Another example of abnormal fear is that of a businessman in New York, who was very prosperous and successful. He had his own private mental motion picture of which he was the director. He would run this mental movie of failure, bankruptcy, empty shelves and no bank balance until he sank into a deep depression. He refused to stop this morbid imagery and kept reminding his wife that “this can't last,” “there will be a recession,” “I feel sure we will go bankrupt.” etc.
His wife told me that he finally did go into bankruptcy, and all the things he imagined and feared came to pass. The things he feared did not exist, but he brought them to pass by constantly fearing, believing and experiencing financial disaster. Job said, the thing I feared has come upon me.
There are people who are afraid that something terrible will happen to their children, and that some dreadful catastrophe will befall them. When they read about an epidemic or rare disease, they live in fear that they will catch it and some imagine they have the disease already. All of this is abnormal fear.
The Answer To Abnormal Fear
Move mentally to the opposite. To stay at the extreme of fear is stagnation plus mental and physical deterioration. When fear arises, there immediately comes with it a desire for something opposite to the thing feared. Place your attention on the thing immediately desired. Get absorbed and engrossed in your desire, knowing that the subjective always overturns the objective. This attitude will give you confidence and lift your spirits. The infinite power of your subconscious mind is moving on your behalf and it cannot fail. Therefore, peace and assurance is yours.
Examine Your Fears
The president of a large organization told me that when he was a salesman he used to walk around the block five or six times before he called on a customer. The sales manager came along one day and said to him, “Don't be afraid of the boogie man behind the door. There is no boogie man. It is a false belief.”
The manager told him that whenever he looked at his own fears he stared them in the face and stood up to them, looking them straight in the eye. Then they faded and shrank into insignificance.
He Landed In The Jungle
A chaplain told me of his experiences in the Second World War. He had to parachute from a damaged plane and land in the jungle. He said he was frightened, but he knew there were two kinds of fear, normal and abnormal which we have previously pointed out.
He decided to do something about the fear immediately, and he began to talk to himself saying, “John, you can't surrender to your fear. Your fear is a desire for safety and security and a way out.”
He began to claim, “Infinite Intelligence which guides the planets in their courses is now leading and guiding me out of the jungle.”
He kept saying this out loud to himself for ten minutes or more. “Then,” he added, “something began to stir inside me. A mood of confidence began to seize me, and I began to walk. After a few days, I miraculously came out of the jungle and was picked up by a rescue plane.” His changed mental attitude saved him. His confidence and trust in the subjective wisdom and power within him was the solution to his problem.
He said, “Had I begun to bemoan my fate and indulge my fears, I would have succumbed to the monster fear and probably would have died of fear and starvation.”
He Dismissed Himself
The general manager of an organization told me that for three years he feared he would lose his position. He was always imagining failure. The thing he feared did not exist, save as a morbid anxious thought in his own mind. His vivid imagination dramatized the loss of his job until he became nervous and neurotic. Finally, he was asked to resign.
Actually, he dismissed himself. His constant negative imagery and fear suggestions to his subconscious mind caused the latter to respond and react accordingly. It caused him to make mistakes and foolish decisions which resulted in his failure as a general manager. His dismissal would never have happened, if he had immediately moved to the opposite in his mind.
They Plotted Against Him
During a recent world lecture tour, I had a two hour conversation with a prominent government official. He had a deep sense of inner peace and serenity. He said that all the abuse he receives politically from newspapers and the opposition party never disturb him. His practice is to sit still for fifteen minutes in the morning and realize that in the center of himself is a deep still ocean of peace. Meditating in this way, he generates tremendous power which overcomes all manner of difficulties and fears.
Some time previously, a colleague called him at midnight and told him a group of people were plotting against him. This is what he said to his colleague, “I am going to sleep now in perfect peace. You can discuss it with me at 10.00 a.m. Tomorrow.”
He said to me, “I know that no negative thought can ever manifest except if emotionalize the thought and accept it mentally. I refuse to entertain their suggestion of fear. Therefore, no harm can come to me.”
Notice how calm he was, how cool, how peaceful! He did not start getting excited, tearing his hair, or wringing his hands. At his center he found the still water, an inner peace and there was a great calm.
Deliver Yourself From All Your Fears
Use this perfect formula for casting out fear. I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. Psalm 34:4. The Lord is ancient word meaning law – the power of your subconscious mind.
Learn the wonders of your subconscious, and how it works and functions. Master the techniques given to you in this chapter. Put them into practice now, today! Your subconscious will respond, and you will be free of all fears. I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
Step This Way To Freedom From Fear
1. Do the thing you are afraid to do, and the death of fear is certain. Say to yourself and mean it, “I am going to master this fear,” and you will.
2. Fear is a negative thought in your mind. Supplant it with a constructive thought. Fear has killed millions. Confidence is greater than fear. Nothing is more powerful than faith in God and the good.
3. Fear is man's greatest enemy. It is behind failure, sickness and bad human relations. Love casts out fear. Love is an emotional attachment to the good things in life. Fall in love with honesty, integrity, justice, good will and success. Live in the joyous expectancy of the best, and invariably the best will come to you.
4. Counteract the fear suggestions with the opposite, such as “I sing beautifully; I am poised, serene and calm.” It will pay fabulous dividends.
5. Fear is behind amnesia at oral and written examination time. You can overcome this by affirming frequently, “I have a perfect memory for everything I need to know,” or you can imagine a friend congratulating you on your brilliant success on the examination. Persevere and you will win.
6. If you are afraid of the water, in your imagination swim freely and joyously. Project yourself into the water mentally. Feel the chill and thrill of swimming across the pool. Make it vivid. As you do this subjectively, you will be compelled to go into the water and conquer it. This is the law of your mind.
7. If you are afraid of closed places, such as elevators, lecture halls etc., mentally ride in an elevator blessing all its parts and functions. You will be amazed how quickly the fear will be dissipated.
8. You were born with only two fears, the fear of falling and the fear of noise. All your other fears were acquired. Get rid of them.
9. Normal fear is good. Abnormal fear is very bad and destructive. To constantly indulge in fear thoughts results in abnormal fear, obsessions and complexes. To fear