What do you believe?

[SektionTen]

Hey, guys. I'm starting my own cozy little webpage to post interesting articles on for the benefit of others and myself. The goal of the website is to challenge expected notions of reality on a wide variety of topics, from survival, to marital affairs, to political science. Anyway, I thought it would be great way to brainstorm some article topics by asking you guys for instances of belief from all of you.

In short, what do you unshakably believe without a doubt to be true? This doesn't have to pertain directly to your religious belief. In fact, it would be best if we got a wide variety of beliefs. Contradicting ones are good too.

It would also be great if you gave the reasons for your beliefs. go crazy. Multiple posts are encouraged. Just one thing though: Even though the website is about challenging beliefs, it would help if the topics were more mainstream than not.

[joeactor]

...

"I Am."

(everything else has room for doubt),
JoeActor

p.s. "You think that's air you're breathing?  Hmm."

[Invidy]

Hmm.  If you use believe without losing the practical use of the word...

I believe I am a brunette.
I believe we live on a planet that a portion of its inhabitants call Earth.
I believe I have a body.
I believe my eyes are blue, though sometimes they seem green.
I believe math is a constant, though the conceptual part of math is unnecessary.
I believe language is instinctual for humans.
I believe we share this planet with other animals, some of which may not be as unintelligent as we consider them to be.
I believe other people exist.
I believe other people have minds and emotions.
I believe the senses are fallible, but still reliable when they are used by conscious intelligent beings.  (for example, lucid dreaming shows you that through conscious thought you can reason what is real and what is not, even in the most insane state a mind can be in)
I believe knowledge is the most important thing only if you are intelligent enough to do something with it.  Love is second to knowledge only if you have the capacity to be a great thinker, otherwise love is the most important thing there is.
I believe vanilla ice cream is the best kind of ice cream, the rest of ice cream is just there to remind us of how good vanilla ice cream is in comparison.
And I believe whether or not our reality is as it appears there is no way to tell, so you should live with what is demonstrable or logical in mind, without making assumptions without proper inference.

[Sophus]

I agree with Joe on this one. I have trouble enough remembering my beliefs let alone my reasons for them.

My beliefs are constantly evolving, changing and progressing. Truth cannot be obtained since it is so vast, rather truth is a constant search. In other words, the less we know the more we can learn.

[Squid]

I believe I can fly.  I believe that I can touch the sky.  I think about it every night and day....

Okay, don't ask me why I know the lyrics to an R. Kelly song but anyhow, I'm gonna go with Joe and Sophus on my stance.  My beliefs are not solid or static, they are somewhat dynamic in a sense - many things (perspectives, knowledge, feelings, experiences, situations etc.) change which may impact those beliefs.  There are some which haven't changed much at all however this is not to say that there is no room for doubt.

[Whitney]

In short, what do you unshakably believe without a doubt to be true?

Like others have basically said, I'm too much of a skeptic to have any unshakable beliefs.  There are some topics I feel very strongly about, but I have also altered my views on those topics in the past as I was provided alt. ways to look at them/new information.

[RtPt]

I believe what can be empirically proven. I believe in logic. I believe in probabilities. I believe in jazz. I believe that metaphysics are idiotic. I believe in education. I believe living each moment as it is your last one (even if I don't follow that belief constantly). I believe that dogs are superior to us.

[rlrose328]

Here are some things I believe without a doubt.  Most, if not all of them, are not shared by everyone here or elsewhere.

I believe that one day, I will die.
I believe my child will lie to me today.
I believe that coffee is the best morning beverage ever... especially with some amount of chocolate in it.
I believe that rotton garbage stinks.
I believe my husband will rant to me about something having to do with WoW at some point today.
I believe my mother will never move from this house, no matter how many times she tells me she's thinking about it or how many times she has to paint over the graffiti on her fence.
I believe we are all that there is in this lifetime, right now, right here.
I believe praying to an invisible god is a waste of time when something REAL can be done.
I believe there is no reason to be afraid of domestic cats.
I believe my religious friends would flat out fall apart if they ever discovered there is no god.
I believe I would fall apart if I discovered there IS a god.
I believe I will never be able to lose weight, no matter how many times I try.
I believe my views on god won't change during my lifetime because no evidence will be found to contradict what I believe.
I believe it's hot as hell in California in the summertime.
I believe cashews are the most tasty nut on the planet.
I believe Red Vines are the most detestable substance ever made... but for some reason, I still crave them occasionally.
I believe Dove chocolate is the best, with See's Chocolate coming in a close second (wonder why I can't lose weight).
I believe organized religion will be the downfall of man.
I believe my son has the capability of being a great scientist one day.
I believe my son will probably end up as a fast-food employee.
I believe evolution to be fact (even though it doesn't require my belief in order to exist as a concept).

I'm stopping now.  

[Jolly Sapper]

I believe that there are things that I want to be true but aren't.

I believe that there are beliefs that are wonderful but are rarely held, accepted, or are able to survive some situations.

I believe that beliefs can change for better or worse.

I believe that things assumed as being constant or consistent will most likely prove themselves to be neither.

I believe that experience is dangerous to earn but vital to the individual, no matter how much it costs to earn the experience.

I believe that conflict is a necessity, even though I don't like it.

I believe that I need to mow the lawn more often as my wife stumbled across a dead cat hiding in the grass that has been smelling for about a week now.

[AlP]

...

"I Am."

(everything else has room for doubt),

I used to believe that too. I found it hard to shake but I did manage to shake it. Once I realized that "I am" is a denial of reality something switched. It's a little hard to explain =).

[joeactor]

...

"I Am."

(everything else has room for doubt),

I used to believe that too. I found it hard to shake but I did manage to shake it. Once I realized that "I am" is a denial of reality something switched. It's a little hard to explain =).

I agree.  I don't believe you are either, uh, too?

[JillSwift]

I don't believe in belief. I prefer the far more uncertain and ultimately more successful thing euphemistically called "knowledge".

That is, until something better comes along. ( har har )

[Sophus]

...

"I Am."

(everything else has room for doubt),

I used to believe that too. I found it hard to shake but I did manage to shake it. Once I realized that "I am" is a denial of reality something switched. It's a little hard to explain =).

Well now you have intrigued me and you must elaborate  

[AlP]

...

"I Am."

(everything else has room for doubt),

I used to believe that too. I found it hard to shake but I did manage to shake it. Once I realized that "I am" is a denial of reality something switched. It's a little hard to explain =).

Well now you have intrigued me and you must elaborate  

Oh boy... I haven't figured out a good way to explain this. Apologies. Let's see if this works... Imagine waking up. This is how I experience it.

1) Awareness of the present.
2) Awareness of the passage of time.
3) Awareness of the material. Lets call it "that".
4) A denial. I think, "I am not that".

I just wished myself out of material existence.

"I am" is not a complete sentence. It doesn't specify what I am. To me it means "I am not that" or "I am distinct from the material universe".

Another way of explaining it... Compare "I" to soul. If you don't believe in immortal souls, compare "I" to a hypothetical mortal soul.

[JillSwift]

Oh boy... I haven't figured out a good way to explain this. Apologies. Let's see if this works... Imagine waking up. This is how I experience it.

1) Awareness of the present.
2) Awareness of the passage of time.
3) Awareness of the material. Lets call it "that".
4) A denial. I think, "I am not that".

I just wished myself out of material existence.

"I am" is not a complete sentence. It doesn't specify what I am. To me it means "I am not that" or "I am distinct from the material universe".

Another way of explaining it... Compare "I" to soul. If you don't believe in immortal souls, compare "I" to a hypothetical mortal soul.

Apologies nothing, that's one of the better brief explanations I've ever read.