Beliefs and experience LO14379)

BirreD@mail01.dnr.state.wi.us
Wed, 16 Jul 1997 16:03:12 -0500

Replying to LO14349 --

>Joining Jon and Morty's conversation about beliefs (Punished by Rewards
>LO14349):

I'd just like to add the point that when we make meaning out of
experience, we generally do so unconsciously. Morty offered an example
>where "you can observe your parents ignoring you and conclude: I'm not
important." This does not occur at the level of conscious thought, but
rather deep in our emotions. In this example there may be a struggle
between our experience and our values, and it may take quite some time
before the conclusion "I'm not important" is reached. It may take much
longer still before that conclusion reaches the level of consciousness.

I'm suggesting that beliefs, which we seem to agree are the outcomes of
experience, are largely unknown. We engage in behaviors that reflect our
beliefs, but we often don't understand the underlying motivation or its
causes. Perhaps the kind of work Morty does enables people to "see" or
sense their beliefs in ways they couldn't before. If so, they might
thereby prepare themselves for change. I think the ability to change
beliefs has much to do with how deeply those beliefs are held, how
consciously they are known, and the specific methods used to engage the
person, whether cognitive, behavioral, emotional or spiritual.

Dave

David E. Birren
Organizational Consultant, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Ph: 608-267-2442, Fax: 608-267-3579
<birred@mail01.dnr.state.wi.us>

** Silence is the voice of complicity. **

-- 

BirreD@mail01.dnr.state.wi.us

Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>