minds and defined them existentially.
A free man is not only the person that is free from metaphysics but also the selfsufficient one. Deep inside himself lies his personal religion tense. Whatever that might be.
The major problem of humanity, death that it is,and the concern of afterdeath life are the cornestones of every religion. I think meditation about those things does not imply mind slavery. On the contrary, metaphysical laughter puts ephemeral things into a new perspective in a challenging way. First of all of course you must’n be dogmatic and you have to be open-minded. Free and self conscious.
Of course Lenon dreamed of a humanity united adn free from communicative obstacles and fanatisms. This is how he thought people would come closer to each other. That was his personal myth. His utopy.
Every religgion is in every one of us.
So to believe in a religion is to believe in one self.
To believe in one self is to believe in all religions.
There is no contradiction.
Belief is passive – knowledge is active
Religion is manmade – spirituality is eternal, omniscient
Knowledge of self and knowledge of the spiritual are one and the same
Hallo Mr.Coelho!
First time being in your blog!
I suppose that what you ask is an expected question. It is in the human nature of people to agree with someone and disagree with someone else. Nevertheless my point is that there is always room for improvement! Can you really deny evolution??
I think that every person has to follow their own path. For some people, renouncing may be necessary so that they can uncover the more true personal perception of self. Their are times that I have said OUT LOUD that I dont believe something because I need to destroy my perception of that belief so that it can rebirth within me. Although, it may seem egocentric or immature for John Lennon to renounce these things, maybe that was the path he needed to follow to knowing his soul. A teenager has to rebel before they can create their own personal belief system. I guess I believe there is not one answer to this question but I know that at times I need to destroy(maybe not in front of the world) before I can create.Do I want to offend the world in the process? Nah, its not my style.
Ours is not to judge our brother, John. He stood for peace and demonstrated great courage in his convictions. To me, believing in oneself means taking responsibility for one’s own deeds. His message of peace and love helped many to see that we are all brothers and his message lives on to illuminate this truth to those who see.
To believe in yourself does not require renouncing God: it glorifies Him by demonstrating our gratitude for His gifts. Believing in yourself requires the same faith as believing in God. If I do not believe in me, I do not believe in anything.
I don’t really know how one can take that all to literally. Believing here perhaps just means trusting? Taking yourself as the final measure?
If he means this literally he didn’t understand the story of one spiritual teacher (I forget which) who talked to a prizon inmate who said ‘I am Jesus’. The teacher said: the difference between you and me is that I know that every other person is Jesus as well.
Dear Paulo and Friends!
No.I dont think so.
To believe in myself does not mean for me to renounce all other believs first.
Speaking generally, to believe in yourself, if it’s a “healty” believe – does need normally a few other believs to create itself.
To believe in yourself is to believe in God, if this is your belief then there is nothing to renounce.
Let´s pray, together…
John lennon was a junk and he let down Yoko for a young slanting eyes later. Maybe time revealed he couldn’t change the world with his “imagining” songs, and his own one. As he did not succeed in living sacred love as an ideal one, that would asked to be faithful. Or merely as doctrines taught us.
Contrary to Georges H., He ended a bit bitter. he was more an average avenging man, who maybe took himself for a Christ, and sometimes forgetting he needs tea to.
Let us all hope and pray, more than ever, that all Americans believe in themselves enough to believe in Barack Obama
Believing in yourself and your soulmate is the greatest asset you can have in your life’s difficult journey…
When we are in pain, most of us will ask for God’s help..for some comfort..His existence consoles us…But when our dreams are shuttered and we cannot weave them anymore, we dive into our own existence and luckily we find our strength there..no belief will help us if we don’t primarily believe in ourselves and our power to change things..an there is no greater power than that of love
Of course not. The question itself clearly shows that you don’t understand Mr. Lennon’s lyrics.
yes…it is a simple trick…we are all made in Gods image …so we must love ourselfs enough to have real faith…God is Love!
Renouncing other believes is only relevant if you haven’t yet had a personal relationship with God through His son Jesus Christ.
Althoug I’ve been raised as a Christian, I lived my life knowing that there must be a God and uptill recently I checked out all kinds of believes…. till about half a year ago when I fell “on my face” and the only way out was shouting to heaven for help!
That same moment I realized God is only able to turn things around if we’ll let him… and he truly lifted me up!
Other believes always were an option to me, but I now know that Jesus was THE ONLY ONE ever walking the earth without any sin or mistake! a true Champion!
That’s what makes Him so different from all the others… and that’s that’s also the reason He was the only One able to give us His ticket to the Father by taking all our future sins and die for us… All we have to do is acknowledge this and confess our sins to Him… and be free! Once you’ve expierenced this, there will be a change of thinking-> a change of decisionmaking-> a change of acting-> a change of personality-> and finally a change of your destination in life and after death!
I can recommend Him..what do you have to lose?
No, I don’t believe that fro someone to believe in herself, she would have to denounce other beliefs. For me, it is just the opposite. I believe in myself because I believe in a Higer Power, whatever you want to call it. I am a follower of the Divine and it is my love and devotion to the divine that fosters this belief in myself.
Quanto a resposta da pergunta..
do you think that in order to believe in yourself you have to renounce first to all other beliefs?
NÃO, basta olhar para dentro
..dai decidir no que acreditar ou não..
acho que eh isso..
Paulo
Your passage on Faith last week reflected on the Buddist approach to this question:
Control your thoughts and all in the world can be see as it is.
Has to be the right answer!
Cheers
John
Por quê? É realmente necessário liquidar todas as suas crenças para acreditar em si mesmo? É verdade, não tinha pensado sobre isso.
Se imaginassemos um mundo onde não exista mais absolutamente nada, onde todas as outras pessoas, crenças, politicos, etc são nulos. Só voce e voce por voce..
1.teria audácia, e coragem suficiente para desconsiderar os demais?
2.apos todo esse ceticismo (ou negação), ainda assim acreditaria em você?
EU ACHO QUE A MENSAGEM que John Lennon quis passar é que a unica coisa em que ele acreditava era no AMOR entre ele e a Yoko, naquele momento a unica coisa que valia a pena era a Yoko.. Ele + Yoko.. esse laço entre eles .. que o manteve de pé no momento dificil pelo qual estava passando, cheio de ‘BROKEN DREAMS’. Não sei se estou certa mas parece que foi depois da separação dos beatles e da morte de sua mae.. claramente ele estava revoltado com a vida, como se todas as coisas boas(e ate ruins ..no caso do hitler) das quais ele tinha ouvido falar nao faziam sentido, dado o sofrimento pelo qual ele estava passando. Como se fossem ‘futilidades’ perto do sofrimento dele. ‘God is a concept by wich we measure our pain’.
Foi isso o que eu entendi.
um abraço
I think it’s false problem.
Believe in himself and in God it’s the same thing.
Our soul it’s little piece of Soul of God.
More I love myself, more I love God.
Good life
P.S. : sorry for my mistakes in english.
Hi there,
Well I would say that every belief begins with believing in ourselfs. We are not able to believe in God or anything else without being sure about ourself. It takes a certain amount of strength and belief in yourself to believe in anything else.
Love and respect to everyone
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