Fear is a powerful tool. Society uses it to scare us about everything, and to keep us on the track. Family uses it to force to follow their dreams, not our dreams. It took me a long way and I paid a very high price to follow my dream. I’m wondering what to think about Fear, why do people try to instigate this fear in eveybody? And the best option is that, in your opinion, we have, to not respect this unnatural fear and move forward towards our dream.
Thank you,
Paulo
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Ooohh, fear….is the main instrument used by the new group of pseudo socialist that arrived to power in some of our beloved latin american countries.Seems they would love to govern through fear as long as Castro have.Wonder if we would let them do it.So it ´ll be seen soon how easy can we be manipulated by fear, or not.
I maybe could follow my dreams a long time ago, but everyone stoped me somehow. Little by little, my dreams were destroyed everyday….by fear. Fear of going wrong, but….what is wrong? What is right? Point of perspective? Opinion? Or the truth is bigger than anyone and everything is following rules and laws?
The weaker people use brute force, to scare the other, using fear to win. But they are actually weak. Exactly like our governments, leaders, dictators.
Fear is a weapon that keep in control all the people, especially the most ignorant people. The church is the best exemple of all to prove it.
I think not only fear impairs the life of dreams but also old concepts about lucky, chance on and faith, some people to share their dreams with other discouraged, you can divide a opnion but need not capture the dismay others most often happens is it…
sorry my bad English I write from Brazil
God bless you all!
Sometimes I feel fear. But a little faith and courage helps.
If fear grows (and I view fear as ego’s desire to control), then it is also possible to grow enough courage to overcome it!
Thinking of a song, by Amanda Marshall:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BfsQqvEeTw&feature=related
I use the term ‘my’ children but is not how I truly feel. The words in English are inadequate and sometimes, frustrating. Children are gifts of god, entrusted to me for little while. So much to teach in preparation for using their own wings. Yes, I had to let go and it hurt. But how else can they shine and use their own special talents if we do not nurture and allow it? God made us individuals for a beautiful reason. Part of the whole and each has a very, very special mission.
With Much Love To All, Jane : ) xo
Thank you Jane for the song.
Everything in life consists of something positive and something negative. That’s why fear can move mountains, if we are able to use it right. Sometimes when you are scared, you might feel the adrenaline in your veins, if you see it as a power that comes from you, not as an attack on you, there’s the turning point that can lead you to an outcome. There’s no improvement without doubts or failures or losses, so it is with fear. It can safe us, warn us and show us our limits, but it’s to us: Do we really want to be controlled by something or do we want to have control over something?
Dear Isabell,
Well written. It’s got me thinking. I have to say I don’t like anything controlling me. I would like to have more control over my emotions which I tend to let effect my life too much. I’m working on that! Thanks for your thoughts.
Fear makes us predictable makes us to choose conventional path rather unpredictable dream . society want people be predictable . so they impose ,they create fear to make u conventional . so that every one can feel secured .
Mr Coelho
I believe that fear can be use as weapon against the people and the other way around ,
people can use the fear inflicted on them as one their primary weapon , as i try to do my self. Saying that i think fear it’s necessary , what’s your opinion on that ? .
I wanted to share this. In my line of work, therapist, and in the line of my mission essentially in hoping that the individual becomes conscious of who he is truly versus what he became in time with his need to be loved, recognized, accepted or what he thought he had to become, one of the hardest and important moments is that this individual takes conscience of all the fears that are there and that he does not see and to which he acts upon all the time. I wanted to share this today because I had to go through that step with someone. I had to reformulate and reformulate to have him “ear” what he just said. He was stating fears without taking conscience of it. At the end, when he left, he was surprised to realise that in an hour, he named 6 fears in relation to one aspect in his life. So he went with the exercise to just be aware of the presence of fears as step number 1 and observe how he took care of himself, in the sense of satisfaction and realization of his inner dreams or in the sense to shut up the fear, to stop the tension, to fight the fear away. Jojo.
Very psycholanalytic of you. I wish your patient and you the best and sounds like the therapy is working!
We hear the expression of ‘Nanny State’ and see how governments are controlling everything by feeding us fear….Listening to this is crazy…Feeding fear means they are taking the power and controlling how we live our lives. I think we must have courage and belief in our dreams and continue ignoring the Control Freaks…..Of course we will always face some fears within ourselves and outside ourselves….but we listen to our instincts and apply discernment and go foreward….What is that book….’Feel the Fear and do it anyway..lol….
love to you Paulo
Where ever there is fear, there is no love. That´s a fact. Society is made full of superficial fears…not much love to find there in the outside world. Just the usual thing and the usual ego or mind. The human world is made full of fears…a bubble full of unreality.
So the mind always is on the run to find safety. But nothing is save…everything always changes…like the wind, each moment always changes. The mind tries to find tricks to give totally security…but whoever you are…there will never be totally security. It is like one tries to catch the wind in his fists…nobody can do that…it is impossible. This uncertainty causes fears. Only the soul is able to give the right answer.
“In wisdom…be a light to yourself.”
The key of freedom and love is to find into our inner beings,in our dreams, in our souls, in the coming home into ourselves…
Looking or searching for it in the outside world causes fears, which means expectations, wishes, hopes, illusions mostly only the sign of the usual Ego…only a waste of time…expectations are the sources for fears…always.
So the usual Ego tries to fill a halfcircle to a fullcircle…a wishful idea of the mind.
Fear disappears, when the mind is still and totally empty of desires
..when there is no wish any more, when one just enjoys the flow of the now. A river or a plant are much more real than all this human mind things.
But…fear is a part of everyone. It is a signal…even if it hurts sometimes. In a spontaneously situation of danger, it helps to survive…fear is human, a part of the whole thing.
Oh Eneyo!
I wish to disagree with you – where ever there is fear, there is no love…
and yet there is so much love!
I guess it would be who is harbouring fear: the intruder or the victim.
In the former, then you might say that their love is anything from misguided to angry.
Yet for the later, you could also say that their love is courageous or divinely inspired.
[ps. I hope I have not misunderstood your words ;o)]
fear is a weapon, a very powerful one. this is something well-known. how to fight fear? this is the question.
to be or not to be!!!
When will everyone reach the level of conciousness that will allow us to understand ourselves as humans?
Well…fear…stops us from accomplishing our dreams….I agree with Paulo and everyone here…another aspect of fear would be not being able to face life and its consequences and running away from facing what lies ahead…reasons may vary…from fear of losing…or weakness or fear of the consequences itself…yet the fact is that if we dont face life and its circumstances just because of fear we will never be able to live “our life”…when that inherent fear is overcome the strength to face just about anything comes about and that initial start to conquer it has to come from nowhere else but within oneself…this one comes from my own personal experience and I am sure everyone here shares the same..We are but human..
How can I follow my dreams if to do it I´m going to cause too pain to my wife and son, because I´m ready (I think) but they are not prepared.They don´t understand that everibody has to have a little bit of independence to do something alone.
I have spent all my life taking care of not damaging them, and I have arrived to the conclusion that maybe I,m here help the others and not myself because the price is very high
Dear Gussi,
Fear of hurting loved ones is another fear that keeps us from following our dreams.
But i think it can be overcome by going through some rational thought process.
E.g if your dream is to follow a new profession that maybe will mean less money then your family maybe hurt that you choose to ignore their comforts. But as long as you can meet their basic needs, you should not worry about causing pain and follow your dream! They will understand at some point in time.
In my humble opinion, anyone who wants ‘independence’ should never get into a ‘dependent’ relationship like marriage. A marriage should be a relationship where two indivduals with a common purpose and commitment can go through life together. If those basic understanding on common purpose and commitment is there, then in other needs of ‘independent activty’like a hobby or profession or religious activities should not hurt members of the family(even if it is does, it should be a minor one that will soon pass) and one should not fear to follow the dreams.
Love,
Laxmi
Gussi, I am very sensible to what you are going through, having been through that, and still am when having to go to follow my soul. What is there is I pray that you be sensible to you as you are sensible to your wife and your son. You cannot prevent for others to live emotions, but by preserving ones you are paying a high price, your soul’s life. With affection, Jojo.
fear kills…
…by suffocation
I’ve been trying to get through the book, The Shock Doctrine, by Naomi Kline. What stands out is how governments take situations that leave the populace in shock and quickly instill their plans, before the public wakes up, ergo, the shock doctrine. Aren’t we all afraid of being jumped from behind, when we least expect it? She wrote of Chile and the death squads, how they’d pick up people, who’d never be seen or heard from again. The main purpose of that was to instill fear, to maintain fear, in order to achieve their aim. As long as the citizenry were paralyzed by fear, the power structure could go in and do whatever they wanted, dismantle programs that benefited those in need. In thinking of dictators who utilize methods to stoke fear in their citizenry, looking back at history at the revolutions that erupted. It wasn’t until the people no longer feared for their lives, but feared they’d forever live in fear. Any revolution against fear, the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, Apartheid in South Africa, the list goes on and on, happened when the collective consciousness said, enough is enough. If groups of people could revolt against fear instilled by the power structures, could wake up, how do we apply that concept to that within ourselves that would have us live in fear brought on by our cultural, familiar structures? How do we find the revolutionary within, who would fight for our personal legend?
I bought this book, it is in my waiting list.
NIcolette,
sounds like an interesting book.
Paulo mentions the culture of fear in “the winner stands alone’ within the cinema industry too.
“to avoid any non-lucrative wars and to promote agression between countries or companies where they feel this might bring them more power and more monies.”
When asked the Dalai Lama says he is NEVER lonely. This is very interesting as I would assume most people believe that everyone gets lonely from time to time. There may be several factors as to why he NEVER gets lonely, including extensive training of the mind, practicing compassion, and controlling negative thoughts and emotions, or even that being the Buddha reincarnated means no loneliness. However, this gives me hope that my personal loneliness can be controlled and even eliminated by practicing techniques and different methods. Before I believed that loneliness was something that I would always deal with but now I believe that loneliness is a result of our own perspective which we have 100% control over if we try and practice.
I haven’t read this book either, though I’ve read “No Logo” (same author) and I love it. I do perceive this sort of tactic in my own country, however. I live in the US, and frequently it seems apparent to me that our government is employing such methods to avert the public’s attention while they are engaged in some activity which would otherwise be deemed highly questionable. In fact, I’ve gotten to the point where every time some huge news story completely consumes the media, and thus the minds of the public, I think to myself, “There we go again! The government must be up to something that they don’t want the people to notice.” The story will be about some celebrity (the O.J. Simpson case, for example) or some woman who was abducted and murdered, or some other bit of news that really does not concern the nation as a whole, but somehow, suddenly this is all one can read or hear about in the media. Everyone is in shock. Everyone is in a state of rage, or dismay. In short, the public’s attention is averted from what is really happening somewhere else – some law or policy being changed that does indeed effect everyone, or perhaps some country that we are invading, or some invasion that we have covertly funded. The whole scenario, which is repeated again and again, reminds me of the tactics employed by a cheap magician: while he is waving the silk scarf in the air with one hand, he is executing some slight-of-hand trick with the other.
Thanks for sharing. And as for me, today, the only thing I can do and to which I have the power to do is be my own Warrior and Keeper of my Personal Legend. That I know and am proud to fight for. With affection, Jojo.
Fear is an illusion… You are afraid to deal with “pain” par example, but pain itself is sth you can handle… It comes as a relief to get over several “fears” you used to have in the past! That’s why we get stronger day by day… So I agree Fear is a powerful tool cause it makes you get over any weakness, improve self-esteem, but on the other hand fear can destroy you completely!In Greece we say: “Now that he entered in the circle of dancers, he has to dance” We have to face our fears in order to deal with life… Thank you for keeping our minds in shape…:)))
I like that saying Alexandra.
And the stronger we get, the fear dissipates in intensity and do not manipulate anymore. With affection, Jojo
So you are Greek Alexandra!!!!
Thank you for reminding us the … dance …Χορό!
LOVE,
Thelma xxx
Just like any other emotions, fear can either break or make us.
Fear can overpower us till we dont even dare to move an inch, putting us in box or just a bit of ‘good’ fear can help keep us grounded, realistic and alert.
The question – as always – do we know where is the dividing line?
Fear is an expression which is very personal and changes with time.
What’s more important is knowing why we fear.
follow your sence and not be afraid of anything, if society wants to control us by fear we’ve to have more selfconfdence to face the society and know that the only one who could make changes in your life is yourself.
thanks
Ahmed
I think fear like other mechanisms we have, can be used for good or bad. Can be our ‘awareness’ to protect from danger but can be also a wall between our dreams.
Can be imposed by others but also self induced.
Everything in life, in extreme is not healthy, not only fear.
Awareness of what is good, bad, worth, wrong, our feelings, what we are will be the ‘control’ to keep our ‘fear’ in tune and used for the right purposes.
Since it is a feeling and not visible, hard to control, void or even not use against others to defend ourself or sometimes thinking that we are protecting someone..
Very difficult topic indeed..
Fear, an essential aspect in the perspective reality of duality. In my days of youth, It was fear that eventually led me to have courage. The more courage I possessed, the greater the understanding I had about fear.
The “fears” I have today are evident in society’s ignorance, in our governments, and in law enforcements.
When I encounter fear, I ask my “SoulSelf” …”Is this something to Fear?” and the response to my question is ….”Fear is of Consciousness, not of Spirit” !
How quickly then can I “move” …”Focus” …to the Love aspect of the current situation that I would find myself in? …so often I “need” to have the remedy right now, as fear is a powerful emotion.
Right Away….I acknowledge that I experienced the fear. I sift through it; I ask myself for an alternative response. Fear, then, can give opportunity to focus on your own personal journey. I prepare and plan through thought about how I respond to fear. I focus on Why I had the fear, and What can I Do for myself so that I do not take on the manifestation of fear. Not much “Time” is spent on it for the answer is to turn to Love.
I have consciously for many years, made sure that my choices have been connected to Love. It took me more than 20 years to figure out what Love really is, and how I could stay “connected” to Love.
Now I believe that I have a Morphic Resonance, a magnetic field, that I created along the way; all my past experience resonating in my present. This foundation, which has over time become more of light, and love, because I chose it, has given me instinctual responses to “fear”.
Faith is a major life application to any fear aspect. For one instant, if I experience fear, then I know, that I have temporarily lost my Faith. This is not the time to put yourself down, but an opportunity to focus on what you believe in.
I continue to separate myself from the crowd. I have learned that there is a tendency to loose one’s identity if you follow the masses. I am more important than that.
The tools I use to aid me when I encounter a LifeSituation that is fear based, is that I am of Spirit. I have a Morphic Resonance of choices and responses that I trust. I keep my beautiful faith, I remain aware of my thought and emotion, and gently guide them to where I want them to be. I accept the bad and the good, and do all I can to keep or turn it to good. I believe in all that I have tested, and offer courage to raise it’s head when I need it. I continue to believe in my Divine Creator, and know that I am looked after, and I offer the experience in a quantum entanglement, with my creator, so that we both expand from the experience. Now, my creator personally knows of my LifeSituation, and I always keep that in my Morphic Resonance Field.
Now I know that I possess Honour, and Valour, and Love, and Kindness, and Courage, and Faith, and Compassion! Connectedness to all these characteristics diminishes fear! I have had to Consciously choose them, and test them, and figure them out for myself, and as a result, I have the power not to align myself with fear.
There has been no quick fix for me. The Society we live in today “Needs” to have it handed to us through the drive-up window. I too, find myself being the “Scout” on a new Journey all the time. I always begin, and say….Much Gathers More…
I have a personal desire to Ascend. I simply define Ascension merely as a movement upward in consciousness. Lower Vibrations cannot stand Higher Vibrations. Fear cannot stand Love. I am consciously choosing to move out of duality, and to Ascend to a higher perspective. There are many dimensions occurring at the same time, we have the right to choose where we want to go, for we already have chosen to be where we are.
Fear paralysis an open mind.
Its a domina- which, in the worst case, is leading to mind and a
society’s control. It blocks selfawareness and keeps you
busy doing other things – less important…….
A
Thanks for sharing. Liked to read “blocks selfawareness” … it blocks the intuitive voice of conscience, keeps us away from accomplishing what has to be accomplished. Jojo.
Olá Paulo, bom dia!
Bom, eu acho que as pessoas causam medo nas outras porque elas próprias estão dominadas por ele. Assim como, na minha opinião, as pessoas que causam dor e sofrimento nas outras, só o fazem porque elas próprias estão vivendo a dor e o sofrimento. Acho que a melhor forma para lidarmos com isso é termos a compreensão dessa realidade, que as pessoas que causam medo nas outras estão sofrendo e adotar uma atitude humana, com compaixão com relação a esse sentimento e, sem usarmos os nossos sonhos para humilhar ou jogar na cara os medos do que tentam nos controlar, devemos seguir o nosso caminho, sempre atentos para os perigos no caminho.
Abraços grandes!
Dearest Neela (or: Nee/la),
When I read your comment I have a wish to send much love to you!!!
So, your task is just to CATCH IT! :)
Love,
Ilva
Then I will send more…!!! :)
Fear is a signal as any other feeling that something is going on and we need to react. Main difference is between real and unreal fears. Fear is making a good question for our self-confidence, strenght, open and healthy mind, trust, believe, and if we make right choice between ilusions and realityand are ready to take the responsibility for our choices than there is no place for fear and we can be strong and full of love.
Live and let other live
love and share
plant and take care and you will have your own tree.
Fear is a limited tool to limit our expectations and dreams since everything should be limited by some borders, while we are using fear as a tool to be useless,mild,normal, and not ambitious, fear generated as a limitation, but nowadays its the general rule that we should follow that “without fear there is no success”, i can agree that fear can be a reason of success but not the source of success.
A few weeks ago I was watching a program of mysteries at TV and there was a woman telling her story. Aliens who kidnapped her many times. She sad that they knew that the man’s worst handicap is fear.
Those creatures completely neutrals, who know no moral and no feeling, they can see…
Fear is our worst enemy. Man needs fear from time to time but he shouldn’t coexist with it. Fear has been my biggest enemy during all my life. Unfortunately I’ve absorbed this fear from my mother since I was attached so much to her, but it toked me a lot to realize that I was seek from this kind of disease and a very high price to cure my self from it. I know I’m not healed yet, and I know that till I’ll be living I’ll never be totally healed because I’m human…
But I’m trying to be who I feel that I can be. I know I have so much to give but yet I can’t do this because of my fear. Fear of making mistakes, fear of failing, fear of leading my life into a total disaster. Now I know what wishes are written into my heart but if I would listen to my parents I would be living a life all safe and on total monotony. Thing which I hate, which I cannot accept. But if go throw my fears I know in my heart that I would die very happy.
Even though I know all these I still worry. It is so sad when you see what people can do if they see what is inside their hearts and go through their fears, and yet they don’t. “BETTER BEING SAFE AND BORED THAN RISK FOR A DREAM” I don’t want to be one of them, but this is not easy.
Since we are human we all fear something and pull others into our fears, this is what society does. You need to make yourself a fool and run away from their fear for making yourself a winner.
Others, those who lead use this man’s handicap for fulfilling their plans because there’s no other way to have the whole society under control. Love and respect are not enough for leading human society or teaching a kid. Fear is the secret…
I think that this feeling will coexist with the man till the end of the times, but we should all know that we all need to go through it when we talk about following our dreams, our hearts.
I think this is a story for many of us.
I wanted to be a designer when I was a child. I went to art school, where the teachers laughed at me and asked what I was doing there…
My mother was always anry with me because my results were not as she expected, or as she expected because she always said I wasn’t worth of anything.
I dreamt of the day I could live my live as I thought it should be. I also fantasized of ending my live because I was so unhappy. I lived a life in fear, fear of everything. But I knew somewhere that it wasn’t supposed to be like that…
Now I married a wonderfull man and have 4 childeren. I went back to school 4 years ago and have my bachelor in Interior Design. I’m still in fear but I try to look at it with love because I think that’s the only thing that can overcome fear. Especially love for yourself.
I believe that everything happens for a reason. I try not to be sad about what happened to me before. What’s in the past is in the past and try to learn my lessons, so I embrace everything that happened to me. It made me who I am today and I’m starting to like that person :-)
Since one year I’m designing my own collection, it takes a lot of time because in the mean time I’m “redesigning” myself. This collection really holds pieces of my soul, but I’m still not there, I struggle every day. Knowing that it is all in my own hands comforts me, I can finish this when I’m ready for it. Because: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.” (Nelson Mandela) We are all childeren of God so we cannot be anything else but beautiful!
So take of your hands that are blocking your sight and write! I send you my love and light to help you doing it.
Congratulations, Astrid, on finally opening up that door to your dream. Your story is very inspiring. Thank you!
Love,
Savita
Inspiring Astrid! And a wonderful quote from Mandela. Light reveals what is in the dark, and the two can only co-exist. Thankyou for sharing this!
Your story is beautiful Astrid. Thank you for sharing. A quote that comes to mind when I think of my own fear is by Plato: We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark, the real tragedy of life is when adults are afraid of the light. Surely when I grow up I’ll have no fear :)
that’s swell Astrid. I like your name too!
Love and :)
M/Ch
Good to see you Paul from Austria, you are missed…..
Thank you for the beautiful quote Astrid, it is very true.
Many thanks.
Wellcome Paul, I´m very glad to see you. Kises for you
Nice to see you again, Paul!
I really truly loved to read you and that gives me wind for my wings. Thank you soo much. Jojo.
Thank you Astrid for sharing your story.. I admire your power. You also must be grateful for having a wonderful, understanding husband and four children. They are your … real power. They have helped you believe in yourself.. Possessiveness and jealousy usually do not allow this. I wish you many … flights with your new ..wings!!
LOVE,
Thelma xxx
Hi to all and thanks again Paulo for ur fantastic talents of sending us hope and a sense of being alive….
talking about fear is a very interesting element in a human life…
Yes..we were made to be that way, cause that the beginning of the journey, our mission is to try and cast away those fears and replace it with love!!!
In my life, through different experiences, circumstances, people met on my path, have been opportunities for me to take fear out and bring love in my being..and the more u do it the more you come closer to that state of being loving, lovable and lovely..
I once said to a friend, there’s 2 simple things in life: love or fear..
Which one do u want to integrate in your life/
Yes we’ve been grown up with our parents, teachers and society’s fear…but now is the time!!!
Start right now, analyse, look for startegies, opportunities to uncover that residing love deep inside yourself, cause only that sight and keeping abreast of that love will cast away the fears…that love that will give you all the strength, courage, joy, peace and above all that unique being you are to be on earth!!!
I beleive it’s such a wonderful opportunity for each one of us to be alive and go on that path of search of YOU!!! we are all different and it was meant for, for the diversity, the fun, the richness, the intensity, the joy of being a human being!!!!!
To all those wanting to go through the path of their Personal Legend as Paulo says it so well in ‘The manual of the Warrior of Light’…that light that sparkles in each and every soul on this earth, keep it alive, cause this will be your ‘life partner’ as well as your fears…and your fears look at them and accept them and ur mission is to cast them away through meditation, prayers, solo time, time spent with others…find out the spiritual in you and you’ll find the way to follow your dream..the dream of being a human being!!!
keep focus on that love light residing inside of you, waiting only you to reveal it!!! cause as soon as you do it, life will send you all the tools you need to continue the Path…keep yourself alive always…be You through ur unique talents and spread them all around you…touch the people, touch life, touch the universe!!!
That’s who you are!!!
With you on ur Path
Danielle
yep fear tear all dreams away… I wasted a lot of time and wonderful opportunities ‘cuz of fear, but yet compared to many ppl on earth I haven’t done badly with my fears, learning to face them and overcome them instead of letting them rule my life. I still have a few to over come yet though ;)
Ppl who try to enforce fears into others are sadly only fearful ppl trying to pull everyone their way out of fear. Don’t let them do it! Pull them upward instead and if they can’t follow, let them learn alone, protect ourself and live your life in faith and happiness, not fear :)
I had an English teacher – Mrs Iris M St John Landmark – in high school. She taught us that fear is not a word – it is an acronym for
False Evidence Appearing Real. She encouraged us to gather information about what made us fearful. In most instances once the unknown of which we were fearul became known and we could understand it better – we were not afraid(fearful) of trying new things, thinking new thoughts, exploring new directions
It has become an approach in my life. Before shrinking away out of fear – try to understand and know more…
I think that fear was originally a natural thing, some kind of alarm signal, to warn us from dangerous situations. but it should only warn us, if something becomes dangerous and not paralyze us, so we can’t decide what to do.
even animals know fear.
in a human mind fear has become too strong, too important.
the problem is that fear is used against others because everyone is afraid. only someone who is very much afraid of something (being alone, losing money, being an outsider, losing his/her loved one, bad reputation, feeling unimportant, etc.) knows the power of fear and subconsciously uses it against others because he or she doesn’t know another way. some do it consciously but we should not forget that even those have fears!!!
we respond to fear that is aroused by bigger institutions even more because there’s so much we do not understand about them.
make a mystery of something and people will fear it.
the other pupils at school were afraid of me because they couldn’t read me. i was always nice and polite but i was different and they hated it, hated me…
so far…
It is too long to talk about what I think about fear, but maybe, final point is not to find out what or why fear is, but how to manage it.
After all a plane pilot does not know as much as the engineer(s) that have built the plane, but knows how to handle the plane.
So, I was thinking lately, what if I will book a parachute jump, periodically, say every three months, or every month …
Just for the sake of reminding me that those three, or one months, could be my last.
How would I live my life, doing this.
And this simply because we forget that with or without the parachute jump, the situation is more or less the same. :-)
Perhaps if people would live like that, they would be less afraid of lots of things. Cause they would realize this fear is useless.
But people do not do this.
People leave between these two boundaries, being afraid and trying to break from it.
I always liked the line from the movie Troy, when Achilles talks to the priest he started to fell in love with, explaining that the Gods are envying us, because we are mortals. We live much more intensely, knowing that we are not here for ever.
So, I believe that if one manages to leave closer to the boundary of knowing that each day can be the last, that individual will live with less fear than those that pay the price of the comfort named, ignorance. Thinking that they are here for ever, and they are really afraid of everything that could harm their immortal existence. :-)
Hi Paulo & everyone,
I like to thank you for all your comments. They just fit into the situation I am in and teach me so much.
FEAR: my fears have been huge. They have interfered with my making free decision and following my dreams. Fear makes the life not authentic; one day nothing works anymore when it is done with fear. I needed a long time to understand the roots, and they were built in my first 3 years of life.
I can name them now. I always wanted to tackle them. However, right now I am in a situation that they ask me to face them.
This moment is scary & extreme, but I think I am lucky. So I try my new path that feels much more pleasant. I know that I want to go it, and if I don’t do it I will always regret it.
Right now, I get the first critiques of a project that I have developed; that hurts. Looking at them with my old fear, they are rejections, but after a good sleep: they show me how to go further, what I thought would not be possible …
Fear, I think I could write an entire chapter on it, a small book or a novel. I’ve thought long and hard about my fears, devised ways of overcoming them, even accepted them. As a child before I learned how to swim I was at a lake with a T shaped dock. I would walk out in the water, on one side, climb up on the dock and walk back, climb back in the water and repeat the same procedure over and over again. Then I decided to try it on the other side of the T, not knowing that that side sloped down. I found myself all of a sudden in water over my head, panicking, trying to jump up and scream for help. Two young girls saw that I was in distress and helped me to the shallower waters. Well, when I took swim lessons afterwards, I never liked to dive, that experience in the lake, the feeling of drowning, made me extremely uncomfortable totally submerged under water, I dove to take the test and pass, that was it. That being a fear of mine, gave me the perfect antidote to combat fears that came along later. I chose to use it as a meditation of sorts, when I recognized my friend fear, I’d take a deep breath, close my eyes and imagine myself diving under the ocean, swimming clear across the ocean, under water, deeper, deeper, reaching the other side of where ever. When I did that, what ever I was fearing, would miraculously disappear, or be lost somewhere on my ocean voyage. I think when you explore life out of the box, fear is there, it’s your choice if you let her drown you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE7xRgfPjAI&feature=related
Other Dimensions!
Thelma xxx
This is amazing! (Finally science catches up with what we’ve already known.) Thank you so much for posting this, Thelma. I would love to see the rest of it.
xxx
Savita
Thank you very much Thelma I like this idea. Many things we can fine.
Kises for you an all here.
This type of fear that is sold to us or given to us as truth is a dangerous thing. My fear paralyzed me at about the age of 15 when I started reading Dostoyevski. Events up to that point in my life had led me to believe various nonsense about perfection and pursuit of excellence. I believed I had to be the best at anything I tried, so fear of failure, or even being average, prevented me from attempting many things. So when I read Dostoyevski I fell in love with the writing, but stopped writing myself. I contemplated suicide because I thought there was no point living and trying to follow my dream of being a writer if there were books like this around, writen so well with a beauty I could never aspire to.
Fear holds us back when we believe it. I think when our fear is based on a concept we should challenge it head on, ask questions of it, ask it to justify itself in terms OTHER than fear, if it can.
Having said all that, I’m still not a writer! I am still stuck between fear of failure, fear of not having enough money, fear of being tied down, fear of revealing myself too much, fear of commitment, fear of change, fear of being different, fear of being the same, fear of being average, fear of being successful.
Gosh. What a lot of contradictions! :)
Bless you all, and bless you Paulo for the opportunity to examine my fears.
Daniel
Daniel,
Your words moved me and I find it hard to believe that you have not followed the path that was surely meant to be…
Yes, I have fear inside me everyday I go to work, which is I guess what drives me there in the first place.
I too have always wanted to write, but deep down I have that same underlying dread of the unknown, that fear of failure, but its obvious to me that you have that raw talent which I know I dont possess but from reading your short blog, you have it and should take it..
Kate
Dear Daniel,
There is no such thing as average. None of us are average. We are all unique and incredible in our own way. You are too. No one will ever write how you write. Feel exactly how you feel. No one is better than you. I carry all of your fears in my heart also. I hope one day we may both say that we have gone beyond our fears. I look forward to that.
Fear is in our … logic.. Children are fearless.. They live the moment without thinking of the .. consequences.
Adam and Eve have ..lost Paradise and enter the Worlds of separateness. The material world. From that minute we are worrying of … losing. We fear loneliness, lack of food, of health, of shelter.. We also fear DEATH although this is the only ‘certain’ thing that happens to everyone … born. Birth = Death. There is no other way.. If we come from .. nothing we are going to .. nothing. Dreamless night.
If we come from .. Heaven then we have a place to return.. Our true HOME. During our lives we fear of .. losing.. But if the three dimensional World is an illusion, then everything we have here are .. illusions. Material things are our … chains! [ Plato's Cave] We see only a ..part of reality. We miss the whole picture. The other dimensions, which are richer more beautiful and last ..for ever. So we actually lose nothing that we have in our hearts.. The eternal values.
We have come to earn Individuality and colour our Souls. Man+Woman, the prodigal Son. In the Bible there are many instances that the VOICE of God, through the Prophets and Archangels has sent the message to His beloved children, us: ‘Do not be afraid’.
The same was said the Virgin Mary from the Archangel Gabriel.. : ‘Do not be afraid, Mariam’!!
The opposite of FEAR is FAITH.
We become .. fearless and have ‘peace’ in our Soul when Faith and Love has .. replaced the ..Agony of ..survival in this material World. We are all in His hand.. We belong to the Divine Plan and for everything that happens to us there is a good reason. ‘Fear not’ and may we all learn to love ourselves, our ‘neighbours as ourselves’ and our … enemies!! Because we are all ONE.
LOVE,
Thelma xxx
Wonderful words of wisdom, Thelma. This that you say about fear – “the opposite of FEAR is FAITH” – reminds me of a passage from the Bible: (Luke 12: 22-29)
“And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on…. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? …Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.”
Beautiful Thelma I agree with you. Thank you very much for sharing with us this thoughts.
Kises for you
Foarte frumos poem. Bravo!
You should read Thomas Hobbes’ “Leviathan” written in 1651. He says that there are two emotions that always work on human beings – one is fear and the other is pride. Both of course are related, but fear is the one passion you can always rely on to coerce someone.
Fear is something that is learnt. You notice that children often have no fear – jumping straight into the deep end of a swimming pool! We instill that fear in them by our warnings and they acquire that fear through their experience from bruises, etc.
Parents should avoid instilling fear in the young and allow them to be fearless, to follow their dreams.
Dearest Nee,
„I am not and I won’t become a parent” – ???
Three years ago (October 2, 2006) I received a wonderful gift – the Stone (shaped like a human HEART!) from my old friend (I’ve mentioned his name for couple times in this blog). So, when most of girls take their Chihuahuas for a walk, I always take the Stone for the walk… And I do not feel LIKE the Stone’s mum – I AM its mum! I know it sounds like the most foolish thing you’ve ever heard but… you are right „love takes care of all of us” and sometimes it happens in the strangest ways.
Much love for you!
Ilva
P.S. Hope to tell about the Stone in the nearest future. And, sorry, Nee for my poor English… :(
Dear Paulo, My opinion is very simple. Because the people who are using fear are in a circle of fear. They are unconsious and closed for courage. Even when we try to tell them to make them consious it seems to be that they can only follow their own patterns. Breaking through patterns is possible when there is a drive that wants that, a free will to do so. People with fear live in a drive of fear. That always makes a strong wall, every moment of their lives. Breaking through that wall is only possible when there is a door that they can open. We might be very lucky that we know how to open doors. Wishfull thinking would be a solution but the question is, do they believe that ?
With regards,
Mickey
Thank you dear Paulo for giving us faith, for remembering us to have not fear. I really feel that I am stronger since I read your books. Thats you magical power, making us find strenght and faith.
I dont like fear, and people say about me that I am more brave than many men. I dont know. I must thank God for being with me, because maybe thats why I have not much fear. I passed bad moments, because of my family, society, but the secret is to do as you want in such a way that nobody notice that immediately, and when they see you already did the things you wished.
My big fear now is that a man could fool me, making me believe he is in love with me, but only wants to use me in a way or another…
Thats annoying.
Another fear is that I get lost my tallents, not being able to find the right environment in wich I could give the best of myself.
Wish everybody happiness.
Love
Alexandra
Facing fear when on the path of achieving your dreams..
This is something I went through a week ago, when I was looking up and down, literally everywhere for a place or a contact that would publish poetry of mine.
And finally when I got the number of the person I should call; his name and number in my inbox, I just couldn’t dial the number! I opened the email, read his name, had his number…then closed it, marked it as unread, and tried to forget about it. But every time I open my e-mail there it was, nagging at me, taunting me. This is the number that I wanted to get for so long, but yet here it is, and I am not calling the guy!
It finally hit me that the reason is because I was afraid. Afraid of them not liking my poetry, rejecting me, saying I am not ready to publish, and a whole bunch of other things.
Only when I realized that, did it become easier for me to rationalize it, and just do it. Hell, the worst thing would be that the guy plain hangs up on me, right?! – well that is what I was telling myself when I was dialing the number.
So yes, I called, I sent them an email with everything he asked for, and next day I got a reply! – didn’t see that coming to be honest, at least not as fast. And now, I am counting the days till my first poems ever get published in one of the largest youth magazines in Jordan.
So, facing ones fear is essential in getting what you want, what you desire, and what you truly believe you deserve.
<3
Dear Walaa
I remember looking at your very interesting blog before, I really like all your poems, Magic Memories, Is it a game? , Music.
Well done, you deserve it.Good luck for the future.
:)
Love
Marie-Christine
I recently heard that we are born with two types of fear:1) the fear of falling and 2) the fear of a loud sound. All types of fear we develop growing up is either induced or self-inflected.
In my perspective, fear is good when it plays the role of pain. Without pain, we no doubt will lose limbs and part of our bodies along the raod of reality. Severe pain or what is perceived to be pain can shape our life the way a plant is shaped by physical contraints to take the shape of its enivironment.
We get used to fearing things to a point we accept it as normal. when the cause of that fear is gone makes its absence is abnormal. Will never forget my first few months in the States coming from a country devastated by a civil war. Silence was more deafening and nerve wrecking than the RPGs or the F-16s.
Ali Shami,
“In the good times, our smiles get bigger. In the bad ones, our hearts.”
Ali Shami
I have written down your quote. Beautiful. Thanks :)
Marie-Christine
Merci Neela:-) Ibn Abi Talib must be the personality you refered to, Correct? If not, who could that personality be? I am new to blogs. Love Paolo’s work and enjoy the master mind alliance around the blog. Cheers,
Fear is always a human tendency. Everybody feels fear but not all succumbs it. Fear is a state of mind, I believe.
I also dream of becoming a writer, have at least a book published that would mirror my passion, which will fuel my dream even more. I think i just need to summon up my faith and believe that i can achieve it. Thus, overcoming fear.
Thanks Paulo for posting this. You are worth emulating.
I have dreams of writing books too. I would like to reach people in such a way that even in my little ideas I can help them. And enlighten them. Just like what Paulo do to us.
I like Your way of thinking, how You find the hidden problems in our computer- minds ;-), dear Paolo!
Fear, why do we need this feeling? What this? And what is it good for? Unlucky reflection of love,falling engel? To my mind, the origin of fear come from this feeling of beeing separated (from the very passed time wanted to be forgotten by people rulling and manipulating us).
Unfortunately we don`t learn how to work with this part of us, fear, neither in scool nor in church. To feel love, to be happy about the success or luck of your friend as well as of your enemy… It took very long time for me to obtain this new way of thinking…
Dear Junmar, you are right! Not only believe, you can live, feel everything like a famous writer, because you are. There is only one person deciding about to be or not to be. And it is you :-)
Namaste
Following one’s dream, can only come from a realisation that there is absolutely nothing else on the face of the universe that will give you the happiness, satisfaction and peace of mind, till you have fulfilled your dream. Even if it means living in discontentment till such point, it is that unhappiness that will eventually make you want to out do the fear that exists…
A man without a dream to follow, has no reason left to live…
It took me years and counseling to get over my fears; those of failure, family, and becoming myself.
Family values, not mine but those instilled by parents relatives that, I wasn’t doing things THEIR way therefore I could not be successful.A person HAS to be allowed to fail on their own and learn from THEIR mistakes.
Finally, I went the other way and listened only to myself and what I thought was right. Happiness abounds.
I agree that fear is used to keep us on tracks with the whole society, but a question remains, for me, of why they want us to be on track and why do they react so excessively when we are not. When I was in school, they would gone through so much trouble about my hair. What’s so fascinating about a hair unkept that they had to threaten me to keep it well? Fear of losing control was present, but I am not sure that it was all. There maybe something else behind that.
Schools seem to want to stamp out individuality, that was my experience anyhow.
It doesn’t matter that I was one of the cleverest in my year, or that I never had a detention, but the fact that my hair and clothes were different, they thought I was a bad influence on the whole school, and I had to leave.
(actually I was quite flattered that they thought that and very grateful, I learnt more out of it than in it!).
The fear of breaking the scheme, of making something different does that we flee of new challenges, new opportunities that only God will know if they are better than our commonness.
I am currently reading The Fifth Mountain and I know the book has not yet been added as one to be discussed by readers, however I think this book speaks to overcoming fears and realizing faith (as told through the life of Prophet Elijah in the book). I just want to thank Mr. Coelho for this book and while reading it tonight I received a divine revelation that is so very necessary. Its a revelation that has taken many years to come.
I purchased the book months ago, but not until now decided to read. I know of the Prophet Elijah from reading his testimony in the bible, however, in reading Mr. Coelho’s depiction of his journey, its affect has prompted something within me that has come alive. I have yet to finish the book (probably tomorrow), but had to shut the cover after receiving such a profound reflection and revelation.
I am a huge fan of your work and this book alone has confirmed to me why your artistic abilities crossed my path. Thank you again for sharing your interpretation of Prophet Elijah’s journey from fear to faith! This is a tremendous gem I’ve received on my journey that I will carry with me and put into action!
God Bless you P. Coelho!
Fear can cripple people, and is the biggest road block to achieving one’s dreams. I think fear can be instilled in a child and it stays with them, like the bully or bullies on the schoolyard, and fear can also be inherited to an extent. Overcoming one’s fear would be to face what is most fearful, and go against the physical symptoms they may experience that keep them from pushing forward, because a lot of time it is physical, the pounding heart, the racing heart, the symptoms itself of fear that keeps people stunted too.
el miedo fue lo que hizo que llegara a estar donde estoy, a hacer lo que hago, ahora pienso que si hubiese hecho caso a lo que mis padres decían y hubiese volado en vez de enfrentarme a mi destino, tendría a quien echarle las culpas de mis malas decisiones, y no tendría miedo de seguir adelante.
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