Sunday, December 05 2010
Updated: March 2010 - ©1973 A Lá Lansün Our primary duality is caused by the simultaneous worship of two gods Fear and Faith. These two inner gods constantly vie with each other for expression and control. And if we consider fear to be something that is created by external circumstances, we have approached it from the wrong direction. Fear, like Faith, comes from within. External events only activate what already exists. In the Book of Jöb we see this truth highlighted by Jöb’s statement: That which I feared came upon me. To conquer fear we must understand its nature if we are to deal with it intelligently. All too often we run from any sign of fear in ourselves, considering it a shameful weakness. OstrIch-like we may hide our heads in the sands of a pseudo-faith that is no more than a feeble attempt to bluff our way past it, graveyard whistling by the child in us. In an animal fear is a life-saving device, implanted for the protection of physical existence. In man, however, it can become a corrosive and destructive force because man, unlike an animal, usually cannot expend this excess surge of energy in physical flight from an attack that is primarily psychological. Thus the physical reaction to fear, so necessary to an animal’s survival, turns back on man and creates dis-ease in the body. It is important to the well-being of the entire personality to learn how to deal effectively with fear. First: By acknowledging its existence. I know this statement is contrary to the many positive-thinking creeds. But the truth is that no general ever defeated an enemy by affirmations that denied his enemy’s existence or strength. So face your fear. Look it squarely in the eye. Imagine the absolute worst that could happen to you in the situation. Don’t try to be noble or heroic. Let all the ugly possibilities parade before you, and view them with as much detachment as you can muster. When the parade is over, recognize that you have a choice in meeting the problem. If you do not make a choice the conscious mind, left to its own devices, often abdicates in favor of the unconscious fear picture, and your innate creativity takes charge and starts to confirm the picture it has been given Study the nature of fear. It is the opposite pole of faith. Fear scatters your energies; faith unites them. Fear clouds your perspective; faith sharpens it. Fear open you to attack in much the same way that a falling barometer opens the way for an incoming turbulence, while faith acts like a high-pressure field that blocks an incoming storm. And both fear and faith enlarge in direct proportion to the attention given them. Consider how this duality works in a practical human situation. You open your weekly paycheck and there’s the dreaded pink slip. Next stop, the unemployment line. Standing there, waiting to apply for hoped-for temporary compensation, the first corrosive action of fear begins. Your independence, small though it may have been, appears to have been wiped out with the lost paycheck. Then the interviewer blandly advises you that it will be “three or four weeks” before your case is processed and any allotment granted. Or, there could even be a question as to whether you are entitled to compensation. Immediately, your depleted checking account and your near-zero savings account flash before you, along with a kaleidoscope of due bills. A knot of panic wraps around your solar plexus; adrenalin pours into your blood stream. Like a frightened animal, you feel a desperate desire to flee or fight for survival. But unlike an animal you cannot run wildly around the unemployment office or pounce on the interviewer and stomp him or her into a lifeless pulp. So your fear-charged energy remains locked in your physical body. Your barometer of self-confidence falls, opening the way for a storm of insecurity. How can you make use of this energy charge in a positive way? Use it to move beyond your instinctive reaction. By conscious decision, immediately cancel out the feeling of being a helpless and hapless creature. Stop any impulse to defend or justify yourself. For every problem there is a solution, and through the help of your own Self, you have access to the right solution by meeting the situation with quiet trust in your god-given reality to instruct and guide you around the reefs of lack. However, if you block the intuitive flow by panic-thinking, you’ve locked yourself into the appearance world’s illusions. You have accepted the negative picture of both the situation and yourself. And the law reads: Accept it and it shall be so! An ancient proverb states that even if the right man uses the wrong method, he will still get right results. Why? Because “right” is determined by attitude, and attitude is determined by who occupies the driver’s seat -- Fear or faith? The faith that is needed is not a blind faith, but one that knows you can request the help needed from the god of your being, by whatever name you choose. And then: Patience to be still, receptive to the ideas and answers that will come to you. Second: It is also the ability to recognize the value of change. Indeed, this is the only constant in life, and without it there is stagnation and decay. If handled with insight, the energy of change is not scattered but focused constructively. Perhaps something has fulfilled its purpose and you are ready for a new and more fulfilling chapter in your life. A good indication that pressure is being applied to the personality to force a change is the build-up of emotion about a situation. As creatures of habit our personality often only makes a change when it is forced to. And this type of decision is always made with emotion, like a cork popping out of bottle. However, when a command is issued directly from the Self, emotion rarely accompanies it. The Self simply programs a decision in the personality-mind and you know without even knowing how you know. There is a distinct flip of consciousness; perspective alters and fear is absent. You must hold fast to such a command by refusing to let any fear energy the personality still harbors defeat the strength and clarity of an insight received by infusion of the Self’s command. Keep your intuitive channel open to the Self of you, and keep your own counsel. It is truth you desire to magnify, not error. It is the right way for you; the correct answer that you need. So follow where your own inner light leads with confidence in your ability to come up over any situation. Fear knocked at the door. §
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