Beyond Belief

A client of mine is a devout Christian. Another client is a devout Muslim. Yet another client strictly follows what she sees as the Buddhist way. Still another is Jewish to his bootstraps. I could go on. I know people from most walks of life who strongly believe what they do. I greatly admire each of my clients, yet I share none of their belief systems. What we do share is the fact that behavour matters more than belief.

Many belief systems are tied up in a faith of some kind. Faith by definition cannot be proved. If it could be proved it wouldn’t be faith! The ‘proof is in the pudding’ the saying goes, meaning what we do counts for far more than what we believe. As one of the Apostles of the Christian Church is reported to have said, Faith without works is dead.

A lot of faiths are dead today because the actions of many of the faithful betray their stated beliefs. I meet a lot of people more interested in being right than being compassionate. Compassion for me is at the heart of all the world’s religion’s, most of which I have studied in great detail.

If we are not living and breathing a compassionate life we render whatever we believe as null and void, regardless of what we say.

A new world is being born. Compassion is a key component. There is a place for faith in this new world however belief matters little, what counts is behaviour.

One of the builders of our new world is Karen Armstrong. She has championed a charter for compassion which last time I checked more than 70000 people have signed. The goal is that millions will sign-up, and most importantly take action. Please see and listen to Karen and others here.

Whatever you believe, do your work, because what you do, whatever it is, is what really matters.

Be the difference you want to see in the world

Ian

PS In my book Changing What's Normal there are 58 sparkenations to help you change yourself, your relationships, and your organisation.

I created 'sparkenation' to describe a spark that ignites passion that leads to action that changes what's normal

You can purchase my book and 24/7 access to the companion online vault that contains downloadable files, references, links, tools, tips, techniques, templates, for just $30 here if you buy before 18th June.