Hello everybody! Finally, I have found time to write again. I always think the summer will be a nice, relaxing time, but this year I am very busy. Oh well, maybe when the cool weather returns will be a good time to take it easy.
Take I am posting about fears, spiritual and otherwise. When children are small, they often imagine and fear monsters under their bed. Mom and Dad may spend much time explaining to the child that there are no monsters in the room. As we get older, we let go of our fear of the monster under the bed, but may replace it with other types of fears. These fears may seem just as real to us as an adult as that terrifying monster that we used to imagine as a child. In fact, fears we have as an adult can be much worse than any child can imagine.
Who does not have any fears, secret or otherwise? I would like to speak to that person, because I am not sure he or she exists. Even the bravest, strongest man or woman may have inner fears that they do not acknowledge to the world. Our fears can be as simple as a fear of spiders or as complex as a fear of the entire world outside our door. We may have an overriding fear of losing our job, even though the world sees us in a secure position. Our fears may be of the spiritual variety, such as fear of death or what lies in the next world. Many of us have great fear of losing our loved ones, whether through death, divorce, or some other type of separation. We may never speak of our fears to anyone, or tell our family, friends or therapist about them constantly.
It is human to have fears, and sometimes those fears keep us out of danger.
Think about a baby who is just learning to walk. The baby is learning about the world and will learn, by experience, that some things are dangerous, and to be feared. He may touch a hot stove and burn his finger. Of course, we don't want the child to burn his finger, and hopefully, someone is watching so that he doesn't do that! He will learn at some point that the stove is hot however, and this is where fear begins. This can be a "normal" type of fear, and keeps him from touching the hot stove again. It is only when the child develops a life-long and abnormal fear of hot stoves that he has a problem.
I am going to put fears into certain classifications, so that I can give you some ideas how to deal with them. The first group I will call, "fears of real things" as they involve actual objects, animals, etc. These are fears of things that we can see or touch. They could be a fear of particular animals, such as dogs, cats, spiders, or birds. I have met people who had each one of those fears, by the way.
In this classification, there could also be fear of riding in various vehicles, such as airplanes, trains, or even cars. In today's world, these fears are difficult to handle, as we all have places to go. This group can also include fears of high places or closed in places. These are actual things we can see and touch, so I am including them in this category. Any fear of something real will be in this category.
The other two categories are simply to explain, but just as real to the person experiencing the fear. The next category is spiritual fear. These are fears that deal with the spiritual world. They include fear of death, ghosts and spirits, and fear about the next life. These fears can be overwhelming and consuming. Our religion or spiritual beliefs may explain to us that there is nothing to fear in death, or the afterlife. To people with a fear of these things however, there may be little consolation and much doubt.
The last classification is for "emotional fears". This is probably the biggest group of fears as it includes everything that is not real. We can not see or touch our emotional fears, we can only feel them. This group includes fear of loss of any kind, whether it is fear of loss of job, family, friends, or money. We may be afraid of illness, gaining weight, aging, or losing our looks. Emotional fears may be firmly based in reality or totally irrational. If you have a strong fear of going bald, it does not make it any less real to you if currently you have a full head of hair. The fear is emotionally based, and in your mind.
My next posts will give you some ideas how to release fear. We all have our "monster under the bed", and need to get rid of him. Until then, blessings from Psykiksister.
No comments:
Post a Comment