Often, when we think of definition, Webster’s dictionary comes to mind. But dictionary definitions can't

attend to the exigence of a particular time and place--terms, concepts, and meanings emerge to frame issues,

according to the rhetorical situation.

Belief- a statement, principle, or doctrine that a person or group accepts as true

Encarta ® World English Dictionary © & (P) 1998-2004

Cover Page

Introducing... A New Way of Looking At The World

Insight into the power of belief.

Believing is more than just being convinced of a thought without any sort of proof.

It is rather a component of an individual and a way of life. The main intent for my

narrative is to put into the picture just how greatly the beliefs held by individuals

affects their lifestyles and who they are.

The audience that my paper will target, are those who are intrigued to learn more

about the human psyche and how belief affects them in everyday life. Throughout the

paper, I have included several examples of stories that illustrate the power of belief.

They are shared perspective on how belief takes many different forms on lifestyles.

I have asked myself a few questions before writing: why do people believe? What

purpose does belief serve? Who does it effect? How does it effect them? What

actually goes on when people believe something to an extreme? I hope this paper

will give readers a new standpoint on the definition of belief.

Amber Herko

Narrative-definition rough draft

9/26/07

Since the beginning of man’s existence on Earth, ancient people have formed their own ideas of

what the world is like and what they think to be true. Before language was developed, people

were capable of thought. Their thoughts may not have been the most complex of sorts but

important nonetheless. As time progressed, people have now become capable to communicating

and expressing their thoughts so that others may recognize them. These so called thoughts that

are perceived as the truth with no evidence are also known as beliefs. A belief is defined by the

Encarta English World Dictionary as a statement, principle, or doctrine that a person or group

accepts as true. However I deem that it is more. It is a way of life and part of an individual.

Usually, before we’ll believe something, we want proof. Or as much proof as we can get.

Before you buy a car, you try to check it out. Before I’ll try to skate across that frozen lake,

I’m going to make sure the ice is solid. But when it comes to the supernatural, ESP, psychic

powers, astrology and so forth, lots of people have a different standard. They believe

because they want to believe. They care less about proof because believing makes them happy.

Now, if you’re only 4 years old, it’s OK to believe in things we know not to be true, like Santa Claus.

Now, while magical thinking is fine for kids, it’s another thing when adults do it. I am not talking

mainstream religion here, but lots of people believe they can talk to the dead or have their illnesses

cured by the wave of a hand. Some believe a psychic or astrologer can predict their future.

Ever since I was a little girl, my family has always participated in seemingly outlandish beliefs.

When I was about seven years old, my uncle made a fire walk in our backyard. He would always

tell me that walking across the coals brought him closer to his inner force field. He always claimed

that anyone could do it without getting burned. Even to this day my uncle routinely does his coal

walks. The temperatures reach 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit! The inner force field and walking on

coals to give you a clear mind is not just mere belief, it’s a part of his way of living.

Not surprisingly, my aunt, my fire walking uncle’s wife, makes a living as an iridologist. Iridologists

say they’ll tell you what’s wrong with your entire body by looking at your eye. This chart maps out

how every part of the eye supposedly corresponds to a different part of the body. When you’re sick,

whom do you go to? Establishment scientists offer remedies, but often they are cold, impersonal

ones. People in white coats with test tubes and computers want to do things to us that we often

don’t understand. And they’re not always right. So increasingly, people turn to my aunt alternative

therapies. For her patients, their belief in certain medical remedies has become a part of their lifestyles.

To try to cure cancer, some people have ozone gas run through their hair. Some people with arthritis

drag bees across their skin to get the bees to sting them, which is supposed to make their joints work

better.

It stands out very clearly in my mind being even younger then seven years old and going to visit my

grandmother on Sundays. Every time I would walk into the house I could smell the scent of freshly

baked cinnamon buns and the sounds from the living room television showing faith healer Benny Hin.

He would be saying, “ I break your hold on the Devil in Jesus’ name. I break your hold on him. I break it!”

A man says faith healing cured his cancer. He did also get conventional chemotherapy, but he says he

got better because of this. Of course my grandmother was sitting there engulfed and writing the

telephone number down in hopes to meet this so called healer, in hopes that he might cure her

arthritis.

As a grew older, the power of belief on the lifestyles of loved ones grew increasingly noticeable to me.

In the eleventh grade, my best friend practiced voodoo. For those who believe and practice, it’s serious

business, used for healing and hurting people. It is a fact that voodoo priests have cursed people,

who then promptly got sick and died. But scientists say it’s not the voodoo. It’s the power of

suggestion. If you truly believe in the curse, your body may just shut down. One day after school,

I stopped by my friend’s house to visit for a while. I came to realize that the sticks and various dolls

laying on her floor were meant to hurt the people from school that were not nice to her. She sat

down on the floor in middle of the middle of the room with a piece of hair from a girl’s brush from the

locker room. She was about to put a curse on the girl. She carved the girls name in a candle which

she bought near a New Orleans cemetery. She mixed the hair, then called up the spirits of the dead.

She sprayed some rum around, blew cigar smoke into the air so the spirits could find her.

She did something with a rattle and, of course, lit the candle and invited the spirits to hurt the girl.

This past weekend, I participated in a sleep study. Everyone who participated in the study was

unknowingly divided into two main groups. The group I was in took placebo pills or sugar pills.

The other group took the drug being tested. I took the pill for two weeks and was amazed at

how much better I was sleeping at night. Little did I know that my pill was a fraud! This recent

experience just reinforces the notion that belief is more than a convincing thought, it is a lifestyle.

Kirsch, I. Suggestion and the Power of Belief Yale University Press; 1 edition 2005.

Koening, H. The Healing Power of Faith Simon & Schuster 2001.

Halligan, P. The Power of Belief: Psychological Influence on Illness, Disability, and MedicineOxford University Press, USA; 1 edition 2004.

http://www.affirmations-for-success.com/power-of-belief.html The Power of Belief "Beliefs Run our Lives" visited on September 24, 2007.

Hi Amber- I went over your narrative and made some small changes. The only thing I would suggest is trying to tie together your topics a bit more. It seems like you start to make a point about one of the examples you write about, and then jump to the next topic. There are a couple sentences that I underlined which don't flow really well. I tried to think of how to reword them, but I figured I would leave it up to you. Let me know if you need help figuring out how to rewrite them.

Narrative-definition rough draft

9/26/07

Narrative-definition rough draft

9/26/07

Since the beginning of man’s existence on Earth, ancient people have formed their own ideas of what the world is like and what they think to be true. Before language was developed, people were capable of independent thought. Their thoughts may not have been the most complex, but were important nonetheless. __As time progresses, people have now become capable to communicating and expressing their thoughts so that others may recognize them. __(you have two word tenses in this sentence-you need to pick one or the other) These thoughts, which are perceived as truth with no supporting evidence, are also known as beliefs. A belief is defined by the Encarta English World Dictionary as a statement, principle, or doctrine that a person or group accepts as true. However I believe that it is more. It is a way of life and part of an individual.

Usually, before we believe something, we want proof. Or at least as much proof as we can get. Before you buy a car, you try to check it out. Before I try to skate across that frozen lake, I am going to make sure the ice is solid. But when it comes to the supernatural, ESP, psychic powers, astrology and so forth, lots of people have a different standard. (Reword-doesn’t flow well) They believe because they want to believe. They care less about proof because believing makes them happy. It provides them with a sense of peace and comfort.

Now, if you’re only 4 years old, it’s okay to believe in things we know to be false, like Santa Claus. Now, while magical thinking is fine for kids, it is another thing when adults do it. I am not talking mainstream religion here, but lots of people believe they can talk to the dead or have their illnesses cured by the wave of a hand. Some believe a psychic or astrologer can predict their future.

Ever since I was a little girl, my family has always participated in seemingly outlandish beliefs. When I was about seven years old, my uncle made a fire walk in our backyard. He would always tell me that walking across the coals brought him closer to his inner force field. He always claimed that anyone could do it without getting burned. Even to this day my uncle routinely does his coal walks. The temperatures reach 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit! The inner force field and walking on coals to give you a clear mind is not just mere belief, it’s a part of his way of living. (Reword)

Not surprisingly, my aunt, my fire walking uncle’s wife, makes a living as an iridologist. Iridologists say they’ll tell you what’s wrong with your entire body by looking at your eye. This chart maps out how every part of the eye corresponds to a different part of the body. When you’re sick, whom do you go to? Establishment scientists offer remedies, but often they are cold, impersonal ones. People in white coats with test tubes and computers want to do things to us that we often do not understand. And they are not always right. So increasingly, people turn to my aunt alternative therapies. (Reword) For her patients, their belief in certain medical remedies has become a part of their lifestyles. To try to cure cancer, some people have ozone gas run through their hair. Some people with arthritis drag bees across their skin to get the bees to sting them, which is supposed to make their joints work better.

It stands out very clearly in my mind being even younger than seven years old and going to visit my grandmother on Sundays. Every time I would walk into the house I could smell the scent of freshly baked cinnamon buns and the sounds from the living room television showing faith healer Benny Hin. He would be saying, “I break your hold on the Devil in Jesus’ name. I break your hold on him. I break it!” A man says faith healing cured his cancer. He did also get conventional chemotherapy, but he says he got better because of this. Of course my grandmother was sitting there engulfed and writing the telephone number down in hopes of meeting this so called healer, in hopes that he might cure her arthritis.

As I grew older, the power of belief on the lifestyles of loved ones grew increasingly noticeable. In the eleventh grade, my best friend practiced voodoo. For those who believe and practice, it is serious business, used for healing and hurting people. It is a fact that voodoo priests have cursed people, who then promptly got sick and died. But scientists say it’s not the voodoo. It’s the power of suggestion. If you truly believe in the curse, your body may just shut down. One day after school, I stopped by my friend’s house to visit for a while. I came to realize that the sticks and various dolls lying on her floor were meant to hurt the people from school that were not nice to her. She sat down on the floor in middle of the room with a piece of hair from a girl’s brush she took from the locker room. She was about to put a curse on the girl. She carved her name in a candle which she had purchased near a New Orleans cemetery. She mixed the hair, and then called up the spirits of the dead. She sprayed some rum around, blew cigar smoke into the air so the spirits could find her. She did something with a rattle and, of course, lit the candle and invited the spirits to hurt the girl.

This past weekend, I participated in a sleep study. Everyone who participated in the study was unknowingly divided into two main groups. The group I was in took placebo pills or sugar pills. The other group took the drug being tested. I took the pill for two weeks and was amazed at how much better I was sleeping at night. Little did I know that my pill was a fraud! This recent experience just reinforces the notion that belief is more than a convincing thought, it is a lifestyle.

Kirsch, I. Suggestion and the Power of Belief Yale University Press; 1 edition 2005.

Koening, H. The Healing Power of Faith Simon & Schuster 2001.

Halligan, P. The Power of Belief: Psychological Influence on Illness, Disability, and MedicineOxford University Press, USA; 1 edition 2004.

http://www.affirmations-for-success.com/power-of-belief.html The Power of Belief "Beliefs Run our Lives" visited on September 24, 2007.

Amber, your narrative creates opportunity for further research and writing. The "placebo effect" is fascinating and could provide footing for a project centered around the ethics and professional documentation supporting mind-body research such as the sleep study you introduce at the end of the narrative.

ShareRiff

Are you recommending for my revision that I change my

definition to "placebo effect" or mind-body research?

Amber

No, I'm not suggesting that you recast this paper; rather, I'm just noticing that your experience in the sleep study, which enters into the picture at the end or your narrative/definition, might offer avenues for the rest of the semester. You conclude with the sleep study--does this mean you are preparing to focus on this in your proposal? Subsequent assignments?

ShareRiff

Here is what i edited for you. -- Tiffany