Nelson Mandela once said "The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." Fear is a normal part of our biological makeup. It is the flight and fight mode that is the front man in our ability to survive. Yet not all fear is good- Most of our fears are self-created. From the beginning of time fear has been part of mankind. First man was motivated by fear to survive in a hostile world. Then other men instilled fear into the weak. The bible states " Fear God and keep his commands: for this is the whole duty of man." As of late with the state of the economy and the fear the government has enslaved man with- one has to wonder why the words printed on the dollar don't read "In God We Fear." Fear....it has been the cause of wars, slavery, poverty. When Jung described both the individual and collective "shadow" of man...clearly he was describing man's fears. One of our greatest struggles as human beings, is to learn to not let our fears run with free rein. This is the area where control is a friend and not foe. What are we afraid of? It's different For every individual-each of us with a closet full of named and unnamed fears.
Einstein wasn't a genius just because he formulated the Theory of Relativity; he was a genius because he tried to teach man about the greatest untapped power of all...his imagination. What happened to our ability to fantasize, day dream and pretend? As children it was part of our daily lives...then one day for so many it just became something called upon when helping out with last minute school projects or nostalgic moments of "what if." Perhaps we missed the boat on what a powerful tool our imaginations can be in transforming our lives. Why are we programed in society to focus on the negative and not the positive? Of course that is meant to be a rhetorical question, because at any given moment we have the power to change. If someone told you that they could offer you a way to be happy beyond your wildest dreams-wouldn't you be the first to wave your arms frantically yelling "yes...me, me." Well, I am telling you that you can be happier beyond your wildest dreams if you just tap into the greatest resource you have-your imagination.
The nay sayers are already rolling their eyes and using programed negative self-talk to construct an argument. "Well, I recently lost my job, and my mother is dying of cancer.....my imagination can't change THAT!" Nope-it sure can't...but imagining a time when things were better or imagining the endless possibilities ahead is such a nicer way to live life. Change what you can and accept the rest as part of life. Why is it so much easier for us to imagine the worst when it takes the same effort to imagine the best? For so many, the power of imagination has become about letting fears consume their daily lives and imagining the worst like Fear of being alone, fear of being stuck in a bad relationship, fear of growing old, fear of dying, fear of not having enough money to retire...and on and on and on. When was the last time you imagined something wonderful? If you take the time daily to close yourself off to your fears, I guarantee you that over time you will begin to imagine less about the bad and more about the good. Just try it. Each day for a few minutes...imagine your life the way you want it to be...the person you want to be....smile and really experience it. And the next time a fear pops up....use your imagination to challenge the fear by imagining something good....When you imagine all you want to be and all that could be...then you cannot help it be. Namaste
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