The world is not only facing a rise in temperature because of global warming but the temperature in the mind of humanity is also rising; feelings of fear and anxiety about the physical virus and what the future is going to look like. This mental fear is exacerbating the complex set of circumstances. We need to become free from the confines of our own fears.
There are three main fears upon which all others are based.
1. Physical fear: The loss of health, of things I possess, and ultimately of death. The more I attach my heart to the physical, including people, things, and my own body, the greater the fear.
2. Psychological fear: Relationships, authority figures, phobias, public speaking, being rejected, not accepted. These fears are all based on past experiences, stored in the consciousness, the soul.
3. Fear of the unknown: Of God, of my own mistakes, of dishonesty. A wise person understands how honest they must be with the self, God and others. If we live by the fundamental truths and principles, then that honesty frees me from fear.
So, what are the steps I can take to free myself from my fears? First, I need to understand that life means change. Nothing stays the same. Things and people will come into my life, things and people will go from my life.
Secondly, I need to experience who I really am. I am not a physical being. I have a physical body, but I am an eternal soul.
Then, I need to deeply understand what the soul really is. How everything I have ever experienced is recorded within my subconscious and affects me in the present moment.
Finally, that everyone I see around me is a soul too. The roles and positions, ages and genders, races and religions are all labels of the body. The real being is the light within.
Meditation is the key, the basis and the essential practice to understand all these truths. Meditation takes the soul back to the essence within, the sweet experience that I am an eternal being. Meditation clears the effect of our past stories and annuls the repercussions of the mistakes I have made. Meditation changes the way I think.
Thoughts are the seeds of actions and I begin to sow benevolent and peaceful seeds, whose fruit can only be of peace and benevolence. Meditation is the greatest investment in a positive future.
Charlie Hogg, based in Sydney, is the National Coordinator, Brahma Kumaris, Australia.