A while ago, I found a post on Github by a favourite writer of mine, Buster Benson. He sets out, in public, his personal beliefs. It made perfect sense for me to adapt his process to my life.

At the moment, this list is heavily indebted to Buster’s. I have copied over the thoughts as pointers to spur my thinking. I’ve changed or deleted where our beliefs differ, and added my own as I’ve thought of them. I review my beliefs every year and update the list below.

The Purpose of Life

• The purpose of life is to find enlightenment. This is not religious, but personal
• If we don’t reach enlightenment in our lifetime, we may get more chances
• Enlightenment has to do with happiness, freedom and birth

Personal Conduct

• I must strive to be good.
• Being good is not easy and not always natural
• I must challenge myself.
• I must find empathy with all things.
• I must only do things that have a meaning.
• I must only do things in my spare time that have a meaning
• I must do more good than is done to me
• I must focus my talents, not use them generally
• I must not dilly-dally
• I must choose love, never fear
• I must stake my reputation on my better self
• I must be enthusiastic. If I’m not, I must move on
• I must retry things I don’t like every once in a while
• I must work hard at my goals
• I must make the best of every day
• I must face things that make me uncomfortable
• I can change, but I can only change when I am the reason for change

Morality

• Morality is external to me and I can understand it
• My choices define if I am moral or not
• Morality and enlightenment are linked, but I don’t know how
• Gay marriage should be legal everywhere
• Health care should be available for free everywhere
• Acting morally is an end, not a means to gain promotion/respect/love

Spirituality

• Frequently remembering we, and others we love, will die increases the quality of our life
• Souls exist
• The Gods of organised religion don’t exist
• A being greater than we know exists
• Humans can’t create anything truly original. This might mean something else can
• I am scared that hell is real
• I am scared that I act good to avoid hell, and that won’t actually help

Science

• Other dimensions and universes exist
• Something like the Big Bang happened
• Something existed before the Big Bang
• The human brain will never understand the universe
• We have no cosmic significance
• Aliens exist

Health

• We can change our behaviour and habits
• Consistently eating well and exercising is the only way to be sustainably healthy in body
• Mental health is more important overall than bodily health
• Everyone should have free access to therapy, even when things feel fine.
• Water is the most important thing to our health
• Vaccinations are good for babies and society
• We must be careful with antibiotics

Technology

• Humans will always be stronger than technology
• Computers will be building better computers than humans by 2050
• Technology will disrupt all human institutions

The Self

• Pure altruism is possible when inspired by love
• We tell stories to create and remember meaning
• Consciousness is biological and separate to the soul

Privacy

• Privacy doesn’t matter if everyone chooses love. I should lead the way
• Trust will eventually win over privacy in business and Government
• It’s better to be connected than private

Logic

• Logic is important but not essential
• Logic must be set aside for truth

Education

• Everyone has the right to free education
• Schools need to teach more life, fewer facts.
• Universities fail when they treat teaching like a chore
• Technology will force Universities to adapt or die

Politics

• Politics is almost wholly the economy
• We deserve better than capitalism
• Political beliefs can still change the world
• Only when we share freely, will everyone have what they need to survive
• One country will need to blink first and share equally. This country will almost collapse before it succeeds
• Free energy is the key to equality
• Socialism does not need to stifle creativity and innovation. It is human nature to improve

Love

• Soulmates exist
• Love at first sight happens
• Love can also grow and happen for two people at the same moment
• Love can mean letting go
• Love makes me a better person
• We have an infinite capacity for love

Meta

• We have little control over what we believe in
• Some of my beliefs will be proven wrong
• I must be open-minded about all my beliefs
• Making and maintaining this list is useful and fun (and you should do it too).

So, they are some of my beliefs – the ones that I think define me and affect my actions. What are your beliefs? Please get in touch if you write yours down, I’d love to read them and compare.