Great insights! Thank you for taking time to comment.

I agree that beliefs are very complex, and oftentimes we do not even know what they are.

That is why so many people are frustrated with their understanding of Law of Attraction and with the practice of positive thinking to change their reality.

That said, beliefs can be influenced by ‘conscious mental activity,’ at least to an extent. If that were not possible, it wouldn’t make sense for persons like Tony Robbins to speak of “installing new beliefs.”

Being mindful of what were thinking at any given time is also a conscious mental activity, and both psychology and science shows us that our perception of a thing affects our specific outcomes. The story of the gas station attendant illustrates this point, and we are all certainly influenced by our media diet choices.

I have to say that I am not a Byron Katie expert, by any stretch. In fact, I’ve learned and practiced variations of “The Work,” from other teachers.

As a process of inquiry, I think “The Work” is great, and it is (from my surface understanding of it) a conscious way to reveal unconscious blocks. Many are able to achieve a similar “raising of consciousness” through counseling, coaching, or even a traumatic event.

Sometimes knowledge alone is itself curative. People have changed beliefs in an instant.

There is much to this topic, of course, but in short, we do have personal agency, so we can begin by monitoring our thoughts and feelings and our “inputs” from the media, family, friends, etc.

There are various processes (like “The Work”) that we can learn and practice in order to access what it is we really believe, as far as unconscious beliefs are concerned. Then, we can get the help we need to move toward something more empowering.