Overcoming Challenges on the Way to Faith
After covering the Common Challenges on the Way to Faith, it’s time to think about how we can overcome such challenges, heal from past impressions, nurture our inner voice and embrace faithful life.
Sometimes it’s difficult to articulate how a moment of choice feels, but we experience those moments a lot. It seems to me that many times faith is shaped by those moments. Something is happening and our mind reacts to it. If the reaction is based on healthy faith factors, we will be able to choose faith over doubt more easily while navigating through the thoughts, feelings and sensations that arise. I guess that practice can help as well. Let’s delve into those factors which can ease those moments of choice and tilt them towards faith.
One of the key elements that aided me in overcoming doubt and staunch rationality was adopting Proper Terminology & Philosophy. When we structure our way of thought process to support faith, rationality becomes a tool rather than an obstacle. In my article Faith Terminology — Oh My God, I explain in further detail about how a new perspective on the terminology of God, backed by scientific research, helped me to reorganize my mind, and therefore, feeling different about God. A useful guideline, which worked for me when I tried to structure my terminology of religious and spiritual concepts, was to remember that the essence is the juicy value behind every story or rule. By focusing on the intrinsic essence through symbolic lenses, we can gain clarity while shedding unnecessary emotional baggage.
Another important factor for fostering faith is the Well-Being of Body, Heart & Mind. By ensuring we feel good, energized, possess a body that serves us positively and mutually. By having a heart that celebrates life, gives love, and connects. By nurturing a peaceful mind, meditative and focused. By all of that, we establish a strong foundation for faith development. These aspects provide faith with legitimacy by attracting positivity into our lives and enhancing the outcomes of our endeavors.
Additionally, in order to take that leap of faith, from small matters to significant ones, Clean & Confident Exploration is essential. Striking a balance between order and chaos in our lives, between the stability we possess and the fear stemming from the unknown, is crucial for a journey towards faith. It’s beneficial to have a supportive environment when embarking on such leaps, and if our current surroundings lack support, it may be prudent to cultivate a new environment or transform the existing one, shielding ourselves from the negativity of others. In either case, our confidence should primarily drawn from within. Building this approach necessitates gradual success. When we manage our goals in a way that keeps our journey challenging yet successful, we increasingly rely upon ourselves, and external noise fades away, paving the way for a genuine exploration to begin.
Though the exact meaning of the fourth factor, Getting Back to Nature, remains a topic of debate, I believe most individuals understand what it signifies to them personally. In modern life, characterized by concrete jungles, sedentary lifestyles, unhealthy diets, and continual screen exposure, we have deviated significantly from the natural way our minds and bodies evolved over countless years. I am not suggesting that our future is inherently bleak, there are advantages to modernity as well. However, rapid changes in recent years have left our systems struggling to adapt. Given this disparity between modern life and our nature, every step we take towards reconnecting with our natural selves can restore a bit of the balance. Consuming fruits and vegetables, spending time in nature, getting sunlight, keeping toxins and drugs out of our systems, and nurturing deep connections with others — all these choices bring us closer to our innate nature, fostering a more harmonious transformation as we navigate the path to an uncertain future.
Lastly, I firmly believe that Inspiring Impressions can offer us both evidence of faith’s potential and a sense of purpose. In one interview, Jordan Peterson was asked: “if you could choose a superpower, what would it be?”. He answered: “I would choose faith, because with faith I could move mountains”. I really liked his choice, with faith we can really maximize our immense potential. Consequently, it’s important to seek out individuals in our lives who can be considered “Faith Messengers” — People who possess faith, are positive towards life, and inspire us to do the same.
What’s next?
One of the most difficult things in life is to understand how to take an idea, which resonates with us, into practice, experiencing it, in the realm of feeling. Being honest, I struggle with it myself. Even though I think certain practices can help me connect with myself and develop faith, putting them into action is not always easy. We may encounter psychological barriers that maintain unfaithful cycles. However, as I continue to learn and engage with this knowledge, I find that these barriers within me gradually dissolve, nurturing a growing willingness to trust.
I invite you to reflect on the factors we have discussed and envision practical actions that can bring you closer to faith and further from doubt. What steps can you take to transform your knowledge into a deeply felt experience? Please feel free to share your thoughts and insights in the comments section below.
