Free Free Yourself from Fears by Joseph O'Connor Page A

powerful, fey group of women who had considerable powers of mind control, over both themselves and others. The words “Bene Gesserit” are Latin and their closest meaning is: “She would have done good.” The above quote is their litany that they teach their novices. It has some interesting ideas and metaphors within it.
    First, “I will not fear.” Without a context, I do not think it is possible and even if it were, it would not be a good idea. Fear will arise in response to sudden danger without warning or control. Willpower comes from the conscious mind, whereas fear comes from deeper physiological processes that we have no control over. Fear is too basic and too important to be willed away, and it is not under the control of willpower. This litany only applies to unreal fear.
    “Fear is the mind killer.” Yes, fear can paralyze your thinking, but it can also make you act quickly and decisively. Fear, like many other emotions, makes it harder to think clearly—at just the time when you need to think most clearly and feel more resourceful.
    58

    THE LANGUAGE OF FEAR
    “I will face my fear” is an interesting expression. What could it mean to face your fear? You look at it and oppose it. You do not hide from it and you do not hide from the situation that brought it on.
    This is courage. It may seem that courage is the ability not to feel fear.
    If this were so, it would not be a virtue and we would not admire it.
    Courage is feeling the fear and going ahead anyway.
    “I will permit it to pass over me and through me.” Another interesting metaphor, which separates you from the fear and makes it move. When fear moves, you cannot be paralyzed by it. If it goes through you, it must end up behind you. Then you can “turn the inner eye to see its path.”
    Once it has gone, only you remain. We can use these metaphors.
    Skill for freedom
    The Bene Gesserit process
    J Think of something you are frightened of or worrying about. Make it something where the feeling is unpleasant, you are not sure what to do, and the feeling is getting in the way of your effective action.
    J Imagine the situation and feel the feeling. Give it a label. It could be
    “fear,” “fright,” “anxiety,” or “worry.”
    J Now imagine that feeling in front of you. Look at it.What does it look like? What color is it? Is it like a smoky cloud? Or a green gooey mass? How big is it? How solid? What does it smell like?
    Does it have a sound as it hovers there in front of you? Watch it carefully. Listen.
    J Now let it stream past you. Let it go over you, under you, and around you. Let it go through you and as it does, it will become like a wisp of smoke.
    59

    FREE YOURSELF FROM FEARS
    J As it streams around and through you, it will go behind you. Imagine that you can see it behind you disappearing faster and faster into the distance, until it melts into nothingness, as if it is being sucked down one of those enormous wind tunnels.There is nothing left. If you feel a little residue of the feeling, just put it in front of you again, face it, and repeat the process.
    J Now feel your body solid and grounded.You remain.You are not this feeling, because you can separate yourself from it.
    J In this calm state, generate three possible ways you could deal with this situation.Write them down and resolve to take action as soon as you can.
    60

PART II
    Unreal Fear—Fear as Foe

CHAPTER 5
Fear in Time
    The present has three dimensions… the present of past things, the present of present things and the present of future things.
    ST. AUGUSTINE
    THE CAUSE OF UNREAL FEAR CAN COME from three different directions—past, present, and future. The stimulus is in the present, but the fear usually comes from imagining the future—what might happen but has not. It can also be about the past—what did happen or what might have happened.
    Our mind has a remarkable fluidity with time. Past, present, and future interweave in the present moment—the only place we