What are you fearing today? What keeps you up at night, mind racing, heart pounding, palms sweating? What you are afraid to do? Afraid to try? I can ask you these things with confidence that you will be able to come up with at least one answer. Why? Because we have become a society that is driven by fear. The world is counting on you to be afraid. Companies use an effective marketing technique where they appeal to your emotions, particularly fear, in order to sell their product. They know how to tap into your fear of getting an illness, becoming injured in an accident or losing your home to natural disasters or crimes. What about the fear of failure, not having a "beach ready" body or not being socially accepted?
In a spiritual world filled with peace and positivity, there is no room for fear. How can you rid yourself of this false emotion and replace it instead with joy and happiness? Murphy explains just that in this next chapter of, "The Power of Your Subconscious Mind."
Fear is a thought in your mind, and you are afraid of your own thoughts.
Since I was a child, once of my biggest fears has been violence. I used to worry about being kidnapped and would lay awake for hours in my bed. However, I really didn't have anything to worry about. I lived in a very safe neighborhood and my house even had an alarm system. I had nothing to be afraid of except for the ideas and scenarios that I had pictured in my head.
Murphy uses the example of a child being paralyzed by the boogieman. As soon as his father turns on the light, the child sees that there is no monster and the fear flees.
This example shows that most of our fears do not exist. There is no reality in what we are most afraid of. Murphy even calls them, "shadows" and shadows have no reality.
In the next paragraph, Ralph Waldo Emerson is quoted as he says, "Do the thing you are afraid to do, and the death of fear is certain." Murphy shares a personal story as he once feared speaking in front of an audience. It took positive affirmations and prayer for him to overcome this.
I can't help but wonder how many lives would not have been changed for the better, if Murphy gave into his fear of public speaking. Do not let fear get in the way of blessings.
Throughout the chapter, there are many different examples of how people faced their individual fears. In one paragraph in particular, the fear of water, mountains,and closed spaces is discussed and the same technique is used to banish the fear. Here are the directions that are outlined. "If you are afraid of swimming, begin now to sit still for five or ten minutes three or four times a day, and imagine you are swimming. Actually, you are swimming in your mind. It is a subjective experience. Mentally you have projected yourself into the water. You feel the chill of the water and the movement of your arms and legs. It is all real, vivid, and a joyous activity of the mind. It is not idle daydreaming, for you know that what you are experiencing in your imagination will be developed in your subconscious mind. Then you will be compelled to express the image and likeness of the picture you impressed on your deeper mind. This is the law of the subconscious."
Although Murphy doesn't explicit say this, it is important to note that these exercises must be done with the utmost amount of love and peace. I know that for me personally, when I am afraid of something I tend to be very harsh with myself. I will myself to get over it, suck it up, and stop being such a baby. This is definitely the WRONG way to overcome a fear.
I must put out a reminder to always be gentle with yourself. It does not matter how long the journey takes or if you are struggling with the action. Just believe in your heart that you have banished the fear and replace it with joy above all other emotions.
As the chapter continues, Murphy discusses the difference between Normal and Abnormal fears. He says that man is only born with two fears, the fear of falling and the fear of noise. These are alarm systems that the subconscious have given you for self preservation. Anything other than this were fears given to you by parents, relatives, teachers, and all other adults who influenced you during your youth.
Here is an important line: Abnormal fear takes place when man lets his imagination run riot. Your imagination is an incredibly beautiful, magical, and powerful thing. It can create wonders that are beyond comprehension. However, what happens when you lose control of it? or allow it to take a turn down a negative path? This idea goes hand in hand with something I discussed in my previous blog. I had developed and continued to maintain anxiety because I was letting my imagination create things that were not of joy and happiness. You are the director of your mental motion picture and it is up to you to decide what plays on the screen.
Since I have started to come out of my fearful and anxious state, I have noticed a huge difference in what plays on my mental screen during times when my full attention isn't required. These are times like brushing my teeth or driving someplace very familiar. Instead of replaying negative conversations or hurtful things from my past, I am making up beautiful dance moves to the song that I am listening to, or feeling the excitement that I will experience on my wedding day. These types of mental images stir up positive and joyful emotions that will carry you through the day with a sunny outlook.
The answer to abnormal fear (anything except the 2 fears listed above) is to move mentally to the opposite. Place your attention directly on the thing immediately desired, rather than the fear. If you are desiring calm, focus only on things that bring you that feeling.
Many people like to rationalize their fear by saying, "I'm just trying to be safe." Yes, you need to make good choices like wearing your seatbelt or a helmet when you ride a bike. But do not let these actions be accompanied by the emotion of worry or stress. By doing so you are only drawing what you fear most closer to your heart. For example, I keep my door closed and locked at school for the safety of my students against an intruder. If I am obsessively checking my door I am not living a life that is faith filled, I am living a day of fear. There are plans already in place for what I would need to do if something like that occured, but it does not require me to mentally be thinking about it as the day goes on.
One of the more impactful stories that Murphy shares in this chapter is about a man who was a soldier in WWII. He had to parachute from a damaged plane and ended up landing in a jungle. He was frightened but immediately decided to do something about the fear. He began to talk to himself and said, "John, you can't surrender to your fear. Your fear is a desire for safety and security, and a way out." He began to claim, "Infinite intelligence which guides the planets in their courses is now leading and guiding me out of this jungle." He kept saying this outloud to himself for ten minute or more. "Then," he added, "something began to stir inside me. A mood of confidence began to seize me, and I began to walk. After a few days, I miraculously came out of the jungle, and was picked up by a rescue plane." It was his changed mental attitude that saved him. If he had given into fear his thinking would have been clouded and he would not have been able to be physically stable in the way that was necessary.
Remember and visualize, that in the center of you is a deep, still, ocean of peace. You can tap into this with faith and trust anytime that you need it. I love when Murphy describes the full emotion of faith as feeling like you are in your mother's arms. For anyone that was loved as a child, I know that there is no truer, safer, more peaceful feeling than being held by a loving parent.
This chapter ends with scripture from the bible. PSALM 34:4 I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
You should interpret the word Lord as it speaks to you. Whether it means law, God, or whatever you choose to believe. It is true no matter what word you replace it with. Seek first the Kingdom of God, and all these things will be given to you.
Other Important Notes from this Chapter:
*Do the thing you are afraid to do, and the death of fear is certain. Say to yourself and mean it, "I am going to master this fear," and you will.
* Fear is a negative thought in your mind. Supplant it with a constructive thought. Fear has killed millions. Confidence is greater than fear. Nothing is more powerful than faith in God and the good.
*Fear is man's greatest enemy. It is behind failure, sickness, and bad human relations. Confidence is great than fear. Nothing is more powerful than faith in God and the good.
*You can overcome abnormal fear when you know the power of your subconscious mind can change conditions and bring to pass the cherished desires of your heart. Give your immediate attention and devotion to your desire which is the opposite of your fear. This is the love that casts out fear.
*If you are afraid of failure, give attention to success. If you are afraid of sickness, dwell on your perfect health. If you are afraid of an accidence, dwell on the guidance and protection of God. If you are afraid of death, dwell on Eternal Life. God is Life, and that is your life now.
*The things you fear do not really exist except as thoughts in your mind. Thoughts are creative. This is why Job said; the thing I feared has come upon me. Think good and good follows.
*Look at your fears; hold them up to the light of reason. Learn to laugh at your fears. that is the best medicine.
*Nothing can disturb you but your own thought. The suggestions, statements, or threats of other persons have no power. The power is within you, and when your thoughts are focused on that which is good, then God's power is with your thoughts of good. There is only one Creative Power, and it moves as harmony. There are no divisions of quarrels in it. Its source is Love. That is why God's power is with your thoughts of good.
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