FEAR IS CONTAGIOUS
Fear is contagious, isn’t it—like the way Disease is contagious. Fear is the most contagious tool there is.
To keep the species alive and alert, our instincts boost the hormones into Action at any sign of threat. Before we even feel the emotions involved, we move—or freeze—reacting to the stressor. One member of the group stiffens and sniffs, and the rest of the group immediately follows.
Fear is very contagious. If an opponent or adversary senses fear in you, it will trigger Fear in him or her—even if it's not displayed. If he/she feels your fear, he might feel threatened—defensive—and may react with coldness, rudeness or arrogance.
Fear is anxious. When we get restless, due to Boredom or Nervousness, it is a sign that Fear is troubling us. This anxious behavior—this anxiety—is Fear making its presence known.
Imagine the caged lion, pacing in his discomfort of Fear. If he was human, he would be screaming for one of his Vices. But he is a wild animal. Experiencing Fear is an accepted part of his life— where he does not deny the feeling and scream for Vices. Instead, he roars for Freedom, and in his pacing, alleviates his stress.
It is really no big deal when Fear grinds at us all day long, all night long, because Fear is our ally, our power—and our vigilant life force.
On the other hand, the reason Fear is scary is because we pretend it doesn’t exist. Pretending Fear is “no big deal”—telling ourselves we can “handle it”—demeans its potential. When we deny Fear, it turns against us and is no longer our ally. Instead, it becomes self-inflicting, self-defacing, and self-serving.
In this denied state of Fear, be careful of her life force, for she is revolting, and loves to fight. She is capable of becoming quite ugly when she imagines she’s being provoked. Fear is so repulsive, you won’t be able to recognize her when she lets lose her wrath.
When Fear strongly expresses itself, it is done with Anger. You know the fight or flight syndrome? Anger is Fear expressed—the tougher the Act, the greater the Fear.
Fear is so vile it can freeze Love.
Fear is so vile it can kill; therefore Fear is also very dangerous. We have read about—some of us have actually seen—the many ways that Fear has killed.
Let’s recall a few of those kills conjured by Fear.
Hitler was afraid he was going to lose his grip, for he liked controlling others—afraid he might lose his supreme authority over his people—and afraid of his own madness. He was frightened of the hateful walls he erected around himself and others. To feel protected from his fortress of Fear, he killed what he feared most—millions of them—innocent, beautiful, talented human beings who were different than him.
The jealous lover, who kills in the heat of rage, is so afraid that he or she becomes desperate.
Desperate people are incredibly frightened, like the wild one who shoots the cashier during a simple robbery. Jeez…just take the money already, and stop shooting people!
But nooo. These crazed and desperate people have so much heaving emotion—inside their bodies they heat the room like a forest fire. They know this about themselves, for they can feel their unnatural heat—and use it to their advantage.
This is Fear talking to them—and talking to anyone in their proximity. They are livid with Fear. They are trapped inside their screaming heads, and they want out! Their emotions are so upset and so hysterical they frantically and loudly vibrate the atmosphere.
This is how toxic Fear can be when denied.
Fear is idiotic. Think of Ted Bundy, or John Wayne Gacy, or Jeffery Dahmer. Fear could not become more idiotic than this, I hope.
Fear is Madness, and the Devil. Madness, all demons, and all Satan worshipers are in the deepest state of Fear that exists.
There is no Devil without Fear. Without Fear, the Devil cannot function. Fear is the Devil’s oxygen, and it keeps him alive—much as the decay of a stagnant pond keeps disease alive.
Fear and the Devil—Decay and Disease.
You have control over Fear. Fear is a tool, a marvelous weapon in which you can focus in detail on all Adversity. Fear is so in tune with life—that is when we allow ourselves to make a connection to it, when we allow ourselves to feel its pain—that it can save us.
Fear is an electrical wave pulsed by our instincts— charging us into Complete Clarity. If we keep calm and aware—and relaxed—maintaining a quiet acceptance toward the gnawing feeling that Fear is, Fear cannot hurt us. Therefore, we cannot hurt others.
It is safer and more pleasurable to own one’s Fears, than to avoid them. It is in this avoidance—in this Denial—that hell rises.
Swallowing things that scare us—pretending like we don't notice the jolt to our stomachs—is unhealthy.
Ignoring Fear is impossible, for Fear is a power, and has a phenomenal life force. It is not possible to kill Fear. (Though it is possible to make Fear your enemy instead of your ally, you will never destroy him, for he comes from the infinite.)
Therefore, there is only one thing to do with your Fear, and that is to make him your ally. Befriend your Fear, for she is a tool designed to sharpen your senses, and make you one step ahead of every move out there.
Of course, to make friends with something as unpleasant as Fear, we have to get honest with ourselves.
Really honest.
How does it feel to be driving along at a very fast speed on the freeway, anxious cars are whizzing past you to your left, obstacles—like a big rig sky- high, rumbling fast and out of balance on your right. One slip and you’re done. Your animated rear view mirror is full of passing cars, leaping upon you as they get closer—all vehicles full of anxious drivers who can’t wait to get out of this “mess” so they can screech to a stop and gobble down more vices—vices being the keyword, here. They are thinking, mostly, of getting to their Vices! After rushing to get their vices, they will rush to get their day done.
Get out of their way! They’ll run you down! At least that’s how it feels, doesn’t it? When we are out there in our rolling boxes that we use like shields against each other—out there in our vehicular domains, and out there in our castles on wheels—we face ongoing Fear.
But behind the steering, the gas pedal, and the brakes, we are the kings and the queens of our encased, speedy, little dwellings.
And all we want is space! But on crowded freeways, it’s not going to happen. So, we endure Insanity (though most of us refuse to admit the Insanity we endure is creating Fear.)
Fear is not a bad thing if you do not let it scare you—for Fear is scary.
If you allow Fear to scare you, how can He become your friend? How can She become your ally who sharpens your senses?
Do not let Fear make you nervous. Do not become so agitated with his storm, that you stifle his gnawing winds with Vices. Open up to his winds, reach out and embrace his intensity.
Love his storm without becoming his storm. Respect his formidable power, and his ability to rule you, and drive you headlong into vices day in and day out, listening to you say over and over, “I’ve gotta quit. I’ve gotta quit. I’ve gotta quit.”
You can’t quit Fear! You can only face it, for Fear has been around forever! But to face it, you must feel it. The only way to face this tremble—this chronic surge into Vices—the only way to feel the edge of your emotions, feel the Fear as it burns your gut, feel the Fear as it swirls around in your stomach and billows in your chest, is to say NO to your cravings for the Vice. Do not smother your nervous energy, utilize it. It is your power, people, your life force.
Stop choking your anxieties with vices. Stop stifling your nerves with placating junk. Stop shoving things into your mouths.
For stopping your emotional energy, controlling your anxiety, and terminating your feelings is like stopping the waves on the sea—it can’t be done no matter how hard you try. Suuuurge.
When you crave your vices, Fear is trying to teach you something, and he or she is swelling in waves through your emotions to reach you.
Wake up, open your soul, and feel who you really are. It is O.K. to be afraid.
I am.
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