"It is by will alone that I set my mind in motion"

by daystar 8 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  daystar

  The Bene Gesserit Littany against Fear.
  Pg 19 of Dune

  I must not fear.
  Fear is the mind-killer.
  Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
  I will face my fear.
  I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
  And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
  Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
  Only I will remain.

  Though the logic seems a bit faulty (so, should I not fear, or just address it where I find it?), this has stuck in my mind for years.

  I was talking with Brigid the other day on the phone and we began to discuss what part fear plays in our individual, inner, development. Fear most often greets the object of its emotion with flight, crossed arms or perhaps even clenched fists. But in any case, rather than facing our fears and allowing them to pass over us, we tend to deny the object of our fear or even to reject it outright.

  In many ways, I take holy books as individual developmental tools. Well, I don't think many proponents would likely argue with me on that point. As I progress in my own self-development, I see certain concepts and structures as learning tools where before I did not see them.

  I will just come out and present the specific one I am thinking of... the Enemy. The Devil. Satan. Lucifer. However one might wish to frame it. Luciferian groups that I am familiar with understand that Lucifer represents to many an abyss of fear which must be overcome.

  In order for one to progress beyond a certain point, one must stand up, look squarely into the face of that which they would fear the most, and deal with it one way or another. How the person "deals" with it depends upon much. But most people never get to this point. They are taught to simply abjectly, or perhaps even fiercely, deny their greatest fears.

  Jesus did not run from Satan. He held conversation with him on the mount. He remained in Satan's very presence. How many Christians could do this? How Christ-like could one be if rather than remaining strong and fierce in the face of such, one never has the balls to do so?

  "Stay away from Ouija boards!" "Don't read that book! It's evil!"

  I say hogwash! Stand firm. Face your fear! In fact, actively seek it out!

  I will leave you with this, from one of my most beloved sages:

  "It was a high counsel that I once heard given to a young person, 'Always do what you are afraid to do.'"

  Ralph Waldo Emerson
• 

  Twitch

  Sweet
  I loved Dune and read the series voraciously back in the day, when i lived in Banff as i recall. God Emperor of Dune was a "thick" read but opened my mind to some rather abstract philisophical ideas. The Litany against Fear was and is inspirational to me still. Whenever there's a dark corner in the temple of my being, it helps me grab the flashlight and find out what exactly is hiding there, lest it fester and spread. Bring it on. The hardest part is finding the flashlight,.....
• 

  LittleToe

  We're on the same page, on this score.

  One of my personal favourite adages is "fear only fear itself".
• 

  Big Tex

  "Then what you fear is fear itself. That is very wise." -- Prof. Lupin, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
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  MegaDude

  Great quotes, Daystar.

  From one of Anthony De Mello's stories...

  "How shall I rid myself of fear"?
  
  "How can you rid yourself of what you cling to"?
  
  "You mean I actually cling to my fears? I cannot agree to that".
  
  "Consider what your fear protects you from and you will agree! And you will see your folly".
• 

  MegaDude

  Thomas Jefferson:
  Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blind-folded fear.
• 

  daystar

  Excellent response, all.

  "What are fears but voices airy?
  Whispering harm where harm is not.
  And deluding the unwary
  Till the fatal bolt is shot!"
  ---- Wordsworth

  "What potions have I drunk of Siren tears,
  Distill'd from limbecks foul as hell within,
  Applying fears to hopes, and hopes to fears,
  Still losing when I saw myself to win!"
  ---- Will - Sonnets

  and,

  "Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is."
  ---- German Proverb

  Despite my, or any other's, viewpoint on any other thing, I extend due respect to any person who has the courage to draw from darkness that which in our youth we shuddered from and thus greet it with sharpened steel.
• 

  poppers

  Here is an original quote just thought up by me: Fear is just the footprints left by the imaginary me.
• 

  serendipity

  Pg 19 of Dune

  I must not fear.
  
  Fear is the mind-killer.
  
  Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
  
  I will face my fear.
  
  I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
  
  And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
  
  Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
  
  Only I will remain.

  I read this in late 1984, my senior year in college. I was excited about finishing school, but very afraid of having to interview for a job, deal with a professional environment in a corporation, move away to a big city where all sorts of dangers lurked and etc. "Fear is the mindkiller" became my mantra during that time, and enabled me to do what I had to do.