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Stuck In The Backfire Effect?
Are you a lucid dreamer? For the past two weeks I’ve had four lucid dreams…three in a row. Imagine that?
Lucid dreaming is not new to me, but having so many, so consistently is unusual, even for someone who’s been known to have…well, the odd dream or two. And in my dream I even woke up…although I was still dreaming…it was the strangest thing. Equally strange was the question I asked myself…”okay I’m dreaming, so I can do anything, hmm what shall I do?” I won’t go into details because it was the most boring thing you could imagine. I need to update my dream state, more than a little, believe me.
I’ve decided next time I have a lucid dream, I’m going to manifest an enormous jewel in the palm of my hand…I’ve always fancied rubies, or what about a nice bright green emerald? Yep, either will do for me. Then my next trick will be to see if I can hang onto it and bring it back with me. Will keep you posted…but don’t hold your breath…please.
In the waking world I found myself asking, what is real then?
Well it pretty much depends on what you believe.
The thing to remember about the law of consciousness is the fact that it doesn’t matter if what we believe is true or not, it will still be displayed in our outer world. The reason being, because we think from that place, so consequently we feel from that place.
Remember the story of my car where I believed the lease was up yet it actually still had a year to go? Didn’t make any difference, I ended up with a new car because I was thinking from that place, because I believed it to be true and even though the outer reality was entirely different from what I believed, the outcome was the same as though it were actually true.
You’ve got to admit, that’s pretty cool. But it doesn’t always work out quite so well for me. There are times when I believe something to be true, something I really, really don’t want and before you know it, there it is, smack bang in my face. Yow.
There’s no aspect of our life where we don’t have beliefs. We have a consistent, persistent belief system operating, oftentimes based on falsehoods or other people’s ideas or consciousness Makes no difference, all the conditions and events of our life are made in the likeness of these beliefs, so its perfectly clear that if we’re to lead the life that we currently want, we must choose the beliefs that support that life, beliefs that will allow that life to realized in our world and then to think ONLY from that place.
Believing that things are just the way they are, we remain powerless to alter our life, all the while continuing to create frustration, challenges and obstacles and of course we’re right and it is proven to us over and over.
As we continue to believe what we currently believe, there’s no growth. We’ve become prisoners of our own making. We become slaves to our beliefs. In fact they hold us in such thrall that something called the ‘backfire effect’ comes into play. Researchers from the University of Michigan and Georgia State discovered:
“Once something is added to your collection of beliefs, you protect it from harm. You do it instinctively and unconsciously when confronted with attitude-inconsistent information. Just as confirmation bias shields you when you actively seek information, the backfire effect defends you when the information seeks you, when it blindsides you. Coming or going, you stick to your beliefs instead of questioning them. When someone tries to correct you, tries to dilute your misconceptions, it backfires and strengthens them instead. Over time, the backfire effect helps make you less skeptical of those things which allow you to continue seeing your beliefs and attitudes as true and proper.”
We are all consciously creating our future or letting it happen to us. Those folk who deliberately, consciously, purposefully question their beliefs, and are capable of and willing to be open to new ideas, new concepts, and most of all able to choose a new belief are taking control.
It bears repeating that to create a different future takes work, discipline, effort and training and a change of belief, but it brings personal power, success, abundance, happiness and the ability to achieve all desires. Thank goodness we have each other to be the reminder when we fall back into old, unhelpful habits of belief.
Encourage one another.
Love Elle.
xoxo
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Elle,
This was excellent! I enjoyed reading it immensely. Those who can change their beliefs evolve, don’t they? Those who can’t will be stuck in the small world of their making.
Thank you Angela for your kind words. I think even knowing we need to change our beliefs, it’s sometimes hard to let them go… 🙂
That’s so funny that you had that thought and that kind of control in your dream (although, coming from you, it doesn’t surprise me!) Whenever I lucid dream and wake within the dream, I am always trying to open my eyes in it but can’t. I’m doing the same thing from the same place in the dream and in “reality.” A proper shift in attitude must be in order!
It is pretty cool Julie and these consecutive dreams were the first time I’d woken up, whilst still dreaming. Usually I’m just doing weird things like walking up to people in my dream restaurant and patting them on the head as I tell them, this is just a dream! I’m still waiting for my next one and the jewel! 🙂
Julie,
I’m so glad you mentioned that! I have dreams where I try and try to open my eyes and I can’t. A lot of the time I’m driving a car, and afraid I’ll crash. I always just thought I was a bit loony – how comforting to know someone else has the same type of dream!! We can be a bit loony together – hee hee (*I hope that’s not offensive*) Hug, Mary Carol
Nope, not at all 🙂 Sharing our stories is a great way to better understand what’s really going on. It took me a long while to understand that was lucid dreaming and that we actually have all of the control.
Hi Elle,
What a great post! I have dreams too where I think I’m awake but I’m not awake, and then I wake up but I’m not sure if I’m awake/awake or dream awake! I once had a dream that was so vivid, I didn’t know the next day if I’d actually had the conversation I’d dreamed or not. Made for a weird day, and I ended up turning the experience into the basis for a novel.
I like the idea of remembering that we are operating from a belief system, even when we aren’t consciously aware of it. Hmmm… you’ve given me lots to think about. Thank you!
And thank you for putting a link to my post on “Learning to Live with my Soul.” It would be a gross understatement to say that this has been an interesting two months!
Hugs! I’m so glad I found your blog – I’ll be back,
Mary Carol
Thanks for visiting Mary Carol and I know exactly what you mean about whether your dream was ‘real’ or not. If I have a conversation with someone I know in my dream, it get’s to be difficult to tell a little while later if I really had that conversation or not! You and I must have a similar vivid quality to our dreams. 🙂
This is intriguing. I hope you post about the next dream in this series. I have a funny experience – about dreaming consecutively – as though I lead a different life in my dreams. I know some people there I don’t know in my waking life – and these dreams continue.
😀 I really enjoy reading this. I like your concept of “Backfire effect”. It makes sense to me.
Love, Vidya
How cool is that Vidya…I really like the concept of having your dreams carry on, as though telling a story. I haven’t done that yet, but it’s definitely intriguing.
I concur with the comment from Julie regarding the lucid dreams and paraphrase it here ” coming from you, it doesn’t surprise us”.
We are always just expressing and experiencing our beliefs. So the question is – Are we experiencing what we want ? If not, then our beliefs really are not supporting us and are in need of replacement. Once again for a stimulating article, Thank you !
Write on, Elle !
Good food for thought. I don’t think I’m stuck in the backfire effect although I often wonder if I’ve actually gone anyplace yet.
I will confess there are times Glynis when I discover ‘oh flaming heck’ there’s that old belief showing up again. Good news is it’s a great reminder to keep on keeping on. 🙂
So powerful…what you’ve said here about belief, how it literally shapes and creates our reality, and how we’ll defend our beliefs to keep them in place. Even more so when they’re subconscious and we feel our world is threatened when they are challenged.
That’s why I’m a big proponent of “holding beliefs lightly” and developing psychological flexibility. Because a belief that could be useful today, may not be useful tomorrow! I personally don’t see beliefs as good or bad per say, I see them as reality creators. I see beliefs as how we navigate and interact with the relative world as an extension of the fundamental consciousness we are underneath.
Wow David, I *love* that ‘holding beliefs lightly’. And boy are they ever reality creators, so being willing to part with those that aren’t moving us in the direction we are choosing to walk in, is absolutely necessary. It’s pretty simple, not always easy. 🙂
David,
What a great way to look at beliefs. And here we are, trying to get rid of some of the limiting ones, that limit us in our life, preventing us from going places and spreading our wings. Indeed, we must be flexible. Here today, gone tomorrow. I shall put your comment into practice. Thanks!