We have a basic understanding of black holes

Put simply, a black hole is the end result of a burnt out star that has collapsed in on itself. The resulting singularity is so dense, that it bends and deforms spacetime, to the extent, that nothing – not even particles and electromagnetic radiation such as light – can escape, from inside it.

It’s useful to use this phenomenon as an analogy to explain the influence and power of core beliefs

Imagine a galaxy as a belief system. We can think of each star as a belief, and the black hole at the centre of the galaxy, the core belief. All the stars are circulating around this core. Each and every star within the galaxy is pulled and influenced by the bend of spacetime the black hole has created. All matter in the galaxy is falling (orbiting) around it. The closer the stars and planets are to the core, the stronger, its influence. As they travel around the black hole, some stars are so close, they’re moving through space at thousands of kilometres per second. Spacetime itself is being pulled in.

In this respect, it’s also useful to use the influence a black hole has on time, as an analogy to the power of our core beliefs

Just as the rules of how time passes, mean nothing within a black hole, so too, does time mean nothing, to core beliefs. It matters not when they were formed (childhood), their influence is no less powerful now, than they were back then. In fact, it could be said, the longer a core belief remains in place, the greater its power becomes. The longer a black hole has been in existence the greater its mass.

Consider the extreme religious and their beliefs in God

The more extreme the beliefs the greater their power. Just as all the stars within the galaxy are influenced by the black hole, every aspect of the extremists life, is centered around their core beliefs. Added to this, the circumstances of the extremists life, exert influence over their core beliefs. As long as their circumstances remain the same (or worsen), their core beliefs, remain untouched. Their whole identity is centered around this core. They are their beliefs. We are our beliefs. The influence, of what lies at the heart of theirs, and our our belief systems, cannot be denied. When their core beliefs remain unquestioned the extremist will detonate the bomb. When our core beliefs remain unquestioned, they continue, to hold us in their grasp.

The brilliant, late physicist Stephen Hawking, theorised that black holes will eventually evaporate

Once a black hole stops growing, but continues to emit Hawking Radiation, it will eventually evaporate away. From a very simple perspective, for this to happen, the black hole must be starved of mass. It mustn’t be allowed to grow. We can think of core beliefs in the same way. If we were to take the extremist out of his current environment, we would begin the process of starving, his core beliefs. In time they evaporate away. The key, is to stop feeding them through environment. Just as with black holes, in time, all religious extremists die, and evaporate, to nothing.

If you’ve been wondering, what the simplest means of changing and improving your life is likely to be, here’s the answer: Change your environment.