In Universal Human Terms

AVAlexander Volchek

Do you think there was no belief before, or what? Maybe it's your illusion that there was no belief in it. There certainly was belief; it was just a different kind. When you say now that you wanted to quit smoking, that you didn't really believe it or want to quit then, but now you're definitely quitting—that's your current state. Let's meet in a year and ask: did you have belief or not? Why didn't you quit smoking? Or why did you quit? Some time needs to pass. Right now, you're assessing your state in terms of your inner belief. There's a point where we confuse certain concepts. First, it's important to sort out the terminology. There's belief, and there's knowledge. Belief is when we inwardly hope that something will happen. We have a sense that it's right. Or we know—we believe—that something exists or will happen. We believe the business will work out. We believe we've chosen the right job. We believe. I believe my relationship will be good. I believe that. Then there's knowing. Knowledge is like a fact, a given, something definite.

I don't believe you have two eyes. I know you have two eyes. You, for example, may believe that there are incarnations in life. I know there are incarnations in life. That immediately creates different perceptions and interactions between people, and between us and whatever happens. We call one thing belief and another knowledge. Knowledge can change. We knew one thing; now we know another. Belief can shift. It's there today and gone tomorrow. It arose today; tomorrow it's gone. You're saying now, “I believe I'll quit smoking. I believe I'll start living differently.” Once you start smoking, you no longer believe. You believed, and now you don't. Suppose you said to yourself, “I know I'll quit smoking. I can see that it's guaranteed to happen.” The point isn't how it will happen. It isn't whether you believe it or not. The point is understanding that it will happen in any case. I know that you and I will die. We'll die in any case. I know that. I don't believe it.

A small child just learning to speak may not know this; they may believe it. Or there may be some inner impulse that gives them a kind of knowing. But if they haven't encountered it or don't fully perceive it, they may believe it, not believe it, or not think about it at all. We know it for certain. As adults, we know for certain that every person will die. Does a person need belief to take different actions? Yes. Before I knew there were incarnations in life, I believed they existed. First, I believed. Can you know before you believe? Yes. Circumstances can unfold so that you've never encountered something, and then you immediately come to know it fully. You simply arrive and learn about it at once. An inner state arises in which you know it for certain. You didn't have belief. For example, you're running a business and say, “It might work out; it might not.” I come to you and ask, “Do you believe it'll work out?” You say, “My belief is equal either way: that it'll work out and that it won't.”

I don't know how it will turn out. Do you need belief to do business, then? Not always. Some people absolutely need it, because without belief they won't take certain actions. Belief is therefore a very important word in life, a process into which everyone puts something of their own in terms of perception and understanding. Perhaps a kind of light, an impulse, a guiding star, or a flow. Belief in different aspects of perception. Sometimes a person will go mad without belief. Sometimes they won't build a relationship without it. Sometimes they won't find peace without belief. They simply won't. They won't be able to arrive at it. They need to find that thread of belief. This is a very complicated subject, difficult to perceive and understand, because there are very different forms of conditioning and different terms. What I describe with this word, or the states and feelings I describe, will also be perceived differently by each person. I keep saying: look carefully at where you know and where you believe. Again: you know a person has two eyes. You know a person will die. Do you know your business will succeed, or do you believe it will?

Those are completely different things. Do you know you'll become wealthy, or do you believe you will? Do you know your relationship is good and genuine, that this is your wife or husband, this person alone and no one else? Or do you believe it? Do you know this is your partner, your real, true partner, or do you believe it? Knowledge can have different foundations, and belief can have different foundations. With any event that raises the question of belief or knowledge, it's important to check what that knowledge or belief rests on. My belief that I'll quit smoking—your belief, right? What does it rest on? Did you simply decide to think that way today? Or is it because two months have passed, so it rests on time? On an inner state of desire? On support from people around you? On a new approach you read in a book? Or on seeing it work for other people, so it will work for you? Or is it simply a state that seems unconditioned? Then it rests on an inner state.

Give it a word, a sense of some perception that underlies it. What exactly does belief rest on? The same goes for knowledge. What exactly does knowledge rest on? I think the most important component when we talk about belief—absolutely any belief, whether belief in God, in happiness, or simply that the weather will be good today—is what exactly it rests on. Distinguishing this understanding of knowledge and belief gives you a very strong point of support. This rechecking gives you a very strong point of support. It's an action that lets you bring everything together very quickly, then draw conclusions and make decisions. Do one thing or another from a position of sound judgment and firmness. I believe this video will take off, or I don't believe it will. I know this video will take off, or I don't know it will. Can I be mistaken in my knowledge? Yes. For example, I believe someone will come to us today and have two eyes. They arrive with one eye; the other was knocked out. I say, “Well, they used to have two.” I'm told, “They never did. They were born that way.”

So I could be mistaken in my knowledge, and I could be mistaken in other knowledge too, across different aspects of life. It's important to look: do I truly know, or do I simply believe it? We discuss so much everywhere, watch different videos, read different books. This author who wrote a book and tells us something—do they believe it, or do they know it? Or do they not even believe it, with their knowledge based on other people's knowledge that they're simply retelling? What exactly is it? It's very interesting to truly examine yourself in terms of belief, knowledge, or something else, and to examine other people. Very interesting. It creates the possibility of powerful forward movement, of strong development, expansion, very powerful development forward. That very impulse, that very cause that brings movement and development forward. Understanding the difference between belief and knowledge. When we hear another person, it's important to check it together with them. Again, this applies to absolutely any action, work, or profession.

Actions, work, your profession, at work, in the family—everywhere. Check again. You can ask yourself, “Do I know this, or do I believe it?” Neither is more important. In life, there are places where a person believes and places where they know. There are places where they don't believe and places where they don't know. Neither is more important. Should you start a business only when you know? Only when you believe? Should you get married only when you know? Only when you believe? Should you make decisions only when you know or only when you believe? There's no right answer here. The right answer is to remain in observation and understanding. What exactly are you perceiving now? Where is your support in terms of belief and knowledge? That gives, and will give, powerful movement forward. Just as spending time on my channel gives powerful movement forward. A subscriber recently told me, “Alexander, I rewatched a video from two months ago and perceive it completely differently, as though I'd never heard it or taken it in at all, as though the information were new to me—

Even though I remember having insights then.” I create this material so that, over a long stretch of time, a person can live in a state of both belief and knowledge. Over a long, long stretch of time. This lets you see the next step you need to take right now. What next step should I take regarding my family at this moment? What step regarding my relationships right now? What step regarding this employee? What step regarding my boss at this moment? What next step regarding decisions about earning money right now? This allows you to make the right decisions at every moment. It allows you to live a broad, rich, expansive life. So subscribe, share, leave comments and likes, and see you next time on my channel.

UPUnidentified participant

Thank you.