Coping With a World of Fear

           There is a lot going on in the US that has many afraid in this country as well as around the world, as it is affecting, or has the potential to affect, the rest of the world. If you have an advanced awareness of truth, then you can turn to it and know that, in truth, nothing real is occurring and all is eternally okay. You feel this. But most reading this are either almost wholly in ego or have a split mind and must still deal with ego, and fear is a real experience for you.

Understand that ego is fear. It, not what is appearing in the world, is the source of fear. Ego projects fear away onto what is appearing in the world to hide that it is the source of fear. This is the meaning of “you are never afraid for the reason you think”. You are afraid because ego is in your mind, period, full stop. There is no other reason.

It is not helpful to repress or deny fear (ego). If you do, it will erupt in inappropriate, unhealthy, and sometimes destructive ways. As long as ego is in your mind, you must learn to live with it, which means learning to live with fear. Find the balance between acknowledging and expressing fear and not feeding into it. Allow fearful thoughts and feelings to come up and go by. Then, when you can, turn your mind to truth.

If you find your fear escalating over what you see occurring in the world, understand that ego’s projections are selective. It projects fear onto certain things that, given your personality and history, are likely to perpetuate it. But there is a lot more going on than just what ego in you focuses on. That’s why others’ fears are not identical to yours. And there is a lot more occurring that you simply don’t know about. There’s a bigger picture, not just in the long run, but also right now. This is why you can ask your inner teacher for another way to look at the situation, or simply where to focus your attention.

I was leading a study group of students new to A Course in Miracles when the attack on the Twin Towers happened in 2001. I could not say to them, “None of this is real” as we hadn’t even broached that idea in the Course yet. What came to me was to tell them to ask for another way to see the situation. One woman returned the next week and said that she realized she could focus on the attack itself and all the fear that came with that or she could focus on how it was bringing the country together. She wasn’t in denial; she simply chose where to put her attention.

Many see history repeating itself now. No matter what we know from history, it never repeats itself exactly. History shows us what could happen, not what will happen. Open your mind to the possibility that things could unfold in ways that you do not yet see. Don’t deny what you see now, but do not stop there either. Remember the limitations of your mind. And remember that there is something in you that knows what will unfold and what your part will be. Be open to the guidance of that part of you and to the movement of the unfolding and do not judge it.

Some say a “good Course student” doesn’t act in the world. But the Course is not a prescription for what one’s life is supposed to look like, it is meant to be used in the normal course of one’s life, whatever that is. Your life in the world does not stop because you study the Course, you bring the awareness of truth it fosters with you into whatever you are moved to do.

In short:

 

Act as you are moved to act, without judging it.

When you are afraid, do not resist the fear. Allow the thoughts and feelings and let them pass.

If you cannot get past fearful predictions, recognize the limits of your mind. Open it to the awareness that you cannot see the whole picture. If this does not help, ask for another way to look at the situation.

Turn your mind back to truth when you can.

 

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