Yet...the concept of mastery of fear is meaningless.
In fact it asserts the power of fear by the simple assumption that it need to be mastered.
The essential resolution rests entirely on the mastery of love.
~ A Course In Miracles
People say courage is “feel the fear, but do it anyway”. This mindset is relatively useful where one also understands that a person’s mind needs to in a certain state. Otherwise, one might very well mis-apply the advice.
In transpersonal psychology, we refer to the importance of awareness and integration often. That is, be aware of the various psychological forces at play. This usually means you are able to differentiate you from your ego. Integration, on the other hand, is a state in which one’s inner thoughts, feelings, impulses, et cetera, have been consulted and now form a coherent whole. This is the optimal state under which to still feel the fear and go forward.
I am even more intrigued by the quote I found in A Course In Miracles on dealing with one’s fear. The reason is because the quote itself brings tremendous clarity, and therefore gives us a direction on how to approach or even prevent the challenge of being confronted by one’s fear.
Therefore, how shall we master love? That is a question worth living for. Thoughts? Stories? Do share.
H.D. Lee Photo credits: Colby Brown