Our beliefs create the way we see and trust the world. They may be conscious or subconscious but either way they can affect us and the way we live life.

Thoughts are merely thoughts, quite innocent actually, until we attach a belief to them.

It's estimated that we have between 50,000 - 70,000 thoughts per day and for many people the majority of them are false beliefs about themselves, another, or the world. Where one can become tricked is by accepting them as being real.

Beliefs like, I'm not good enough, I'm bad, I'm not worthy, I'm lazy, I'm fat, I'm ugly, I'm poor, I'm sick, I'll never amount to anything, the list can go on and on of how one might judge themselves.

Can you feel the energy in your body if you believe one or more of these thoughts?

If you weren't tricked by this way of thinking, if you interpreted things differently, then they would just be passing thoughts without an attachment and therefore you wouldn't be feeling stressed, anxious, angry, fearful, etc.

Then there are judgements upon other people, religions, politics, justice, disease, taxes, weather, and the world in general.

Mind-sets arise from negative and positive experiences - even the traumatic ones.

We create a way of thinking and doing things depending on how we interpret these events.

Then other experiences reinforce the old beliefs as to be "the truth". Unless we change the way we view and decipher things, we will find ourselves being tricked by the need of the ego to be in control, right, justified, glorified, etc.

For instance, when I was younger I believed the "thought" I wasn't good enough. This prompted me to attract people and situations into my life that confirmed what I believed to be "real". This was a path on my road that I chose not be tricked by again.

These very things that "seemed" debilitating, fearful, and downright awful at the time, sparked opportunities to learn, grow, and expand on all levels.

It allowed me to see how my convictions were affecting my outcomes. How I was living life was being done by my beliefs, not through a greater understanding of them.

An elevated thinking was now accessible. I was listening for the first time, although it is always present, to the voice within that is connected to love and truth, not limiting beliefs.

I could have stayed trapped and conned by this past and powerless way of thinking, a difficult place to truly give and receive from, or I could choose to welcome and respond from an empowered place of truth, not trickery.

From this elevated mind, Higher Power, Higher Self, Holy Spirit, Christ Mind, Buddah Mind - or the equivalent in other spiritual or religious metaphors, you can move forward instead of backward or feeling stuck.

You are in a space of expansion, transformation, and healing. As you start inviting in your elevated mind as a way of being, you are making room for optimism and opportunities.

It is your choice to see through the trickery of your stressful and restrictive beliefs towards yourself, someone else, circumstances, and the world. Open your heart and mind's eye to the higher truth that is patiently awaiting your awakening.

When you live life and accomplish things from this place, it is not being done by you but rather through you. You then can see these perceived negative beliefs are just as amazing as the positive ones because they are presenting you with an opportunity to grow.

I invite you to take notice of the "beliefs" that are holding you back; open the inner window and door to the elevated mind of new opportunities, new possibilities and new thinking.

If you look beyond the "tricks" your ego might have you believe, you can begin to love and appreciate yourself, people, situations, and the world with all its illusions and truths.