Even death is not to be feared by the one who has lived well~The Buddha
Fear is a great valley that separates us from perfect balance. How do we cross over this valley? Better yet, how do we walk through it?
Fear cannot be ignored; it must be transcended. When fear is present, we know it. Our hearts feel it, our pores tighten, our pulse quickens; the muscles tense—fear takes control. But we can be fearless. We can move beyond fear.
When confronted by an angry dog, we are told to remain calm, to move slowly, and to refrain from running away. The dog can sense our fear. It can smell fear in the air. If we turn and run, or if our eyes are fearful, the dog knows we are afraid, and it attacks. Life is similar to the dog. When we are fearful, life knows. People know. If we fear death, death knows. If we fear failure, failure knows. Whatever we fear knows we fear it; and it will eventually attack. Therefore, fear not.
To be fearless is not to be beyond the feeling of fear, but to be beyond the control of fear. The woman that is afraid to speak but speaks anyway is being fearless. The man that is afraid to die but learns to accept death as his greatest comfort is fearless. To look fear in the eye and feel it, and to move past it, is to be fearless. How do we do this? We accept and know. We accept that life is sometimes harsh, that painful things happen, and that sometimes the nights are long. And we know that we are beyond the physical, that we are souls, that life is never lost, it is only experienced. This is how we walk through the valley of fear.
Fear can become our state of being. When this happens, we are not only fearful of a particular thing, say snakes, for example, but we are fearful of life. We are afraid to live, to be. Our lives become so over-run by fear that our every thought is fearful; our movements are fearful—we manifest fear. This is a terrible state to be in. This crippling state prevents us from loving, and it paralyzes our spiritual growth.
Fear controls much of what we do or do not do. For instance, many of us fear feeling unimportant, which drives us to do whatever it takes to move up the importance ladder. For some, importance is achieved through financial success, a large home, or even children. While these things are not bad in and of themselves, the motivation to achieve anything should never be based in fear. Anything done out of fear will not bring lasting fulfillment.
How do we deal with threats to our personal safety? How do we control fear when it’s dark, and we are alone, and someone is at the door trying to break in? Again, we simply accept and know. We accept that someone is at the door, we move to safety if we can, call the police maybe; we do whatever we can to be safe. The fear we feel in such instances is natural and normal, but even in situations where our lives are on the line, we can transcend fear. We react, we try to survive, but fear does not control us. The feeling of fear does not paralyze us, because ultimately, we know that our lives cannot be lost. This clearly is not easy. To be fearless we must overcome our fear of loss, every loss, and this requires deep inner awareness. The most pervasive kind of fear is the fear of loss. We are afraid of dying because we don’t want to lose our lives. We fear being honest because we don’t want to lose favor with others. We fear living life because we don’t want to lose ourselves. We fear exploring different religious teachings because we are afraid of losing our souls. At some level, all fear is based in a concept of loss. We can only exist as fearless human beings after we become acutely aware of the soul’s eternal existence. Until this happens, we will be spiritually hindered by the fear of losing something dear to us.
The soul must be perceived; it cannot be seen with the physical eye, or handled with physical hands. Perhaps that is why it is so easy for us to forget that we are souls and to identify only with the physical. We have to take care of our bodies, wash them regularly, provide them with nourishment several times a day, and do all sorts of other things to them so that we can remain functional. And so, it seems only natural that we would want to protect what we have become so intimate with, indeed, the only “us” we have ever seen. How can we be fearless when all it takes is a simple accident for us to be killed? How are we supposed to release ourselves from the fear of loss when it seems like we can lose everything we love in an instant? Again, to be fearless does not mean we do not feel fear at times. If a loved one dies, there will be pain; the heart will ache. If a robber pulls out a gun, and screams, “Get down or I’ll shoot!” the heart may race, but even in that moment of fright, or during the pain of loss, we can move past fear. It can be done. It is not easy to do, but it can be done. We must accept and know. This is the remedy for all fears.
In this earthly realm, we exist as body, mind, and soul. We are having an experience of who we are based on these three realities. Bullets and knives may not harm the soul, but they can destroy the body. And we use our bodies every day. So, how do we let go of our attachment to the body? How can we simply accept and know? Really, how do we forget that we are physical creatures who bleed if cut, starve if deprived of food, who suffer and eventually die? We do not forget anything. We feel. We see the body: the hands, the feet, the eyes, and the skin. We have a human experience, and then, we choose to move beyond the body. We can, through meditation, prayer, and love, transcend the framework of the body. We can sense our true substance, our souls. We must become quiet, move our thoughts to a place within, and gradually we will see that the valley of fear is a field shrouded in darkness, and though cold and gloomy, it is only a field. We can walk through the field, guided by the light of our being, and we can reach our state of balance, a state where fear no longer controls us. In short, to move past the fears associated with the body, we must have a personal experience of existing beyond the body.
Though it is extremely rare, many outstanding spiritual figures throughout the ages have manifested the fruit of fearlessness. The Fearless Ones share a common path—their lives are an expression of their souls’ desires. They dwell in a spiritual kingdom of love. They represent the Kingdom of God on earth because they manifest the unfathomable love of God. These fearless beings have learned and have sought to teach the rest of humankind that love is a creative energy that helps to mold our reality into a peaceable place. Fear is a creative energy that acts in opposition to love, by “short-circuiting” our ability to trust—ourselves, others, and God.
Do nothing out of fear. Do not marry because you fear being alone; marry because romantic love has lifted you to new heights. Do not fear ignorance, but love and acquire knowledge. Do not fear getting fired; instead, make a living out of doing something you love. Do not fear getting sick; work at being healthy. Have no fear of evil; love righteousness. Do not fear death, but simply love life. Have no fear of anything. Fear and love are powerful forces. The important difference is that love creates what your soul desires passionately, and fear manifests what you are fearful of most. Be mindful of this.
The Middle Theory
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