Belief - Season 1 (2015)

Explore how our beliefs help us change. An Indian woman becomes a Jain nun; a father and daughter attend the Burning Man festival for healing; a young Apache woman completes a spiritual ritual; a scientist continues his quest to understand the universe.

When tragedy, illness or loss feel overwhelming, and relief seems beyond our reach, many believers appeal to their faith for strength. First, Karen Cavanagh, a Catholic from Slingerlands, New York, is called to the Sufi path as a way of healing from a traumatic brain injury. Karen travels to Konya, Turkey, to combine her Catholic faith with the practice of becoming a whirling dervish, a member of a group that worships through meditative dance. Next, in Lima, Peru, a teenager by the name of Beto prays to the Lord of Miracles, a painting that depicts Christ on the cross...

For many people, committing to a spiritual life through study, practice and compassion reveals faith. First, Shi Yan Fei is a young Buddhist monk at the Shaolin Monastery in Dengfeng, China, who came to the monastery because of his passion for kung fu. While Shi Yan Fei has nearly mastered kung fu's physical movements, he has encountered difficulty mastering the spiritual element. Next, 65-year-old John Davie is hoping to reconnect with his Catholic faith as he embarks on the Way of Saint James, a 500-mile trek through the countryside of France and Spain. For a ...

Explore how beliefs help us face the fear of death and the mystery of what happens after we die. In this episode, we witness how death can also be a powerful call to action, compelling us to embrace life and those we love. In the shadows of Mount Everest, Lekshey Choedhar, a young Buddhist monk at the Pema Ts'al Sakya Monastic Institute , learns a valuable lesson about the fleeting nature of life. There, Buddhist monks make devotional works of art called sand mandalas, which they then destroy in a ritual that symbolizes the impermanence of existence. Next, atheist ...