You see, if you are serious about attaining mastery in the art of observing the unseen, you would not make any substantial progress if you entertain fear in your life.
Here’s how it works:
Fear may manifest itself in numerous forms and patterns, but we would discuss 3 fears that may truncate your efforts at attaining mastery in the art of observing the unseen.
Types Of Fear
The first form of fear is the fear of the unknown, which usually arises as a result of the uncertainties that one may have about venturing into the unseen realm.
The second is the fear of change, which rises as a result of the individual being comfortable with his status quo. People experiencing this kind of fear kick against any form of change because they have already adapted to their situations and do not wish to stretch beyond their comfort zones.
The final form of fear we would discuss is what I like to call the fear of man. This kind of fear arises when a person refuses to engage in observing the unseen because of the high esteem that he has given to the ‘tested and trusted’ opinions of men. Over the course of this post, we have been able to increase our awareness of the vast riches and potential that exists in the unseen realm. It is often sad to see an individual refusing to indulge in observing the unseen because of a bunch of mediocre opinions.
The Anatomy Of Fear
Many forms of fear are false!
Fear simply means False Events Appearing Real. I know that may sound trite, but
For years, people feared venturing into the ocean in search of new territories. Why? They wrongly assumed that the earth was flat and that if one ventured far enough, such person would fall off the edge into oblivion. There was no proof that the earth was flat, instead, nature pointed to the contrary. Eventually, bold men, such as Christopher Columbus and his crew, ventured into the sea, far beyond where other men had assumed the edge of the earth was. Christopher Columbus continued going forward until he discovered the hitherto unknown American continent.
The facts were changed! Man no longer feared the edge of the earth, because there was none. Instead, as a result of the facts being changed, the European superpowers began the conquest and subsequent colonization of the American continent.
Interestingly, this was not the only time man’s fears were redefined when the facts were changed.
Malaria used to be a death sentence, but Quinine and Artemisinin changed that.
Man couldn’t fly anything heavier than lead without a balloon attached to it, but an understanding of the workings of lift, thrust and aerodynamics changed that.
Wireless communication used to be impractical, but an understanding of electromagnetic waves has turned the entire world into a global village.
Till the time when the world would come to an end, the facts would continue to change and man will continue to push the borders of possibilities.
The story of Christopher Columbus shows us why we need to be responsible with the kind of inputs that we permit in our lives. Granted, the scientific discoveries and technological advancements in Columbus’ day is nothing compared to what we have today, and as a result, many of the accepted beliefs of his day were drawn from anecdotes of men, rather than experimental experiences. However, at a point, Christopher Columbus challenged the popularly held belief that the earth was flat. As there was no way to test his new position, Columbus decided to venture out that far into the sea, to see for himself what lay beyond the then known world. He refused to accept the opinions of men as the final authority. Instead, he mastered his fear, ventured into the unknown and came back with news of a new continent that had been there all along.
You need to be responsible with the kind of inputs that you permit into your life. As I mentioned in the chapter about your Imagination, if you continue to consume inappropriate inputs from books, songs, movies and the news media, you’d keep on feeding your mind with the appropriate materials to keep your fear-full. Other inputs that may keep you fearful include your personal prejudices which have been informed by your cultural or religious beliefs, your family or educational backgrounds, as well as certain traditions of men which have been generally accepted as the perfect explanation of reality, despite being wrong – as in the case of Christopher Columbus.
The truth is that until you are more responsible with the kind of inputs that you permit into your life, you’d find it increasingly difficult to eliminate fear; and if you are continually fearful, it is virtually impossible to observe the unseen.
– Promise Tewogbola
Why? Good question.
You see, when you consistently consume the wrong kinds of input, you’d find you meditative process gradually gravitating towards the negative direction.
When you are constantly focused on the negative,
You have to realize that the mind is very powerful. This is because, as you start seeing pictures of what you are worrying about, you’d also start seeing new information to worry about. When this happens, your mechanical imagination also catches up by playing you the most appropriate pictures to feed your newly-found worry. This cycle continues on and on until you’re able to find a way to get out of it.
This is why we need to be very careful of the kind of inputs that we allow to be fed into our minds. If we are not responsible in this area, our meditations would become full-blown worry, and our imagination will start working against us, instead of for us. When this happens, we delve into the realm of fear and we are unable to access the wealth of possibilities in the unseen realm.
Take note of this: At the root of all forms of fear is the seed of inappropriate inputs.
– Promise Tewogbola
I have good news for you, though.
It is very possible to eliminate the fear that is preventing you from observing the unseen realm.
It’s also quite easy to do so too.
You see, understanding fear, not the absence of fear, is the key to overcoming it.
– Promise Tewogbola
Destroy Fear Through Elimination By Selection
One powerful way you can replace the wrong inputs with the right inputs is by being more selective in the kinds of music that you listen to.
You see, there is nothing like good or bad music. In fact, the kind or style of music that you listen to speaks more about your personality more than anything else. On the other hand, good or bad lyrics may be played alongside musical notes. Thus, you need to be very careful and highly selective with the kinds of music that you listen to. You need to be proactive and responsible with the kinds of music that you allow to filter through your ears. Music lyrics have a way of permeating through your subconscious mind and affect your moods in the long run.
I can list so many anecdotes – personal and other peoples’ – about how this works.
For instance, another former colleague of mine was telling me the story of how she tried to console herself with some kind of songs after a particularly messy break up. She recalled crying helplessly when she listened to one song in particular. According to her, the song reminded her of the ‘good’ times that she had with her erstwhile boyfriend.
Now, I don’t know the particular song that my colleague was listening to, but my main concern is that the mere lyrics of that song evoked such a powerful emotion within her that she started crying.
The guy that broke her heart was not in the room. Perhaps, the two of them were not even on speaking terms.
Yet, a song was able to replay the emotional hurt that the break up caused and she relived it again and again.
I’m sure you can imagine what the effect that songs that applaud rape, incest, adultery, murder, bitterness, envy, strife and other vices would be on your observation of the unseen.
Of course, you’d naturally have a skewed view of the realities of the unseen realm. You’d walk in fear, because you’ve continually listened to that rap verse on cold blooded murder. You’d walk in uncertainty about your future because that your favorite soul song tells you that life is not worth living anymore. You’d limit yourself and what you can achieve because you’ve exposed yourself to that song tells you that the times are hard despite the fact that millions are making their millions, even in the so-called hard times.
Look, I’m not castigating you on your choice of music. As I’ve said before, there is no good music or bad music. Rather, the kind of music you listen to speaks more about your personality than your character. However, you need to be responsible with the kind of lyrics that you listen to. Anytime you listen to a song, you need to ask yourself this question: Is this song planting seeds of fear and death that would hinder me from attaining mastery in the art of observation?
Destroy Fear Through Elimination By Reduction
It would be my guess that the media works by the mantra: Bad news is good news because it sells!
That would have been funny if it was not sad.
Remember the story of Eve and the serpent in Genesis 3?
Verse 2 and 3 says, ‘And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden [the tree of the knowledge of good and evil], God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die’
The truth is that we live in the information age where the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is right at the tip of your finger. And believe me sincerely, except you live a minimalist life in some remote place on the face of the earth, it is certain that you take your daily dose of information every day.
If you neither read the papers nor listen to the 9 o’clock news, at least you have your social media account!
We live in a generation that is hooked to social media and if you do not read the papers or watch the news, information will still stream in your direction by virtue of your News feed that is renewed every moment!
By the time we are done with this session, you’d have no choice than to agree with me that over-exposure to the news – the way it is being presented today – would you harm than good.
You see, the media has a way of blowing things out of proportion!
If you are the type that is accustomed to taking input from the news consistently, you might just be laying down the foundation for fear in your life.
I was watching a video where Ryan Holiday, while talking about his book, Trust Me I’m Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator, explained how the media operates like a racket – operated for the benefit of a few at the expense of everybody else. According to him, since the world’s paradigm of information and news has shifted from scarcity to abundance, accuracy of information is no longer important. This is because media companies believe that we live in an age where information can be theoretically corrected, so reporters don’t bother to pay attention to the accuracy of their stories. This means that even if a media outlet gets the information wrong the first time, they always have the chance to fix the previous story with another one without a loss of reputation. Furthermore, since there is a competition for reader’s attention with the advent of more media outlets in this generation, news has to be louder, more extreme and more ‘gossipy’ to break through the noise. Besides, since reporters, especially those on the net, are paid based on the amount of web traffic they can generate, there is the motivation to churn out extreme and exaggerated news.
Another friend of mine who studied Mass Communication
Culled from my upcoming book “You Too Can Be Free To Master the Art of Observation:Timeless Principles for Effortlessly Crystallizing Every Single Potential Trapped Within and Around You”.
