You can reprogram any negative belief or insecurity. It just takes practice.

[BillyPilgrim]

Commenting with the intent to augment, not derail - I found a Quora post (presented further down) that I think is relevant and might be of value to people (not pushing lolz)

My main two ideas counter to Rambo's thesis presented for consideration: 1) the soul will ultimately override the mind, and 2) it is possible to divorce from a belief or belief system without replacing it with yet another belief or belief system. Not trying to troll, but using the Hegelian Dialectic, where thesis+antithes=synthesis.

Is it possible to live without any belief system?

Jon Shore's answer: Now that is a profound and powerful question. The simple answer to your question is yes, one can live without a belief system. But the reality is far from easy to accomplish. To do this can lead to enlightenment. To be without a belief structure one must examine all their be...

qr.ae

"Can one live without a belief structure?

Now that is a profound and powerful question.

The simple answer to your question is yes, one can live without a belief system. But the reality is far from easy to accomplish. To do this can lead to enlightenment.

To be without a belief structure one must examine all their beliefs and be able to disassociate from them completely. This requires hyper-self-awareness on a moment to moment basis and the willingness to let go of every single belief and expectation. That includes beliefs about who and what you are and your place in the world. You must become a complete blank. I have actually created meditations and other practices for accomplishing this but it takes a great deal of commitment and work. But it can be done.

The best way to answer your question is for you to experience Emptiness. Dissolve into it until there are no beliefs and there is nothing left of you. If you have the courage to do this you will experience the answer to your question. Others have done this before you. I do it every day. You can do this as well. I have posted some practices for accomplishing this at my blog noted in my credential. Feel free to read more there."


To be fair, this might be a little abstract for your intended audience, but "unintended" audiences will invariably be reading as well. What I'm getting at is basically operating through intuition, not reprogramming, once existing beliefs are removed. Imo this will pave the road to enlightenment. In the case of the peeps you are trying to help, reprogramming may work as a short-term and practical solution, but ultimately you don't want to stop there.

 

[BillyPilgrim]

Hey Cognitive behvorial therapy practices on SoSuave, I dig it!

Most people have an inaccurate self image especially in today's world.

We internalize so many things that are simply untrue and we greatly exaggerate their significance and they develop into an insecurity. Most of this takes place in childhood and adolescence. It can be overcome, but first one has to recognize these things and be brutally honest with themselves. I think only a select few people really put in the work to overcome their self doubts and sit with those uncomfortable feelings and thoughts.

There are numerous exercises you can do to combat these things. A broad example being
-Step one looking inwards
-Step two is identifying the root.
-Step 3 is challenging it by identifying cognitive distortions
-step 4 is finding evidence to oppose your past view
-step 5 form a more accurate image

I do agree with Mr.Pilgrim about quieting the mind with meditation and some other things, but I don't think that is what you're really getting at here. If I may, i'm going to add a book or two here that helped me in fighting my own insecurities/self image and mental conditioning. I've also shared it over dm's and had similar conversations with other posters here who received it well.

Psycho-Cybernetics

https://a.co/d/71YqVyg

Ten Days to Self-Esteem

https://a.co/d/3jGsEuP

For clarity, it seems Rambo and I are disagreeing on step #5, where he is suggesting reprogramming, and I am suggesting mental quietude. Imo epiphanies, which in my experience are stronger than intentional self-conditioning, are achieved through mental quietude.

 

[BillyPilgrim]

I am right on the cusp of millennial and Gen x and I find millenials too idealistic and Gen x too nihilistic . A bit of balance would be nice.

Actuallt the most committed left wingers with a really strong hatred of conservatism are gen x. I do wonder whether the political leanings we are informed follow generational lines are false. All the Gen x ers I know are the kind of anti Regan/thatcher types and it’s mainly Gen x now bringing in all this woke stuff in companies. I was convinced it was millennials but when I looked at the people bringing it in, they are all late 40s and 50s. People in 30s often don’t have the power to do that.

Just observations.

It might've been a little different in the US, since we were so heavily influenced by Grunge while you guys had Oasis, etc. In the U.S. we didn't like the Christian and Conservative elements but we were more "classic liberal" than left-wing, which is being open minded and "live and let live". We were cynical since we had to deal with Boomers and were the first U.S. generation to be worse off than our parents, and to my knowledge you guys were still climbing out of the WWII hole while the Boomers were getting stoned and going to Woodstock and nascently indulging in the narcissism they became so well-known for..