Ordinary Mind Zen School Core Beliefs
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Mar 18, 2026 A talk about how painful self-beliefs form in infancy and the survival strategies that follow. It explores how caring relationships and parenting shape resilience. The piece links sitting practice to directly facing fear, shame, and worthlessness rather than just thinking about them. It stresses long-term, steady practice as the path to soften deep-seated patterns.
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How Core Belief Is Born
- Core belief forms when an infant concludes the problem is with itself after needs aren't fully met.
- Joko Beck described this negative self-opinion as the seed that drives lifelong strategies to feel safe and loved.
Core Belief Drives Rigid Coping Strategies
- Core belief is always a negative self-view so painful we'll avoid feeling it, and basic strategies are rigid reactions formed to cope.
- Geoff Dawson emphasised that thinking clarifies these but only begins the work.
Sit With The Pain Don’t Just Analyze It
- Do more than intellectualise the core belief; rest and sit in the experiential pain instead of just analysing it.
- Geoff Dawson urged sustained sitting practice as the essential method to work with shame, fear and worthlessness.