“Few are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues, the wrath of their society.  Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence.  Yet it is the one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change a world that yields most painfully to change. Each time a person stands up for an idea, or acts to improve the lot of   others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”   --Robert F. Kennedy, South Africa, 1966
 

     What has happened to the voice of political courage today?   Where are the people willing to take a risk and stand for what they believe in?  Where are those who stand for what is morally right, rather than politically expedient?  Where is real visionary leadership today?  Is there a cloud of negativity and fear hanging over the country these days that makes it especially hard for anyone to take a risk of any kind or to speak truth to power?  Is this fearful climate a result of 9/11 and the terrorists’ attacks, or are there deeper forces at work?

     The fear-producing culture in America is eerily pervasive, especially in the media.  Fear sells—newspapers, movies, television. We are being scared out of our wits by any number of horrible stories everyday about things that could harm us—everything from a potential Iraqi war igniting terrorists worldwide against us, to dirty nuclear bombs radiating our cities, to deadly toxins in our food and water, to growing cancer rates, to dishonest corporate executives losing our life savings. With thousands of crazy murderers, robbers and rapists (now even in the churches), the NRA sternly warns us that the only solution is for every citizen to own lots of guns. Oh, and if you’re a progressive politician, you better not fly in a small plane, as they have a way of crashing just before a tight election ….

     So how does this general climate of fear affect political discussions?  We have regularly sponsored public dialogues at our educational center in Washington, D.C., and I was really shocked recently when a friend whom I had invited to speak on a panel about current events reluctantly declined the offer.  He said his boss recommended that he not speak because their company had a contract with a federal agency, and something he might say could jeopardize the contract (even though he wouldn’t be officially representing the company or the agency and wasn’t even speaking on company time)!  Unfortunately, this is rather typical of people in Washington with government contracts --they can’t speak on any important issues!  Is this the unspoken control that is generating even more fear in Washington--especially with recent legislation like the Patriot Act and Homeland Security—and now the extension of the Patriot Act—that take away more of our rights.  Do we live in a democracy or what?  Isn’t free speech supposed to be protected by our constitution?  

     So how does fear affect us as a nation? According to the new science of pychoneuroimmunology and the study of neuropeptides, our negative thoughts and emotions weaken our immune system and harm our personal health and well-being.  But what about the effects of our collective thoughts on our collective health as a society?  What, for example, is all the fearful thinking in Washington D.C. about terrorists and security and government control doing to our collective health?  Is it in fact helping to create an emotional field of terror that attracts the things we most fear, such as the recent sniper attacks and anthrax-ridden letters?  Isn’t it interesting that of all the cities they could have chosen for randomly shooting innocent people, that the snipers happened to choose our nation’s capitol, where major political decisions were at that moment being made about a possible war in Iraq that could randomly kill innocent civilians?

    Is there some message in the fact that both the sniper and anthrax attacks were not  perpetrated by foreign terrorists, but rather by some of our very own fellow citizens, trained at our own military facilities?  Isn’t it obvious when two lone snipers shooting a few people at random can completely terrorize a whole city, that we can’t possibly protect ourselves in the usual way?  Isn’t it obvious when a few crazy terrorists could hijack an American plane and slam it into our own Pentagon, that we can never be secure on a physical level, no matter how many weapons we have and how many walls we build?   Hello?!!  Is anyone awake out there? 

    Are we looking too much to external methods to protect ourselves, instead of becoming internally strong and spiritually aligned as individuals and as a nation?  What will a “Fortress America” mentality really achieve?  Will it actually lock us in—rather than lock others out?  Are we so frightened that few of us can speak up and challenge this craziness?   Are we so frightened that we’ll be called unpatriotic if we dare oppose a war in Iraq – even though it could ignite the whole Arab world against us and draw other nations into a nuclear war in the Middle East?   And if we’re really so fearful of terrorists, why are we about to launch this major attack which will probably incite many wrathful terrorists attacks on us here at home?

    What can we do to stop this oppressive fear that seeks refuge in a false conformity?  As Franklin Roosevelt so wisely told the American people in his Inaugural Address during the Great Depression: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”   Fear creates a vibration that is paralyzing. To dispel fear and develop the courage to speak up, we have to look at the patterns of thinking that feed fear.

     The enlightened members of humanity have always known that energy follows thought. Whatever we think about, we direct energy towards, and this focused energy gives thought the power to manifest physically. Thought is causal and powerfully creative. With our thoughts we make the world.  The physical world is a clear expression of what we’ve thought about in the past. If we don’t like what we see, we need to change our thinking. With each new thought we create the world anew. Our thoughts are the basic building blocks of the universe.   This is the incredible power we as humans have—for good or evil…

    As Einstein so wisely said, we can’t solve a problem from the same level of consciousness that created the problem in the first place. If we are acting out of deep paranoia, our solutions to the problem of terrorism are bound to only create more of the same, and not really make us more secure. This is clearly a turning point in our history. We need, more than ever, to hear the wisdom of many voices, and listen for the deeper causes of this crisis. But first we have to break through the cloud of fear and suppression, so we can think more clearly and discover the deeper causes of the anger and hopelessness that leads to terrorism.  Only thus can we create a better world that works for all and so be truly secure.

    What can we do to overcome fear?   First, we have to become aware of the daily diet we take in with all our senses, with our eyes and ears, as well as our mouth, and consciously limit it.  The constant drumbeat of fear in our media and entertainment poisons us as much as any food we eat.   Fear is an emotion felt in our solar plexus, but it is energized by our thoughts.  We may feel momentarily frightened, but fearful feelings will grow more powerful if we feed them with our thoughts and imagine even more horrible things.

     To overcome fear, we can also watch our thoughts carefully and practice mindfulness, a meditative technique that is especially powerful in helping us become a detached observer or witness to our thoughts. Rather than trying to suppress or inhibit fearful thoughts, we simply notice what we’re feeling or thinking, and then withdraw our attention and focus our attention on something more positive and life-affirming.

     We can focus instead on all the good work people are doing around the world to help humanity.  We need to subscribe to at least one positive source of information for every negative one we consume. We need to focus on the true issues at stake in this crisis, on true human need, and develop a willingness to learn from whatever happens. This can lead to increased knowledge and development, and ultimately, greater usefulness helping create a better world.

    Another powerful technique for transforming fear is to visualize white light pouring in through the top of our head (at what’s called the pineal or crown center) to cleanse and balance the mind and the emotions.  We can align with our highest self or soul, and with the great spiritual teachers of humanity, invoking the fire of courage to strengthen and protect us. We can ask to be guided spiritually as to what is the best course of action for the highest good of all.