Where Do Beliefs Come From?

A Vegan Critique of Manifestation Thinking

Mike Dooley, like many in the metaphysical community, teaches that "thoughts become things"- that we create our reality with our beliefs. But when he’s asked where beliefs come from, his answer - “from other beliefs” - doesn’t really resolve the question. It creates a circular loop that avoids the deeper origins of human consciousness and disconnection.

At one point, he suggests that our foundational belief - perhaps the "original sin" - was believing the apple in the Garden of Eden was real, rather than recognizing that we ourselves create reality. But the biblical story he refers to wasn’t simply about perception - it was about transgression. The fruit came from the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil,” and the act of eating it brought the awareness of evil into the world. What if the real fruit of disobedience wasn’t an apple at all - but animal flesh?

I believe our original separation from Source, nature, and our own compassionate selves began when we killed and consumed animals - despite being given a clear, peaceful command in Genesis 1:29:

“Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing plant and every tree with fruit. This shall be your food.”

When we rejected this divine guidance, we began to see animals not as fellow beings, but as objects. This was the original violence. It required distancing ourselves emotionally, spiritually, and ideologically. That, I believe, is the true “knowledge of good and evil” - the moment we knew harm, and justified it.

Dooley teaches that we create our realities, but ignores that much of reality was already here when we arrived. We didn’t invent capitalism, patriarchy, war, or animal exploitation - we inherited them. These material systems deeply influence our thoughts and beliefs. To suggest that suffering is just the result of someone’s limiting beliefs erases the history of violence, the trauma of domination, and the power of structural injustice.

Still, I share Dooley’s hope that our thoughts can change the world. I’ve spent a lifetime demonstrating that they can. But thought alone is not enough. We must align our thoughts with ethical action. That’s why I’ve developed a Theory of Everything - one that unites spiritual insight with material understanding. At its heart is a simple truth: veganism is the most direct path we have to end violence, restore harmony, and begin anew. It’s not just a diet. It’s a revolution of thought, belief, and behavior.

We don’t just manifest for ourselves - we manifest for the world. When we align our inner vision with outer compassion, we become powerful agents of transformation. And that is the true miracle of thought.