Fear Not

In the throes of World War II, President Roosevelt calmed a panicky nation with the memorable words, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Decades later, fear is as pervasive as ever; it almost seems abnormal not to be afraid!

Masters of every age have echoed FDR’s message, for they know fear is one of the major barriers to fulfillment, peace, joy and spiritual attainment. Too many have shrunk back from the door of the Infinite for fear of what might lie beyond it – or of losing familiar comforts.

To desire fearlessness is one thing; but to really live it is quite another. The latter can only be achieved by raising our consciousness to a place where fear is impossible.

Our minds create fear

As a young bride in a strange new city, I was overly influenced by news reports of man’s inhumanity. How they love to scare us! The more I listened to them, the more fearful I grew that it was only a matter of time before I too became a victim of some terrible crime.

My husband’s job required him to travel a lot, leaving me alone with my over-active imagination. Our neighborhood of bungalows, apartments and cottages seemed safe enough, but I was aware that the inner city and its frightening denizens lay just blocks away.

One dark night, I noticed some suspicious activity at a neighbor’s house: someone was running back and forth between the house and a car with the motor running. It must be a burglary, I concluded. So I called the police, who investigated and later knocked on my door to record my statement.

The “suspicious characters” turned out to be the neighbors themselves, bringing puppies home. All was well. How foolish I felt for fearing the worst.

Reflecting on this incident, I realized that the only place there was any trouble was inside my own mind. Further reflection extrapolated that realization across suffering humanity: The vast majority of fears are baseless; they are born and cultivated in our minds, and nowhere else! That which we fear rarely comes to pass-unless we draw it to us by over-indulging in fear to the exclusion of more positive thoughts.

That being the case, I could choose whatever mental state I wanted. My reasoning went like this: Did I enjoy living in fear? No way! Release it, then, and see what happens. Even if some horror did happen to me, I would only make it worse by being afraid. From that moment on, I chose fearlessness, tempered with common sense, as my normal state. I didn’t realize it then, but this was a major step that would eventually lead me to my spiritual path.