Beliefs produce Reality

 Beliefs are deep seated bundles of sympathetic thoughts. The older (earlier) they were seeded, the more fundamental they are in the making of the foundation of what we believe we are. 

These bundles of thoughts then reside deep in our minds and most of them are out of our conscious view. They attract other similar thoughts and influence at a most basic level, what kind of data we let through into our conscious awareness. 

A practical example:
If you were told as a child that the world is a dangerous place, where everyone out there is out to take advantage of you, this thought (if accepted as truth) will become part of you and color all the circumstances you find yourself in from that moment onwards. Whenever you meet someone new, the first feeling is one of mistrust, an aversion of opening up, which would lead to isolation and loneliness. This predisposition and judgment will then function as a self-fulfilling prophecy. It filters out all the circumstances where the initial belief is confirmed and thus solidified even further. The affected person would then consider his mistrust as justified. This thought-seed acts like a magnet, attracting other sympathetic thought/beliefs, such as: "I can't show my true self to others", "I need to defend what is mine at any cost", "Nothing is as it seems", "People always have ulterior motives".

All this misery because of one fallacious thought-seed. 

So, are we at the mercy of these thought-seeds that have been given to us in a time where we were most open and trusting?
The good news is NO. We can change these beliefs. They are not set in stone! All it takes is an honest look inside to find the roots of our thinking. Granted, it sounds easy, but it takes commitment and the strength to accept whatever may arise.

If a certain belief is making your life miserable, change it. If a belief is holding you back, change it. 
Replace it with a better one. For example, "Everyone is out to take advantage of me" can become "The world supports me and people are trustworthy"...."I'm not worthy of love" can become "I deserve to be loved".