Because of the subtle way that beliefs and assumptions interact with our perception of reality, we can forget that they are assumptions and provisional concepts to facilitate daily living and communication.  A belief system is like a road map to help us navigate uncharted territory.  But what happens when we give the map more significance than the terrain it is used to depict? When we start acting as if the belief system is reality itself, we have become asleep to reality. Plato gives us the classical illustration of this in his “parable of the cave” (Republic, VII). Prisoners in a cave see only the shadows moving across the wall and mistake that for the whole of reality. When set free and allowed to move through the cavern and out into the light of the sun, the former prisoner is awakened to the richer reality that was only dimly represented as shadows in the cave. But the awakening is not without struggles.  

Awakening begins when we notice that “something is off” with our view of reality. Something happens that we cannot account for with our current assumptions.  We are left with a conflict or “cognitive dissonance.” If we are open and curious and not afraid, we will start to ask questions. Our pursuit of the truth will likely result in needing to shift our theory of reality to accommodate new information. That means our understanding has grown. After making a small adjustment, it might then dawn on us: “If that particular assumption was wrong, what other assumptions have I made that are less-than-certain?” Soon — if we are honest — we realize that VERY FEW of our assumptions are as firm as we had believed. There are mysteries and questions that threaten to nullify many of my deeply-held beliefs.  What do I do? There are three ways that people typically respond to such a “wake-up call.”

Some people may retreat to their “fortress of certainty.” The aberrations are dismissed as illusions or distortions. People who discuss such things are condemned as misguided or even malevolent threats. They and their ideas may even become the target of a campaign to convince those outliers that they are mistaken. This preserves a sense of safety and control and reinforces the ego’s supremacy.

There is a second way that many people respond to the discovery of apparent flaws in their assumptions, thinking or beliefs — especially if some basic pillar of the old system suddenly seems highly questionable. The response in these cases may be a rapid “conversion;” rejecting the old belief system completely, to fully embrace the new, competing belief system.  Many religious conversions and scientific revolutions fall into this category. It can be observed how often “new converts” to a religious, political, social or scientific ideology become the most ardent of proselytizers for the newly-adopted ideals. This is not really awakening at all. It is a transition from one cave to another. 

But there is yet a third way. Some people respond with wonder, curiosity, humility and awe. They may ask themselves: “I thought I knew that answer…. But what do I really know about the marvelous expanses or intricate web of created reality?”  Their honest answer — “not very much” — opens their minds and hearts to receive new information and experience new insights. By beginning to crack open the gates of their “fortress of certainty,” they begin to emerge from the “cave” that seemed so comfortable and natural. We call this the collapse of the Belief System Myth*. When this happens they experience an unexpected freedom to learn and explore and relate to others as “fellow explorers,” rather than potential threats.  By learning to hold beliefs more loosely and provisionally opens a path for dialog, discovery and collaboration that rigid adherence to “closed” belief systems cannot tolerate.

Of course this awakening of humble self-awareness also provides insight into the imperfections, struggles and vulnerability of our fellow travelers, even those who might claim some elite power of knowledge. The illusion of elitism crumbles with the realization that our belief systems (and those who construct and defend them) are, at best, offering feeble reflections of what is truly real, good and beautiful. We further realize the power of our own experience. Our most powerful insights into the nature of things is not what we read in a book, but what we receive from our own experience of the real world around us. And that makes each of us a primary source of knowledge for others too. The books that move us most are those that resonate with our own lived experience.

In this section on Awakening, we will share stories of people who have experienced the awakening in various ways, and how that affects their lives and relationships.  Some people have VERY SUDDEN awakening, in which all or most of their unexamined beliefs collapse like a house of cards in a flash of insight or disorientation.  Others have a gradual awakening, as one loose thread leads to another and eventually leads to a large-scale re-evaluation of assumptions and beliefs that were once taken for granted. 

A common theme is that, along with freedom to examine and explore areas of mystery or uncertainty, also comes freedom from fear and judgement of the “belief-police,” and freedom to be a compassionate and sincere listener to others who may have something important to teach us. 

* The Belief System Myth is the false notion that our belief systems, assumptions, abstractions and operating rules are, in fact, reality (the map is more real than the terrain it represents).