Points covered:

• Belief is the open-minded retention of an idea

• Knowledge is experience

• Belief is not knowledge

• Faith is behavior that attempts to verify a belief– the risky action of hope, wanting to prove its truth

• Act on one’s knowledge, not one’s belief

• Trust one’s self to see people clearly

• Accept people for who they are, and expect them to be who they are

Belief is neither a cognitive position of fact, nor spiritual perspective of certainty, but a scientific hypothesis or religious faith. Belief isn’t knowledge, but simply the retention of an idea. To believe something is to acknowledge and retain the awareness of its possibility. Knowledge is the opposite– a particular perspective on “truth,” forged by the fidelity of experience (Role Play). We know because we’ve done it (primary-direct), seen someone do it (secondary-direct), or heard about it (indirect). The last, of course, is more quasi-knowledge than knowledge. Based on our direct experience of the storyteller, it’s often useful to assign a probability to its potential. In other words, there are times when we suspect some things are more likely than others, and categorizing them is often valuable (or dangerous).

For instance, one day Abdul tells Felix about a strange encounter he’d just witnessed, and finishes with, “Therefore, if another little green man shows up at your door, make sure you spin around three times, before you say your name backwards, and hop twice.” Felix finds the story hilarious, but as a NUC member, holds back the laughter, knowing that such an outlandish belief costs him nothing to keep. Although he finds the concept that anyone from outer space will ever show up on his doorstep unlikely, he also knows that if one ever does, Abdul’s story, though it may not be true, will better prepare him for the encounter by providing a starting point, and things to look for.

Years later, the little guy does come knocking. When the door opens, old Felix remembers both Abdul’s story, but also, reading somewhere in an authoritative text that ignoring the visitors is the best response to an encounter. Felix makes a choice as to which belief he’ll test, and slams the door shut. The door pops open, with the alien looking very upset. Felix has made the mistake of assigning what he’d read too high a probability. The rising memory of Abdul’s story calms him down. At least, in this crazy situation, he’s got something else to try. He starts to say his name backwards (that one, salient detail that immediately comes to mind), and the alien brandishes a ray gun. If Felix had treated Abdul’s story with ridicule, and dismissed it, he’d not have encoded the rest of the details, and who knows what his fate would be. By actually believing Abdul, Felix saves his own life, suddenly remembering the whole story. He takes a deep breath, spins around three times, says his name backwards, and hops twice. The alien winks, holsters his weapon, and vanishes. Believing Abdul, even a little, Felix not only had information he otherwise would not have had, but when things went south, he spotted the threat, was able to remember the whole story, and pivot, spinning around before saying his name.

When we transform that watchful observance into action, we’ve crossed the line between belief and faith. Faith is the action of hope, attempting to confirm a belief. Whenever possible, one is wise to act on knowledge, and be open-minded when operating with nothing more than belief. Although it’s questionable to intentionally practice faith, when doing so, use great consideration for those unforeseeable consequences, as fanatical faith inevitably dons its blinders. However, without some faith, hope suffers. Like all other religions, NUC works on the unproven premise that humanity will benefit from our work– we have faith in our works. However, on an individual member-level, Love or Power’s framework targets hope, and guides faith.

We too often see people for who we want them to be, even cornering them into admitting it’s who they “truly” are. Should they value our friendship, they may even try to fill that role– even deluding themselves, for a time, into believing the lie. The tragedy is, that by having those expectations in the first place, we’ve created an unfair situation for both of us. Wanting a person to be other than who they are is unreasonable, creates suffering, and delays a true, healthy friendship.

Trust is a toxic, two-way street, filled with thoughtless bullying and failed expectations. Friendship isn’t best built on fragile trust, but proximity of mind and body, time sent together, and acceptance for one another. Intimate social connections underlie long-term health, but to keep these healthy, regardless of framework, we must trust no one, but instead, trust ourselves to see people for who they are.

Whether through a framework of Love or Power, accepting people on their own terms is the wise move– Love might more easily interact with the person, while Power, influence them. This requires an open mind without judgment. If a friend lies to us, or for that matter, anyone else, we don’t label them a “liar,” but instead, pay attention to the context, the outcome, the intention of our friend and their situation– we accept that they lie under those conditions. In the future, expect the lie, and if so motivated by Love, hope for change. If a friend is always late, don’t get upset when they show up late, while commenting on their tardiness is usually useless. Instead, plan for them to be who they are, but flexible enough should they express their freewill, and show up on time. On the other hand, when a reliable friend is not on time, we might expect they’ll provide a reason for the delay, but labeling that legitimate or not isn’t as important as updating our perception. We now understand our friend won’t meet their obligations every time, and that’s okay. We don’t need to forgive them, just to accept and understand them better.

Read our philosophy and TOE to better understand our Owner’s Manual.