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.

Each year I reflect on and review my beliefs, below is my 2017 update. You can see the list develop over time at lukemcgrath.co.uk/beliefs.

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 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
• 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

• 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.

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