fear and faith

By: Laura Fine
Edited date: October 20, 2022Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

a special message to help you cope

When tragedy strikes, how do we respond? There are 3 primary realms of existence, the material, emotional and spiritual.

In the material realm, tragedy is beyond human measure. Nothing can make sense of a senseless act, especially one of violence. And yet it happens. Innocent victims are targeted, high profile tragedy occurs, and accountability and punishment are merited.

On the emotional plane, the range of feelings in response to such an incident is vast: helplessness, terror, rage, despair, numbness, denial, fear. How do we go on? How do we respond? How do we enter a store, a movie, or walk across the street without looking over our shoulder? Fear spreads its wings across our continent like a blanket as we lock our doors and increase our hyper vigilance. There is no longer a safe haven outside our barricaded home for play or rest.ӬӬ

In the spiritual realm, there is only perfection. Every birth and death is perfectly timed. There are only lessons and spiritual values, such as trust, faith, compassion, forgiveness and detachment. No crime is unforgivable and no soul ever dies; they simply change bodies.ӬӬ

To move forward without fear we must integrate all 3 realms of existence. We live in a world of paradoxes filled with unspeakable horrors and unfathomable beauty. How do we co-exist with both extremes and stay sane, safe and stable? Those who create a relationship with both the physical and non-physical realms have an ability to mentally and emotionally cope during times of uncontrollable devastation. Anchoring a practice of mental beliefs in the spiritual qualities, such as goodness and love, has a rehabilitating effect on the mind and heart. A faith based practice calms the mind, the heart and the emotions.ӬӬ

When we feel helpless, it’s natural to want to blame something or someone. When we can’t direct it at something or someone concrete, we direct our helplessness towards the intangible. This is where faith can be shaken. When faith is shaken, we can be overtaken by fear. When we have faith, fear does not exist.

In my years of coaching and counseling, those who have survived and thrived after trauma have faith as a key component of their recovery. However you choose to have faith and whomever you choose to have faith in, if your faith is rooted in the belief of a wisdom and power greater than yourself, then your mind and heart will relax and heal more wholly. When you make a practice of faith through meditation, prayer, contemplation, imagination, worship and ritual that is rooted in goodness, your physiology produces oxytocin and positive endorphins. Faith is good for you.

It’s impossible to prove the existence of something non-material with material measures. So ultimately, the question is not whether God or a higher power actually exists. The question is, what will having the practice of a belief in a higher power result in? For countless people who have a deep, faith based practice, one common benefit is a strong feeling of inner peace. What if the powerful feeling of inner peace was proof that a higher power, that is wiser than you, does exist?

Even when you don’t understand the paradoxical events of this world, the inner peace within you stays strong. When unspeakable horror brushes close to your door, practice faith. Hold onto the anchor of faith and it will stabilize your mind.

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