Fear is a basic human emotion that can be beneficial by raising alertness. It can also serve as a warning that cautions us to be careful. Fear can also be a negative emotion. Many of us deal with fear, phobias, and anxieties in our daily life. These things can be overbearing at times and can have a sustaining effect on our lives. They can lead to re-occurring phobias and other mental issues such as depression and may lead to self destructive behaviour as a means to escape them.

For some, fear is a natural emotion which is embraced and thrived upon by stuntmen and daredevils who put their lives on the line for their careers as well as our entertainment. No matter how many bones are broken, or what equipment is damaged, they heal and overcome their fears to rise to the challenge again. They continue to raise the bar knowing it may lead to further injury or perhaps even death.

But for many, fear is an anchor in peoples lives. It can ruin a simple vacation and can keep us from enjoying the simple things in live by leaving us feeling bound and imprisoned. Phobias develop when fears are not dealt with and if fears and constantly faced and reinforced.

Fears can effect us in different areas of our lives. One of which may be spirituality. Fear can be created and reinforced by negative beings. Fear is a powerful and effective tool for these beings which is used to keep people in control. If you take a look at organized religion, fear is enforced throughout. Devils, monsters, and fiery pits are great bedtime stories read to keep the sheep inline and are especially effective with children.

Another fear tactic is sin. Sins are said to be negative in the lives of the flock which, if not strayed from, can lead to punishment. The fear of the afterlife is a way to enforce this restricting behaviour by making it seem as though we have one life to live. So one must follow the restrictions of the church in order to avoid an afterlife of punishment. There are beings that continuously enforce these fears through dreams, visions, guilt and regret for everyday decisions. For most along this path, these beings bring fear into the lives of those dedicated who wish to question and challenge the church, the bible, and god. Biblical scare tactics such as Hell are pushed to instil fear into peoples lives If one has personal fears such as heights, water, etc, these beings can add fuel to the fire which put people in their own prison.

There are also social fears, conditioning, stereo-types, etc. What a better way to keep people inline than to impose how they should act, what they should believe, what they should look, or act like, politics and government views and actions in our world and what we say about them. If one decides to go against the grain by looking or living a different lifestyle, having anti-political or religious views, family, friends and others may welcome themselves to 'helping' or 'saving' you. Religious people will pray for you with or without your permission which can cause havoc in ones life. I call these people, the sheep police. Many are enforcers without even knowing it. So with this peer pressure, one may have a fear of being different or making vocal their individual views.

Say, for example, one's family or friend finds out about a different religious belief, one may be sent to a shrink to learn what's 'wrong' with them and help to make them 'normal' again. Perhaps, some sort of drug may help with this process. Our governments and church leaders like this sort of thing. It's just less work for them.

There are people that can overcome their fears and anxieties and are very pro-active in anti-government and political campaigns as well as those who are active in a different spiritual paths. They put themselves in the public eye in opposition to the norm knowing they may receive harassment or possibly even arrest.

Fears and anxieties are chains that keep us locked down. They are a heavy weight on the soul that can keep us from learning, experiencing, and growing on all levels. Life is suppose to be happy, rewarding, and enlightening. It is meant to be lived to it's fullest as these are the wishes of Enki and those with Him.

In order to overcome our fears and anxieties, we must first recognize and acknowledge them. Note the effect they have on our life. How have they stopped us from doing what it is we wish to do.

First write out a list of all your fears and anxieties in order from less to most and don't be afraid to dig deep and write them all down. Don't skip anything as this will simply defeat the point.

Second, we must have the desire to make the change. Desire alone does not lead to action. We must truly feel it throughout our being. Without involving our hearts and action, desires may remain just that, desire. Just a dream. This process does not happen overnight. For some, it can happen rather quickly. For others, it may take a months or years which, there is nothing wrong with as we are all different. So patience is a key. We are all a work in progress, so don't become frustrated if things are difficult to get passed. A great step to dealing with and working on overcoming fears is communication. Holding these fears and anxieties in will not help the issue. Don't be afraid to talk to friends or family members. There are many groups available that work on aiding people with fears and anxieties such are our forums where we can openly talk and help each other through tough times. Talking is very important and is a great step.

Another basic step of action is to visualize a stop sign. When a fear or anxiety rears it's ugly head, visualizing a stop sign and yelling 'stop!!' in your mind is a way to stop and collect yourself. If we allow our thoughts to run ramped and uncontrolled, then we simply hand over all power to these which will then control and run our lives. This simple visualization technique can enable you to get a grip and take control before things can get out of hand.

Another method can be to make daily affirmations. Go into a comfortable trance state. Acknowledge the fear or anxiety you've been experiencing. Then, mentally say to yourself, "I am no longer a prisoner of this fear! I let go of (state the fear) and it shall no longer have any bearing on my life". Or, "I choose for (state the fear) to no longer have an effect on my life". A written method can also be effective as this has an impact on the subconscious.

Facing your fears is an important step. This requires bravery. Some can do this on their own, others may need assistance. Keeping a daily journal is a therapeutic way of facing and confronting fears. If certain fears and anxieties surface throughout the day, write them down by telling the story. Facing them in your mind, then writing them down on paper will help to confront them like an opponent.

Another method that I personally use I took from a Harry Potter movie called The Prisoner of Azkaban. In this movie, the students were instructed to think of a fear of theirs. Then, an energy was released from a cabinet taking the form of this fear. The students were then to come up with a comical way to think of this fear, and using a spell to change this energy into the comical form they thought of. If there is a situation, person, or thing that has a fear over you, counter act it with something you find humorous. For example, if you have a fear of a certain person in your life that has brought harm unto you in some way, picture that person as being a funny cartoon character such as Beavis or Butthead. If this brings a smile to your face thinking about those two cartoon characters, try it on someone you have a fear of. Find humour in it. When confronted with the Christian version of 'god' brought unto HP Shadderfer from negative beings, he always visualized Professor Farnsworth from Futurama.

Another method is a meditation called The Balloon meditation. See the 'meditations' section

My experience has showed me that that a strong mind and desire and carrying out these desires can help to overcome. To be strong in my core beliefs and sticking with them no matter what. Concerning spirituality, make a list of your core beliefs. rite down what you feel is dear to your heart. What you hope to accomplish. Go over the information in your mind that feels right to you. What empowers you? Write this down. No matter what comes your way from negative beings, remember what you’ve written. I find that if I’m struggling from constant negative bombardment, I’ll re-visit the sites that brought me to this path. I’ll re-read the information that makes sense to me that I hold dear. Most of the time, it brings me to comfort and re-aligns me.

This sermon is a just a general, basic one. Some of the ideas of coping with fear that I have above are just a few that I've found. I'm sure we all have our effective and unique ways of dealing with fear. I plan to write a part 2 to this sermon dealing with many other issues that we face in our lives. If anyone has a different way that they use to deal with fear and anxieties, please feel free to share them on the forums and don't be afraid to help others dealing with these issues. Until we, humanity, can break free of our fears, we are a slave to it.
 

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