What a strange word. One definition from dictionary.com is, “a belief that is not based on proof.” This made no sense to me when I was younger. Why would anyone believe in something that can’t be proven? Can’t we just accept that we don’t know everything there is to know? Why do people need to invent faith just to connect the dots?
I made the mistake of believing that the only method to prove something was through logic. After practicing Vipassana for a few years I can now feel if something is right. I can’t explain why it’s right or how it became right, but within the sensations of my body I can feel that it’s right. This is faith.
Blind faith is totally different. Blind faith requires that I take someone elses word for a piece of truth. It requires me to live by a set of rules that someone else explained to me. It means that I’ll be living by and enforcing a set of rules that I can’t fully understand because my understanding is blind. But not all faith is blind. This is still new to me.
The scientist in me wants things to make sense. I want to see the logical progression to the conclusion. So as the number of situations where my sensations tell me what’s right increases, I’m slowly dissolving the need to connect all the logical dots. My faith is growing stronger with each and every experience. I’m not saying that logic and reason are unimportant. I’m saying that faith can be just as real and true as logic and reason. Going one step further, faith and sensations have helped me navigate situations that logic never could. I’m amazed by the new role faith is playing in my life and I’m excited for it to grow stronger. Time to meditate.
