Dear Mermaid:

I do not believe in any bible, in a biblical god of any kind. I do not believe in after life, in reincarnation and in astrology. I believe all these are delusions, false beliefs.

Every time you have a belief, there are neural connections or pathways in the brain that sustain that belief (as you know). Once the pathway is in place and you understand on one level the belief is false, you are starting another pathway sustaining a new belief. Unfortunately, the old pathway does not stop operating and there is conflict.

For awhile you felt free because your saw the truth and seeing the truth is so very healthy but the old pathway was and is still in operation- this is the discomfort you feel, the distress.

It takes time and often requires help to endure this discomfort as you change beliefs. First if you truly understand the neural process, you will not be catastrphizing the situation, that is you will understand that the discomfort and distress is part of the change, unavoidable. You will understand that patience and gentleness with yourself during this change are necessary. In fact, extreme gentleness and patience are necessary.

Over time, over a long time, months, maybe longer, the old pathway will weaken and the new pathway will get stronger and the distress will be less and less. The more gentle you are with yourself, with respect to the difficulty in the process, the better it will be for you.

There is nothing more difficult than changing core beliefs about who we are and about the world we are in. Please do not go back (even if you could) to the old beliefs, or try to, and please do not adopt a new false belief to replace the old. Stick with the truth, with what you see, what makes sense.

anita