There are beliefs that are surface beliefs, such as “black people are angry” “kids should clean their rooms”, “I have to keep my job”, “Women are flaky.” Etc. These kinds of thoughts are like branches of a tree. Each one of them is the byproduct of a deeper, core belief. The core belief is like the root of a tree. Core beliefs are the building blocks of the life we are living. They are the source from with everything grows and most importantly, they are the very source of how we see ourselves and how we see the universe we live in. They are both the root of the joy and the root of the suffering in our lives.

Kuan Yin's Mantra (c) 2002 Lisa Thiel - used by permission http://www.sacreddream.com