Why do you believe the things you believe? What is the basis of your belief. As small children, we believe the existence of the things we see and hear and experience. Of course, we sometimes misinterpret our experiences – but the core of what we internalize is what we experience. But then, we are told certain things by our parents. Perhaps those things are consistent with what we experience; but perhaps not. We are told the Tooth Fairy will exchange a fallen tooth with a coin. We are told Santa Claus will bring us presents – and that the Easter Bunny will bring us a basket with candy. As we grow older, we recognize the inconsistency of those falsehoods with the realities we experience. They are also illogical and inconsistent with realities we come to understand – and we let go of those fabrications.
But there are other beliefs we retain, even though there is no evidence they are true. Do we believe in the magical properties of copper? Do we believe in ghosts and haunted houses – and that there are witches who can conjure up spells? Do we believe there are clairvoyant people who can see the future and foretell our destinies? Do we believe that UFOs contain alien beings much smarter that we are and come from planets that are light years away? Aren’t there things that we experience that defy explanation, inducing us to jump to irrational conclusions before investigating further and more carefully?