{"id":81568,"date":"2020-10-14T17:48:53","date_gmt":"2020-10-14T14:48:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=81568"},"modified":"2020-10-14T17:48:53","modified_gmt":"2020-10-14T14:48:53","slug":"how-to-conquer-fear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/how-to-conquer-fear\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Conquer Fear"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[],"acf":{"old_id":"81568","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":79817,"related_cahpter":"590","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"The \u2018valley of the shadow of death\u2019 lives within all of us\r\n\r\n","content":"

\u201cThough I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This famous verse cuts to the core of religion: we are afraid, and we want to be less afraid.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But how do we overcome fear, how is it possible to render the world a less frightening place?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There is an image of a soul which is troubled and tormented, a stormy sea of worry, being transformed into \u2018still waters\u2019, something more at ease.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But there is also the suggestion that this divine magic works through \u2018shepherding\u2019 us along \u2018paths of righteousness\u2019. Fear is overcome through making peace with our conscience, becoming better able to live with ourselves.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This allows us to read \u2018I will fear no evil\u2019 differently.\u00a0 We do not only need protection from the evil outside of us, but also from the cruelty and destructiveness which lurk within us. And the more we are afraid of ourselves, the more we will project that fear onto the world.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Psychoanalysis approaches anxiety in a similar way, encouraging us to become conscious of the ways in which we are afraid of ourselves.<\/span><\/p>\n

As we dig deeper into our desires and dare to face up to what we find, we are positively transformed by that process.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is counterintuitive, and many people fear getting deeply into therapy because of what they might uncover. There is an idea that the unconscious mind is a fixed thing, and that as we get to know it, we will be changed for the worse. Unspeakable desires and ambitions lurk there, it is thought, which we will be powerless to resist once encountered, bringing ourselves to ruin.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But it turns out that the opposite is true. The better we get to know ourselves, the more free we become. Rather than learning about our weakness, we come to appreciate our strength. Surprising desires may linger at the periphery of consciousness, but the strength of our personality can refuse their destructive demands.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There may be rocky moments along the way, there can certainly be points where we are genuinely terrified by what we see in the depths.\u00a0 But if we can withstand the initial shock – and a helpful \u2018shepherd\u2019 will try to ensure that we only see when we are ready – then we emerge stronger, with a deeper and more secure trust in ourselves.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There may be a process of mourning involved, as we realise that we are not as pure as we were led to believe. But we come through this, and return to life on a more solid foundation of genuine self-acceptance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The human mind is remarkable in this way, it actually changes as it learns about itself. The personality is dynamic and alive, it is not a static object.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The psalmist is teaching that the \u2018valley of the shadow of death\u2019 lives within all of us.\u00a0 Only those with the courage to walk through it will emerge stronger and without fear.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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