Ghosts Among Us - James Van Praagh [82]
THE POWER OF FEAR
Fear is probably the most powerful negative emotion we have. It has the strength to entangle minds, to motivate, to terrify, and even to stop life. I always use the following example in my workshops. Life is a series of choices. Each choice reflects a belief based on either love or fear. These choices define who we are, how we want to live our lives, and how we want to be perceived. If we choose to love, then we are using the natural energy of life. If we choose to fear, then we are operating in an unnatural state. Love is an energy that pulls all things together. Fear separates.
Look at a specific time in your life when you had to make a big life choice—like getting married, getting divorced, moving, changing a job or a career path, or starting a family. Did you make your choice because it was expected or because you truly loved what you were doing? In other words, have your choices been made from fear or love? Many of us make certain choices because we feel others want us to make that choice, not because it is what we truly want. Because most of us want to feel accepted by our loved ones and to fit in with our peers and society, we sometimes go with the unnatural choice rather than what our spirit wants.
If you discover that you have made decisions based on fear, then you also know that you are not living the happiest life you could. If you choose from love, you are happy. Fear usually causes everything to be out of sync: things don’t seem to fit together, and you don’t feel like you fit in. You may even feel that you are missing out on a major part of life. The energy of fear seems to hold you back. When I clairvoyantly scan someone’s body and discover they have fear energy, what I’m sensing is that the life force in their body has slowed down; sometimes it has come to a complete halt. The opposite is also true. Love causes the energy to flow freely and evenly throughout the body.
When people make major life choices based on fear, I have found that fear creeps into every aspect of their lives. They have what I call a “fear-based” life, meaning that all of their thoughts are fearful and inadequate and their entire outlook on life and themselves is that way.
Every thought is based on either love or fear. When you have fear-based energy, you attract others on that same level. Therefore, nothing will be honest in your life, and the people you draw to yourself won’t be self-realized. Sometimes a fear-based solution might seem easier, but it will be accompanied by unforeseen pain and heartache.
We are usually guided and taught how to make choices by our parents. Many times we continue making decisions based on what we were taught. However, our inner selves may lead us in a different direction from the one dictated by our parents’ desires and beliefs.
Is all fear bad for us? Certainly not. There is healthy fear and unhealthy fear. For instance, if I am on the highway driving and notice that the driver in front of me is weaving from side to side, I stay back for fear that he may lose control of his car and hit me. This is a healthy fear because I am protecting my life. Unhealthy fear is fear of something that cannot hurt you. For instance, if you worry about the stock market going down, this is an unhealthy fear because you cannot control the stock market. The only thing you can do is to take your money out of it. Things that you are obsessed about but cannot change tend to be unhealthy or irrational fears.
Then, of course, there are other types of fears, such as fear of success, fear of death, fear of acceptance, fear of a terrorist attack, fear of being alone. These fears are part of life, but we need to put them in proper perspective. We can use these types of fear to motivate ourselves or to change our lives, to grow and to learn rather than stifle ourselves.
Organizations of all sorts control people through the use of fear. Most of what