Mick,

Beautifully vented, mate.

Those who assert there are no "beliefs" in their world-view are confusing two versions of the word. There are lots of word-music beliefs out there that have little to do with the actual makeup of an individual's core belief system. The core beliefs, the primary assumptions about what to perceive in the world and what the world does, are often so intimately held as to be wholly invisible to the user; yet it is these transparent beliefs that account for the bulk of individual experience, because they define what one allows in and what one "must" think and do.

The genuine belief system of the individual is built around who he considers he is in what he considers the world. If on top of that he espouses doctrines held only intellectually, but not integrated into who he is being, then there will be a marked dissonance between what he says and what occurs in his life.

An example is those who intellectually espouse personal responsibility, but more deeply believe in an other-determined universe which brings them good or ill based on some mysterious external mechanism. Or those who intellectually wrestle with Judeo Christian beliefs who are closer to original paganism or anarchistic brutality in what they truly see in themselves and around them.

I think it is important to be able to see beyond the words and notice the actual music, the walk being walked.

A