Better than you can fathom

“I am astonished that my studies have so conclusively shown that our bodies are wired to believe. Believe in something good if you can. Or even better, believe in something better than anything you can fathom.”

Dr. Herbert Benson MD, Professor of Medicine at the Harvard School of Medicine

The results in our lives depend, to a large extent, on our innermost beliefs. If you want to change results in any area of your life, start with belief. No story illustrates the importance of belief better than the following true story.

Dr. Bruno Klopfer was treating a man named Wright who had advanced cancer of the lymph nodes. All standard treatment had been exhausted, and yet the man was dying. Wright had heard of a new drug that showed promise, and though he didn’t fit the profile to use it, his doctor finally gave in.

To the doctor’s amazement he found Wright out of bed and walking around, reporting that his tumors had “melted like snowballs on a hot stove”. Ten days after Wright’s first treatment he left the hospital and was, as far as his doctors could tell, cancer free. He remained well for about two months, until articles began appearing that the drug actually had no curative effects treating cancer. Wright, who was rigidly scientific in his thinking, suffered a relapse and re-entered the hospital. Seeing the curative effects of Wright’s beliefs, Klopfer did an experiment in which he told Wright that he had a new version of the drug which was more concentrated, while injecting his patient with just water. Again the results were dramatic, tumor masses melted, and he was back on his feet and feeling great.

Two months later the American Medical Association published the final report on the drug’s efficacy, declaring it totally worthless. This time Wright’s faith was completely shattered. His cancer blossomed anew, and he died two days later. (Michael Talbot, For more information read The Holographic Universe, HarperCollins, 1991, pp 93-94).

In Wright’s case, his belief created his reality. Our beliefs do the same for us! I know of no way to change one’s beliefs (about our abilities as speaker’s or anything else) except by acting “as if” we already believed what we want to believe. It’s what actors do.

Actors also practice saying their lines until the lines feel like their own. I suggest we say our beliefs aloud until they feel like our own too.

Neal Cassidy and Jack Kerouac used to say they could change their lives in 21 days on the road. I think changing beliefs takes longer than that—some say at least 50 days—but it’s worth a try. Get rid of limiting beliefs, and insert empowering ones.

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