Fear Is a Mental Poison

Fear is a mental poison …. Fear draws to itself objects of fear, as a magnet draws to itself pieces of iron.

Fear intensifies and magnifies our physical pain and mental agonies a hundredfold. Fear is destructive to the heart, nervous system, and brain. It is destructive to mental initiative, courage, judgment, common sense, and will power. Fear shrouds the soul’s all-conquering confidence and power.

Fear of failure or sickness is nourished by thinking constantly of dire possibilities, until these take root in the subconscious and finally in the superconscious. These fear seeds germinate and fill the mind with fear plants bearing poisonous, fear fruits.

Do not fear disease or accidents, for such fear will create disease-and-accident consciousness, and if it is strong enough, you will draw to yourself the very thing you most fear.

On the other hand, fearlessness will, in all probability, avert them, or at least minimize their power.

You Are Safe Behind the Battlements of God’s Eternal Saftety

Kill fear by refusing to be afraid. Know that you are safe behind the battlements of God’s eternal safety, even though you are rocked on seas of suffering, or find death knocking at your door, God’s protecting rays can dispel the menacing clouds of doomsday, calm the waves of trials, and keep you safe, whether you are in a castle or on the battlefield of life, with bullets of trials flying around you.

Since you are made in God’s image, you have all the powers and potentialities of God. It is wrong to think that your trials are greater than your divinity. Remember, no matter what your tests are, you are not too weak to fight them. God will not allow you to be tried beyond your strength.

Your Divinity Is Greater than Your Trials

You have unlimited power; you must cultivate that power. Meditation is the way to resurrect your soul from the bondage of the body and all your trials. Meditate at the feet of the Infinite. Learn to saturate yourself with God.

Your trials maybe great, but your greatest enemy is yourself. You are immortal; your trials are mortal. They are changeable, but you are unchangeable. You can unleash the eternal powers and shatter your trials.

Excerpted from How to Awaken Your True Potential by Paramhansa Yogananda