Fear and overcoming fear
We do not know where we come from. We do not know where we go after death.
We are also not sure what are we supposed to do while we are here on earth! So, there are many uncertainties. And because of that, there are also different fears, which are crucially influencing our lives.
OIDA-therapy is an attempt to help people to find peace of mind and stability. It is a tool for learning how to stand the challenges of life and how to find positive engagement.
We are trying to convey knowledge about the nature of this world, positive engagement and good association, which will help people to stand strong against their fears.
We are steeped in gross and subtle fears. Seeing that injustice and competition is controlling the world, and that criminals and megalomaniacs are taking advantage of the weaknesses of others, we become fearful.
Nowadays fear is often promoted by governments through various types of media. The purpose is to increase the spending of the citizen, or to create a pretext for them, to do anything they want. Should we be afraid of people who manipulate the fear in others without any real reason? Should we be afraid of our own ignorance? Yes.
The solution is to find somebody who can tell us the truth about manipulation and ignorance. We should not subscribe to irrational fears, but we should be afraid of faulty activities and egotistically motivated conclusions.
Besides these global reasons, there are many things happening within our own body and mind, which are beyond our control, and which are further reasons for fear. We are afraid of becoming sick, to eat the wrong foods or that the person we love may not respond to our feelings. We are afraid that we do not look good enough, and we are also afraid of destiny.
We also fear that we will not get any support for what we wish to do. We have fear and mistrust in people who are guiding us. Sometimes we become afraid by simply following the vox populi, without feeling any satisfaction inside of us, because we blindly commit the same mistakes others are doing, and we have not evaluated our activities with the appropriate advice.
The natural purpose of fear is to protect us from doing the wrong thing.
On the other hand there are also rather irrational fears, which torture people in this world. Take the paranoid person, who feels persecuted all the time, by fictional enemies, or take the case of those, who are simply afraid of doing anything, without recognized reason, and thus develop neurotic symptoms.
All of them are suffering usually due to their feeling of being extremely insecure.
They also may have fear of subtle entities, influences which are not visible to the naked eye, but can be felt by them. Fear is also an indicator of need.
People often search for liberation. Entire mystical traditions speak about liberation. But what do they mean? Liberation from what? They mean liberation from suffering.
People are so afraid of suffering that they are ready to give up their individuality. Some people want to kill their body hoping to escape their physical and mental pain, whereas others aspire for a state of being in which they are no longer individually conscious. They are afraid that another type of suffering may appear, if they preserve their individual awareness. They renounce their own individual existence, and the chance to eternally love, in exchange for never having to suffer again the pains of dual existence.
Western psychology analyzes lengthily the causes of fear. The Vedantists instead encourage the person to go ahead and to forget the past that sleeps. Their recommendation is to overcome all difficulties by increased enthusiasm and a positive vision of the future.
We have to understand, that negativity is caused by previous deeds. Fear is one of those negative experiences of life. I must have done things wrong in the past – in this or in previous lives -which causes the negative experiences in the present. In this way we have to learn that we are always held responsible for what we are doing. Therefore we should develop determination to learn what is beneficial or unbeneficial to do. If we create problems, we will live in problems. If we create fear, we will live in fear.
The answer to overcome fear is awareness of the truth and acceptance of things as they are.
We suppose that there is a wonderful truth which can be realized and achieved. For those who have no faith in such a possibility – life becomes a kind of count-down, and they reach death with a fatalistic worldview wherein fear is nothing but a natural side-effect.
The teachings of the Vedas stress the phenomena of positive and progressive immortality, in other words, the eternal loving relationship. Pure consciousness is the experience of eternity, knowledge and bliss. Fear covers this pure state of consciousness. The most prominent fear and causal fear is the fear of death. The root for this fear is our identification with the gross body, and the cause is all devouring time. As time goes on we are getting closer to our death, but when we understand and realize that we are eternal souls, then we can overcome this fear. There is no contamination or disturbance in pure consciousness. Therefore we say: It is positive, it is progressive and it is eternal. It is created by love, it is being governed by love and exists only for the purpose of love. As we all hope for love, we can find fulfillment in this pure state of consciousness. Love is the medication for fear. The goal of life is love and the method to reach there is love.
How does this work?
If we love somebody in this world, sometimes we do not even fear placing ourselves in danger in order to protect that beloved person. That is a practical example of how powerful love is, to counteract fear.
We see thus, how effective love is. Even on the physical level of every average person.
Then you can imagine the sacrifice made out of love by mystics who are motivated by their love to help others. They have undergone torture and hardship without repenting their decision. This means that they must have overcome fear to a high degree.
The recovery from fear works also the other way around – means, when we feel that we are loved. Then our hope increases. Therefore it is also important to be in the association where we feel loved and protected. The company of like-minded individuals with the same spiritual goals provides this type of love and support which some people cannot get even from their own families.