Grant Welge
What the bleep do we know?
Oct. 10, 2008
FIVE FOUNDATIONAL LESSONS
The most significant decisions I make in life will be faith decisions. Faith is an opinion based upon evidence to which I am committed.

Amanda made some critical faith decisions throughout the film. She chose to put her faith in her husband, but was betrayed. This drastically changed Amanda’s view on how men are in general, and it became hard for her to trust them after this event took place. This also is a main reason why Amanda hates weddings so much. Another cause of the result of this big faith decision for Amanda was that she started being controlled by her emotions, and her main emotions were anger, fear, and sorrow.

I am necessarily and unavoidably making decisions all the time. These can and do affect me, others and my world. By these decisions, I am determining who I am and the person I am becoming.

Amanda made many decisions throughout the movie. She made the decision to step onto the basketball court and try new things. This decision not only affected her at the moment, but it also shaped her view of the world and what goes on around her. She also made the decision to go to the wedding even though she does not like weddings. She was open to going even though she knew facing the reality would be painful. These decisions changed who Amanda was as a person.

The value judgments I make determine my actions. My mental health and happiness (and often those of many others) rests on the validity of these value judgments.

Towards the end of the movie, Amanda begins to value her appearance as the most important thing in her life. As she stares into the mirror, she thinks that she looks ugly, fat, and stupid. These thoughts caused great mental stress for Amanda until she realized what was happening to her. She began to relax and recall what the man told her about how our thoughts can affect our bodies. She eventually calmed down and achieved a happy state of mind.

I see the world through "colored lenses." I am necessarily and unavoidably (to a greater or lesser degree) biased.

Metaphorically, Amanda sees the world through “colored lenses” all the time because she is a photographer who is constantly viewing the world through a camera lens. Amanda is literally biased because she hates weddings, mostly due to her past experiences with weddings, particularly her own. She is afraid that all weddings will be painful to her, based on the pain she has felt from her own wedding. Her belief of how men act also becomes biased because of her wedding, and as a result she finds it difficult to trust them.

Any change in the particular beliefs that control my approach to life cannot help but modify and change my life. It will affect the quality and the texture of all I experience.

Some of Amanda’s underlying beliefs are that all men act the same, emotions control our lives, and what she thinks marriages are supposed to be like. She questions the fundamental beliefs of her life, and comes to terms with reality. She takes a risk and goes against these beliefs. She examines her life and conquers her fear. After Amanda modifies her underlying beliefs, her life will never be the same.