Nowadays, fear is an emotion that runs high whether in a good heart or an evil heart, a complex mind or a simple mind. The bravest men and women are gifted by this emotion. Moreover, most seem to be saturated in some way with fear. There are those that have it hidden very well and others that illustrate their fears by the very way they conduct their lives and treat others. It seems then that this topic of fear is very apropos to this hour.
Ever since we can all remember, the emotion of fear was looked upon in a very negative sense as something that if allowed into our lives, would destroy us. This view is so prevalent that it has sadly been a tactic used by terrorist and other control groups here and abroad. The media, politics, government and even religious groups have used this strategy to get their ideologies caressed by their grassroots communities.
There is yet another portrayal of fear we sometimes miss. In order to see this clearly it helps if we ask ourselves about the emotion of fear in our lives. Does fear manipulate you negatively or motivate you positively? After all, if this emotion was put inside of us by our Creator, it means it can be influenced by our choice as best used for the good of mankind. There are three types of fear we want to address that are described in the Zohar.
The three types of fear are as follows:
- HORIZONTAL FEAR: This fear involves the things we hold dear in our lives on earth: our family and friends, our health, our home and our possessions.
- VERTICAL FEAR: This is when we are worried about and fear the consequences in the afterlife.
- HEALTHY FEAR: The Fear of G-d - when you know before whom you stand.
Which fear is the healthiest? You guessed it, fear number three wins. Why? It is because number one and two develop a tormenting outcome. Every emotion given to you by G-d must be honored and cultivated. This means that we must live our life honoring the fact that we have different G-d given emotions in so many areas, but we must then teach those emotions to honor their maker. In the Torah, we are taught to replace the word “fear” with “awe”. This should be a daily exercise developing our heart to be awe struck with G-d. If Abraham would have been so fearful and not followed Hashem’s directive to leave his kin and travel toward his identity (Lekh Lekha), if Rebecca would have hid that day at the well, if Rachel would have ran away, if Yoheved (Moshe’s mother) would have not sent Miriam to the Nile with her baby brother Moshe in a basket, if Rahab would not have hid the spies, if Joshua would have folded under pressure, if Gideon would have not strategized rightly, if the three Hebrew slaves and Daniel would have bowed to man, the moment in their lives would have been thwarted with unhealthy fear. They all had the fear of G-d.
FEAR IS THE MIGHTIEST OF GIFTS
Fear then is the most powerful emotion we have. It is the mightiest of gifts. It is a practice that convinces us that G-d is the source of everything. All energy belongs to Him, all wisdom is derived from Him and the Universe cannot exist without Him.
To fear death or the afterlife, for example, is an inacceptable application of fear. Why? Because it torments and abuses the reason for the emotion of fear. What is this feeling then? This feeling of fear is one that causes you to think the worst and then scare yourself. It is an unruly fear that manipulates you and consumes you with negative energy. It is hard for you to see the sunshine even when the sun is shining. It is hard for you to forgive others for fear you may be rejected once again. It is hard for you to love for fear you may not feel love back. Perhaps we won’t try something because of the possibility we may not win, we may not succeed, and we may not be fulfilled. What has happened to us? We are manipulated by unhealthy fear. It will thwart your moment.
SO SIMPLE IT BECOMES COMPLEX
How do we learn to be motivated positively instead of manipulated negatively by fear? Ask yourself this; did G-d create all things and then withdraw from all things? Or, did he withdraw Himself from the space of potential and then create all things? If He created you first and then withdrew there would be no emotion of fear/awareness because there would be nothing left for you to do or choose; all would have no choice but to be perfect. If He, in His wisdom, withdrew His perfection from our space first then created everything, He leaves us with a sense of needing Him and needing to bring wholeness. Voting for the latter logic and knowing there is nothing like G-d is the mightiest fear/awareness we can have. He had to remove perfection from this space we call earth so He could create imperfection. He knew that without the emotion of fear, we might never come to know Him. This feeling of fear should be an awe of He who stepped back so you could step in. The Torah liberates us by declaring there is only one thing to fear - not failure, not others, not even death itself. The only thing to fear is the One who stands beyond and within all things, the one we call G‑d. If we did not have the emotion of fear we could not reverence Him with awe. This makes fear one of the mightiest gifts we have.
TRAIN YOUR FEARS FOR SUCCESS
If you see a pit bull coming at you with anger while taking a walk and fear strikes you, this is rationale. Why? Your brain is not lying to you. You are in real danger. This fear now turns into a healthy one because it motivates you to defend yourself. If you are always trying to find sickness in your body and live with the fear of death, you have unhealthy fear. Why? It is not rationale to live like this. Your brain is probably lying to you. If we are always afraid of being hurt, rejected, failing, not being embraced for who we are, getting too fat, not getting credit for our talents and on and on, we are living a lie and in an irrational state. This unhealthy fear will destroy us by adding undo stress. It will steal our days, our health, our happiness and survival. It will deplete us and steal our moment. What then is the antidote? Awareness. Be aware of yourself and your issues and then, train your fears. If you are in danger, help yourself and pray to the only one that can partner with you. If you are living in a pool of lies and in bondage to fear, train those fears for awareness. Ultimately G-d is in control. May the peace of awareness be upon you, may fear motivate you to live your moment.
For additional articles by this author, CLICK HERE
As a public speaker and lecturer,
Irma Elisheva is available to address your group.
For more information call 888.567.7474 or email us
at Ayekahpres@gmail.com
