Facing Fears

2001-9-12 05:08:00

I find it interesting Benjamin that for about a year after you joined this list that all your postings were supportive and positive. You even spent a couple months as my co-teacher and did an excellent job and during all this time there was complete harmony between us. Then you took a hiatus from the list for a couple months and since you came back it seems that any comment you make on my writings is to challenge and disagree. Now there is nothing wrong with disagreeing, we allow postings of this nature regularly, but what is perplexing is the shift you made when returning to posting. Did you have some revelation that I was the antichrist or something, or is it just that you have decided to be more open with your thoughts? It seems that there is not only a change in your words, but also your heart toward me. As evidence of this it seems to me that you are going out of your way to disagree with me by distorting my views and then arguing with the distortion. You never used to do this.

If your feelings toward me have changed from positive to negative I would hope that our relationship can be healed and our hearts can be one on the soul once more.

That said, I will comment on your recent post.

JJ Quote:
"...We must ignore those who accuse defensive action as being "fear based" and do what is necessary so average people will not have > to wrestle with fear of this sort."

Benjamin comment:
Many people define "defensive action" in the most interesting ways. For example, making an illegal and brutal war against Vietnam was considered a defense against the "domino effect" of the spread of Communism in Southeast Asia. It was really a shameful effort to uphold an oppressive regime put in place by a colonial power (France). How many men died (not to mention Vietnamese women and children) because of our "fear-based" response to the "domino theory?" Surely the response can't be called "love-based?"

JJ:
I'm sure you know that I was not implying any form of attack when talking about "defensive action." I was indicating that we should have been more aware of reality and taken more precautions to prevent problems such as yesterday's attack.

Benjamin:
If people experience fear, they MUST wrestle with it if it is to be a positive force in their lives. Otherwise, it is merely destructive.

JJ:
This is true. Fear can produce either a good or bad end depending on how it is used. Those who experience fear can turn it into cowardice or courage.

Benjamin:
Why should we seek to protect people from their experience, from their growth, from their challenges?

JJ:
I would be happy to do all in my power to prevent an attack such as happened at the World Trade Center. I am not going to judge them as needing the experience and ignore help if I can give it.

Benjamin:
Is it necessary to wallow in fear in order to awaken, or can we assess our status objectively and take appropriate measures?

JJ:
I've never suggested that anyone "wallow" in fear, but those who have no fear often seem fearless because of illusionary vision, suppression or life in an alternate reality.

One can indeed have a fearful wakeup call and then objectively assess the situation and take appropriate measures. From my experience I find that those who have a reasonable fear will take much more sensible measures to solve the problem that created the fear than those who have no fear.

The blind man about to step into the ditch will be fearless.

Benjamin:
When is fear ever productive?

JJ:
Quite often actually. For instance, when I exceed the speed limit and spot a police car I must admit I feel some fear in the situation. This causes me to lower my speed and I often avoid the ticket. A good thing in my book.

There have been many times in my life that fear has jolted me to my senses and helped me prevent an accident.

Fear will keep a soldier alive when fighting in the trenches.

Benjamin:
When a person experiences fear, it is only after the fear has passed or subsided that a person can then take command of himself in order to bring about positive change. Fear paralyzes and necessarily defines a person as a victim, not as the creator of choices. It is only after fear is overcome or put aside that the individual, as creator, possessed of free will, can step forward.

JJ:
Yes, fear often works this way. Other times it does not. A good football player will often fear letting his coach down and this fear will motivate him to more excellent performance over the entire period of the game.

Cowardice in the face of fear paralyzes, but fear faced with courage brings out the best in us and neutralizes the fear.

Benjamin quoting JJ:
"A little fear can be a constructive force to wake us to reality. The dismissal and suppression of fear by many in this country today has put the world to sleep concerning the real perils, which we face."

Benjamin:
It is more a matter of complacency and a tendency to conceit and arrogance rather than a lack of fear that has created the lax security that brought about today's events.

JJ:
Conceit and arrogance caused a breach of security? I do not see how you arrive at this judgment on our fellow brothers and sisters. Some complacency, perhaps, but a little fear would have corrected that.

Benjamin:
And even with the most thorough efforts at control, perfect control is not possible. Certainly not without perfect sacrifice of the civil liberties that make this country great.

JJ:
I agree with you here. A balance must be reached and then we must realize that some risk will always be there.

Let me now make just a few comments on fear. The "Course In Miracles" is a great book, but so is the Bible and readers of both who have a rigid interpretation of them can go off course.

The Course talks about fear as if it were the devil itself and consequently many of its readers develop a fear of fear and falsely convince themselves that they are only full of love and have no fear.

In the context of the teachings fear is usually associated with guilt or grievances and fear in this regard is indeed unproductive. But there is a positive aspect of fear which can cause us to awaken to a perilous situation and then do something about it. Then when we act in a positive way the fear disappears.

The unknown creates fear, but when the unknown becomes the known fear evaporates as the morning light causes the dark to no longer exist.

In the parable of Decision (see The Immortal) there were four people faced with a choice between two paths. All experienced a fear of the unknown. Two moved ahead and overcame their fears, but the other two were paralyzed with inaction and their fear lingered on and grew in power.

The key here is to not allow ourselves to be paralyzed, but neither should we allow ourselves to suffer the glamour of "being beyond the touch of fear" and end up suppressing it. Suppression and denial merely plants a seed and adds nourishment. One of the most fearful things we can do is to honestly face our fears, acknowledge them and work through them.

There is illusion in the idea that the lack of consciousness of fear leads to perfect love.

Consider this:

The men who hijacked the planes and caused the disaster of 9/11/2001 were virtually fearless. They killed passengers and pilots and then faced death with no fear.

On the other hand, the passengers were very much afraid.

Which ones were doing the hateful deed? The terrified passengers? No. It was the fearless terrorists.

Terrorists are often void of recognized fear themselves, but they strike fear in the hearts of people much more loving than themselves.

Boasting about fearlessness does not a loving person make.

While it is true that the perfected disciple is almost fearless, it is also true that many who are both good and evil who do not face their fears live in the illusion of fearlessness, but under the surface are fearful issues that must be faced.