by Beverly McNeff

“Fear is deception. It attests that you have seen yourself as you could never be, and therefore look upon a world which is impossible. … Let us not be deceived today. We are the Sons of God. There is no fear in us, for we are each a part of Love Itself.” (Lesson 240)

From the perspective of A Course in Miracles, when we dwell in fear, we are deceiving ourselves about our reality. As we are told in the Course, if there could be an opposite to love, it would be fear; however, what is all-encompassing (love) can really have no opposite. Therefore, when we dwell in fear, we are denying not only our reality of love but our real power. We are living a lie, and the lie is costing us dearly.

From a worldly perspective, what has fear done for you? I know it’s easy to fall into fear; we do it all the time without even thinking. Just because we are used to being afraid, though, is no reason to continue being afraid. Think about it. When you have been fearful about something in the future, has it really made a difference? The thing either happens or it doesn’t, but wasting your time in fear did nothing except perhaps cause you to lose sleep.

Fear is an unproductive emotion. It makes nothing better and only creates chaos in our lives and world. No one thinks straight when they are in the grips of fear, so what is the point of promoting it? What’s the point of paying its high price, when it is costing us the awareness of Love?

There is a lot of talk lately that our country is the most divided it has ever been. Promoting division and conflict seems to be an idea that some think will benefit themselves, but it is antithetical to truth, our reality, and plain common sense. Fear does nothing productive; as a matter of fact, fear and worry have been linked to the onset of Alzheimer’s in patients. This does not mean we don’t address serious issues as they arise, but if we add fear to the equation, we hurt ourselves.

We cannot know the fullness of our minds and our strength when we separate ourselves from our wholeness, and our wholeness is found in each other. Abraham Lincoln wisely said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” In the Bible, Jesus clearly emphasized this truth when he told us that whatever we do to the least of them, we have done to him — the Christ, which is the truth we all share. In A Course in Miracles, we are told, whenever you meet anyone, it is a holy encounter. As you see, think, or treat another, you do it to yourself. So in that seeming “other,” you either find yourself or lose yourself. This means you join with your brother in peace and love and find the infinite knowledge you seek, or not.

“Knowledge is not the motivation for learning this course. Peace is. This is the prerequisite for knowledge only because those who are in conflict are not peaceful, and peace is the condition of knowledge because it is the condition of the Kingdom.” (T-8.I.1)

You either have conflict or awareness; it is your choice. If you want to be at peace and thereby experience the awareness of God’s knowledge, you have to make choices that reduce conflict and stop dwelling in an atmosphere that engenders fear and separation. Fear does not make us stronger and more unified; it makes us weaker and more divided.

When Donald Trump was a New York businessman, he said that he used fear to run his business. He said fear was a great motivator. As long as everyone was afraid of him, afraid of each other, and afraid of losing their jobs, he was in control and successful. Those are his words.

Richard Nixon also had an insidious purpose for fear. He said, “People react to fear, not love. They don’t teach that in Sunday school, but it’s true.”

Thinking that fear motivates is the hallmark of ego thinking. The only way this misguided thought can motivate or wield control is in a mind that believes it is separate from everyone else, that attack gets it something it wants, that guilt will bring it peace, that it is forsaken by God, or that there is no God at all. Many of us have traveled down this road, and if we are now students of A Course in Miracles, we have found that this road led nowhere. But if you have not replaced the lies of the ego with something else, then you will continue to travel down this fruitless road, ignorant of any other way.

This is an exhausting and depressing way to live, if you can even call it living. But all is not lost – that’s why we have the Course. We urgently need a course correction, and a Course correction is precisely what we are given!

Again, fear is an unproductive emotion, but it seems real and very viable as long as it is kept in the darkness of our minds. If we don’t look at our fearful thinking, which presents itself as hate, anger, righteous judgment, unworthiness, guilt, and depression, to name a few, then the Holy Spirit cannot help us. It is not because fear is so powerful, but because if we don’t look and release our attachment, the Holy Spirit cannot heal it for us. He cannot go against your choice to be miserable and terrified, because you will not let Him in.

“The Holy Spirit asks of you but this; bring to Him every secret you have locked away from Him. Open every door to Him, and bid Him enter the darkness and lighten it away. At your request He enters gladly. He brings the light to darkness if you make the darkness open to Him. But what you hide He cannot look upon. He sees for you, and unless you look with Him He cannot see.” (T-14.VII.6)

We have free will to stay as miserable, angry, and fearful as we want, even if it is not real, but what is the benefit? The idea of ruling through fear is not a new idea. It is as old as the dawn of time; as a matter of fact, it is responsible for the concept of time! But if we are students of the Course, then our goal is to look at the blocks to the awareness of love’s presence (fear) and no longer support them so they can be removed from our thinking.

Therefore, it is time we stopped supporting fear and anyone or anything that encourages it. Those who rule by fear are simply trying to make us feel weak and vulnerable in a feeble attempt to exert power over us by promoting themselves as our saviors and offering fear and separation from one another as the solution. The real solution is the one God gave us: The Holy Spirit. Let Him into the dark and fearful areas of your mind. His goal is not to frighten you or take anything away from you; His goal is to give you the awareness of the Kingdom. You cannot get there with hate in your heart, but only through the love of God within you now — and that brings peace.

It is time for us to stop listening to fear and those who would value fear. As the Course reminds us, if we stop giving breath to ego thinking, it will simply fade into the nothingness whence it came. It is like a bad dream — when you wake up, it has no more power to frighten you.

Fear is costing us the Kingdom of God. Fear gives us nothing; it’s time to let it go and replace it with the truth.

Remember, the next time you feel that stab of fear, or hear someone promoting fear, hate, or separation, stop and realize that fear costs too much and offers nothing of value in return. It is time we turn to the strength of God within and allow His Love to stream in, replacing the lies of the ego with His mighty Truth. Let His Kingdom of peace prevail.

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