As with anything else, we cannot drop beliefs through the habitual patterns of the small self – through merely trying. As long as parts of us believe it, we believe it, no matter how hard we try to drop it.
Instead, if we really examine the belief – through for instance the very simple and effective process outlined by Byron Katie – we see through it more fully. It releases us. As she says, it lets go of us. We cannot believe it even if we try. And this has a profound impact on our life.
When we believe a thought, we are at the mercy of our beliefs. It brings rigidity in our perceptions, views and behaviors, and inevitable suffering. When we are relased from beliefs, it brings a new spaciousness, openness, fluidity, joy and responsiveness to situations.