Antidote to Fear

I will sit in a stuffy room instead of opening the window because I'm afraid bugs will fly in (no window screens in Switzerland) or I do my chores around the house because I'm afraid if I don't someone will criticize me or I choose my words carefully to explain something for fear that someone will notice that I'm angry.

Do you make decisions based on fear?

I don't think that making decisions based on fear is all bad, but I do think that making ALL decisions based on fear is bad. Fear shrinks us. When I'm afraid, I'm driven back into myself. I am turned away from liveliness, spontaneity, creativity and trust. Trust is lost and I feel that I can rely only on myself. Love makes us bigger. When I'm at my best, I am driven forward by a natural ability to love.

When you are in the course of your daily affairs, pay attention to see if you are coming from a place of love or a place of fear. And I will tell you, everything traces back to one of those two things. Fear is the driving force in this plane.** -- Jim St. James

Jim says to simply ask yourself if it is love or fear that is motivating you right now. All too often I would have to answer that for me it's fear. For a whole month I observed the ways that fear motivated me. I was shocked to realize that almost every decision I've made in my life has been based on fear.

Jim says that fear is the driving force in this plane. Why else would love be such a pleasant surprise when it happens? When I see someone on a crowded bus giving up their seat for an older person, I am touched. There are many acts of kindness I'm sure, but I am more sure that fear is the predominant factor in most behaviors I observe in others and in myself. Love is a cause one must fight for.

All I can do about this is change myself. The antidote to fear is trust: trust God, trust myself, trust the flow. Fear has its place, but if it is in the driver's seat, the car can't make much progress.

Love rises above everything. It is a risk worth taking. It is worth fighting for inside myself. That's why I'm on a spiritual path. That's why I'm glad I have a master who can point the way to Love.

Goodnight and thank you for listening.

** This quote is from a chapter in Kalindi's book, The Break-Free Message. (If this book is available, I highly recommend that you get it. Check on http://www.miracle.org.)