WHAT IS FEAR? FEAR IS A “DWELLING PLACE”

By Dr. Lawrence Wilson

Many people suffer from fear. This article explains three spiritual concepts:

1. Fear can be viewed as a dimension of existence, or one could say that fear is a “dwelling place” or resting place of the body and soul.

2. You always have a choice whether to live in this place, or whether to move out and live in another place that many authors call “Love”. This is not require a husband or a wife. Instead, it is a dwelling place of the mind and soul. It is like moving to a new address.

3. In fact, f-e-a-r is a product of the lower, ego existence and means FALSE EVIDENCE APPEARING REAL.

First, one needs to understand idea #1 above. Once you realize that fear is a place, you will see that you have a choice either to remain in the unpleasant “fear place”, or you can move into a different and much happier place. This place or address some call “dwelling in God’s house” or “being in Love with a capital L”.

WAYS TO UNDERSTAND THIS IDEA

The theme of fear as a dwelling place of the soul appears in many famous books. Here are some examples:

The Bible. Jesus taught “Be Not Anxious”. This phrase occurs at least 70 times in the New Testament of the Bible.

He did not mean that we should suppress our fear and anxiety. He meant that dwelling in fear is a choice that some people make. He urges us to make a new choice, and he says this is always possible, no matter what you are experiencing.

This is a key principle in both the Old And New Testaments Of The Bible.

C.S. Lewis in The Great Divorce. In this wonderful little book, a man visits heaven and encounters his former wife. He asks her if she is sad because she is not with him any more. She answers honestly that actually she is quite happy.

He becomes very upset and asks if she has found a new husband in heaven. She says no. However, she has learned to live “in Love with a capital L”. She explains that her place of Love is not about romance, but rather a dwelling place or attitude.

Her husband does not understand what in the world she is talking about! So she explains what it means to just be “in Love” instead “in fear”. It is a short part of the book, but quite instructive and a little humorous. (In the book, he never quite understands living in Love and, for this reason, he decides he doesn’t like heaven.)

The 23^rd Psalm Of David in the Old Testament. This powerful prayer ends with: “And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord, forever.”

One wonders - what does this statement mean? We believe it means to choose to live “in Love with a capital L”, rather than in fear. For much more about the 23^rd Psalm, which is also the prayer of retracing, read The 23^rd Psalm.

Other authors. Many authors say that there really is no such thing as “fear of death”, “fear of men”, “fear of heights” or fear of something else. They say that people just suffer from fear.

They say that if you live in the place called fear, you will find an object for your fear. Some other common objects for your fear are fear of illness, fear of accidents, fear of old age and death, and so on. But really, it is all just fear!

We have a choice, they say, to decide to let go of all fear – not just fear of old age or something else. This is the same idea - that fear is dwelling place of the mind and we do not need to live there, regardless of our outer circumstances.

The Jeshua material. A famous book that supposedly came from Jesus states the exact same idea. It says that there are really only two emotions or attitudes – fear or love.

The writing says there is no middle ground. In every moment of the day, you are always either in Love or in Fear.

The writing also suggests that F-E-A-R really means FALSE EVIDENCE APPEARING REAL. In fact, God loves us and God is everywhere and thus, the reality is always that we are in Love. Fear is of the ego mind, which is always wrong.

The book suggests asking oneself often, “Am I, right now, in Fear or am I in Love?” Try to become aware of where your mind dwells most of the time. Only then can you make the conscious decision to always live in Love.

Fear versus faith. Some say that a person’s only choice in life is to live either in fear or in faith. This is the same idea, and something to ponder deeply.

IMPLEMENTING THIS STRATEGY

Living the teaching that fear is a place, and that I have a choice about whether to live in that place, is a challenge for many of us!

The author had to read about this idea and had to listen to a CD about it day and night for seven years! Finally, the idea began to take hold in his mind. It was a big step forward in his walk with Christ.

Coming to believe that f-e-a-r is just false evidence appearing real is even more difficult for most of us. It is still a challenge for this author. That is because the ego mind loves to come back and take over one’s existence here on earth.

DOES THIS TEACHING MEAN I DON’T HAVE TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT WHAT I WEAR OR WHERE I GO?

No. One still needs to be careful about one’s thoughts, words and actions. Otherwise, one sends the wrong messages to others, and this can cause problems.

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