The Causes of Fear
By Robert Elias Najemy
Overcoming Fear - Part 3
The prime and basic cause of all fear is our ignorance of our
true nature. If we experienced or were convinced of our
invulnerable eternal soul-nature, we would never feel any fear
whatsoever. Because we do not, or cannot, believe this truth, we
feel vulnerable, separate, isolated and susceptible to extinction
or insignificance.
Because of this, we identify with the body and the complex of
personality traits, which we call "I". All fears, no matter how
specific they may appear to be, can be traced back to the basic
fear of rejection of pain to or extinction of the "I", and the
loss of any of its security attachments.
Some subordinate factors also contribute to fear:
1. A feeling of separateness increases our fear. When we feel
close to people and nature we cannot easily fear them. Fear
results from a feeling of alienation, which manifests a general
feeling of suspicion of all and everything.
2. Unfamiliarity with people and things also causes suspicion and
fear. When we come in contact with someone who dresses or behaves
differently from what we are accustomed, our security base is
undermined and we often react with caution and perhaps defensive
or offensive behavior.
3. Attachment to people and objects related to our security cause
to fear and play power games in order to protect our possessions,
relationships or self-image when we suspect we are in danger of
losing them.
4. Imagination can create images of doom and suffering far beyond
any physical reality or likelihood. Imagination in itself is not
negative. It is misused by the fear complex of: alienation,
unfamiliarity, vulnerability, mistrust and attachment.
5. Emotionally charged memory of previous negative experiences,
where we have either witnessed or suffered harm, loss or death
provokes fear. Our subconscious mind stores memories of such
unpleasant experiences from the past.
We also carry within us instinctual fear complexes resulting from
our evolution through the animal kingdom. Thus, we project onto
the present and future what we have experienced in the past,
generating a distorted perception of reality.
Also our memory is not quantitative but qualitative. It does not
assign the same power to each memory. For example, we may have
driven a car 3000 times without any problem, and then have one
accident and fear driving after that. Thus we are allowing one
experience weight more than 3000.
In the same way, we might have had hundreds of loving contacts
with a person and then let one negative one cause us not to talk
to this person and perceive him or her as evil.
This illustrates that each thought has a certain energy field
associated with it, which creates our emotional reactions when we
come into contact with that thought. This is the basis of the
newly discovered Energy Based Psychology systems of Thought Field
Therapy (Dr. Roger Callahan) and Emotional Freedom Techniques
(Gary Craig) which offer easy and quick freedom from fear and
other negative emotions. We will discuss these in later sections
of this series.
The Purpose of Fear
Fear has its purpose in the animal kingdom, where the animal's
low state of consciousness leaves little recourse but to fight or
flee.
As humans with higher consciousness, however, we have alternative
methods for dealing with potential dangers. Clearer examination
of the many situations which we feared as dangerous will reveal
that they simply were no so.
How many times have we been stricken with fear upon experiencing
a sudden sound or sight, only to eventually realize we were
completely wrong in our interpretation?
How many times have we worried intensely about a future event,
imagining the worst, only to have everything work out fine? And
even if we could not, at first, accept how things worked out,
everything was dissolved and forgotten in the ceaselessly flowing
river of time.
Very few of our fears are based on our present reality, but
rather are founded on a remembered but nonexistent past or an
imagined future.
Our fears seldom concern an immediate danger, such as a tiger
attacking us or a bomb falling on our heads.
Even in the case that we are actually in danger at the present
moment, fear will only cause us to become stiff in body and
unclear in mind. We could deal with danger much more efficiently
if we perceived and acted with clarity, self-confidence and
courage.
If we care for our bodies and minds, they will care for us.
Be Well
Robert Elias Najemy
Robert Elias Najemy is the author of 20 books which have sold
over 100,000 copies. He is the founder and the director, for 26
years, of the Center for Harmonious Living in Athens, Greece with
a membership of 3000 clients and 600 students. He has lectured
over 25,000 hours and has produced over 500 cassettes and
videocassettes with an abundance of information or human harmony.
You can find over 800 articles, ebooks, cassettes and videos at:
http://www.HolisticHarmony.com
His books "The Psychology of
Happiness" and "Remove Pain" can also be found at Amazon.com
See Also:
Back To Article Index
Find More Related Articles
