CAN YODA'S WISDOM HELP US HANDLE OUR FEARS SO WE CAN FIGHT OFF THE EVIL COVID-19 MENACE?
How to turn fear into a beneficial force.
During the COVID-19 panic, citizens yielded to government-mandated lockdowns, isolations, business shutdowns, job dismissals, non-compliance fines, fake medical tests, deadly mRNA injections, and other harmful medical procedures. The deaths and destruction suffered by citizens have been horrendous.
We are living a reality similar to a Star Wars episode where Darth Vader, with his telepathic powers and a Death Star, attacks an entire planet.
If we could ask Yoda for advice, I believe he would say the authorities have turned to the dark side and citizens are obedient and cowardly. And all this has happened because fear has corrupted people.
Back in our real world, many people in the COVID resistance also say fear has corrupted the bureaucrats and crippled our citizens.
Could Yoda help us expel this fear?
Upon searching Yoda's movie lines, it surprised me to find useful gems of knowledge about handling fear.
With Yoda's wisdom, plus psychological concepts, we can convert fear into a powerful and beneficial force.
Let me explain.
Fear is a blessing, not a curse
Most people think fear is harmful and must be overcome or eliminated.
You probably have heard these famous words of Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933):
"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
A current leader in the COVID resistance, Robert Kennedy Junior, blames fear for our obedience to evil authorities:
"Fear is the enemy as it allows totalitarian systems to take control of people, destroying democracy in the process.”
Yoda is even more critical of fear:
"Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”
In our society, people think fear is a destructive force. They often suppress fear. But inhibiting an emotion is not healthy. And denying your fear destroys what could be a beneficial force.
Fear can produce very helpful responses, such as fight, flight, or freeze. People often ridicule these responses as being crude, instinctive reactions. But they are absolutely necessary for the following situations.
If a vicious dog that you can't run away from attacks you, you better fight with all your might.
If a large, slow-moving alligator on land attacks you, run away as fast as you can.
If you are walking in the woods and come upon a large grizzly bear that is moving away from you, tighten all your muscles and freeze.
In all these situations, fear instantly gives you the energy you need to manipulate your body to save your life.
There are many other activities that require fear as the source of energy and motivation. For instance, fear can motivate people to learn martial arts, build a fort, or learn a profession to provide income for survival.
Fear is energy that moves your body and motivates your mind. Energy is a tool, and tools are neither good nor bad. A painter can't blame his brush when he produces an inferior painting.
When the power of fear drives you to act, you choose your actions. It is your choice that is good or bad because what you choose to do will cause good or bad results for you and everyone involved.
So how do you make good choices under the pressure of fear?
How to manage fear
What we need is an intelligent way of handling fear.
And Yoda can help us with the following advice:
“Named must your fear be, before banish it, you can.”
But what does Yoda mean by “name your fear?”
“Naming your fear” means to give your fear a more accurate description, a more detailed understanding, than just feeling fear.
You see, when you are feeling and thinking only about your fear, you are ignoring a lot of other thoughts that have a powerful influence on the actions you choose. And some of those thoughts have been inserted into your mind by your enemies without you knowing they hacked your mind.
Here is how to create a more accurate name for your fear. First, remember that emotions are energy. Emotional energy drives your activities. So, when you feel fear, identify the activity your fear is causing. Then write down the relationship between your fear and the action it powers as shown in the following examples of three types of fear.
fear->hiding
fear->fighting
fear->planning response
The above examples are symbolic representations of fear feeding energy into an activity.
When you first “name your fear” by also naming the action it is causing, pay close attention to your thoughts. Naming your fear brings the activities you were ignoring into your conscious mind, which immediately triggers logical thinking. Upon observing this new data, you automatically consider alternative activities and select better responses so quickly that you may not appreciate what is happening in your mind. Recognize that you are consciously improving your responses and your chances of success.
For some people, their thoughts change so quickly that they lose track of where they are in their sequence of thoughts and they end up confused. Writing thoughts down will aid in consciously managing your thinking.
A wonderful thing often happens when people consciously optimize their fear->responses mental state. A person can improve their response so much that their fear dissipates and is replaced by a more powerful emotion. Now consider the following list as a sequence of mental states that progress because of conscious evaluations.
fear->hiding
fear->fighting
fear->planning response
excitement->planning, scheduling, executing the plan
The above progression shows how naming your fear can enable your conscious mind to progress to an emotion of excitement about executing a plan and winning. This is a case where fear transitions to a more powerful emotion (excitement) and a highly intelligent response (planning, scheduling, executing).
Sometimes the threat you are facing is not so easily handled. In such cases, add more detail to your naming, as shown below.
FDA, CDC->vaccine mandates->fear->seek help->Robert Kennedy Jr., Dr. Mercola
The example above names the cause of fear (vaccine mandates) and the preceding cause (FDA, CDC). Plus, a robust description of actions. Providing more detail in the naming of fear brings more data into the conscious mind for consideration. The additional data will suggest more opportunities for modifying the chain of controlling forces. This method improves your chances of developing a better response to fear.
But what if naming your fear just makes you more afraid?
What to do when the situation seems hopeless
If you are up against a powerful enemy, discovering more details about what you fear may uncover more frightening conditions.
Has Darth Vader appeared in the distance, looking for you?
A hopeless feeling may strike like a thunderbolt through your entire being. The two examples below represent a dire situation.
Obey or die->fear->freezing your actions
Obey or die->depression->doing nothing
Most people will think that freezing or doing nothing is a self-destructive action. But inaction is natural and appropriate when surprised by an overwhelming threat. The purpose of inaction is to make you take a moment to consciously and intelligently consider your options before you do something stupid. As soon as you figure out your best response, you can quickly unfreeze and transition to a more powerful response, such as fleeing or fighting.
If you have the time to learn more about your predicament, do so. There are always many things you don't know. Get information from others if you can.
If after reevaluating your situation, you still haven't come up with a reasonable action plan, Yoda has more advice for you:
“Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose.”
Yoda's advice here is a good start but it is incomplete. I will explain the full process of letting go of what you fear for the situation below.
Obey or die->fear->freezing your actions
Yoda's advice for this situation would be to let go of your fear of death. That makes sense when obeying orders would create living conditions worse than dying. If you realize that death is not so bad in comparison, your fear will diminish or possibly disappear.
Yoda leaves out an important dynamic in this process. When the conscious mind transitions away from one mental state, it must move into a new mental state. This happens so quickly and automatically that most people are unaware of what they are doing. Sometimes people lose their train of thought and end up controlled by subconscious biases. Writing mental states down will help maintain your focus.
If you are self-aware of your mental states, you can speed up the transition by thinking of new mental states that might work for you such as this one:
They are killing my family->fear->fighting to save my family
This mental state will help you move your attention from the fear of dying to the fear for the safety of your family. It also changes to the much more powerful and beneficial activity of fighting.
If you become skilled at consciously inventing, evaluating, and changing your mental states, try experimenting with more powerful emotions. The examples below may work for you.
Obey or die->anger->fighting to live free
Obey or die->interested->learning about the enemy and their weaknesses
Obey or die->interested->learning to convert enemy soldiers into your army
After all these suggestions, you may still find yourself frozen in fear if the future looks very dark.
So, what do you do?
What to do when the future looks grim
In times of great danger, when evil has the upper hand, it is almost impossible to muster a positive and constructive state of mind about taking action against your enemies.
Yoda has an explanation for that:
“Difficult to see. Always in motion is the future.”
“The dark side clouds everything. Impossible to see the light, the future is.”
If you can't feel confident about your future, your fears may continue to cripple your ability to take action. In that case, you must use the following method.
Shift your focus to short-term goals that make progress toward your long-term goal. Choose short-term goals you can understand, predict, control, and achieve.
Quickly finish a string of small projects to build momentum and a positive mental state.
By focusing your mind on tasks you can achieve, you can break the stranglehold of fear and speed up your progress toward long-term goals.
But don't forget, you are up against opponents that are experts at these mind games.
You need one last bit of knowledge.
How fast can you respond?
Your battle with evil may become similar to a fight with lightsabers. It can be a fast and furious exchange of physical and mental attacks. Many attacks will be unexpected, catching you off-guard. You must not only analyze and repel each attack, but instantly design and deliver a counterattack.
In your battle, expect your opponent to force negative mental states upon you. He will change them radically to surprise you. To survive such dynamic attacks, you need to analyze your mental state quickly and transition to a more powerful mental state. Then plan and deliver an attack on your enemy. This will require practice.
You must learn to change faster than your opponent. And you have to be more flexible in the mental states you can manage. Plus, know the strengths and weaknesses of each mental state.
This is the beginning of your training.
May you be one with your fear
Your emotions are your source of energy and power.
Practice self-awareness. Be aware of your emotions and thoughts. These are your tools.
Be one with your fear and your fear will help you.
May understanding and wisdom be with you so you can control energy and force.
Very helpful and so refreshing to read about solutions to the fear-mongering that we have all been subject to these last few years! Thank you!
Some great strategies to utilise one's own fear response here - thanks!