Free The Tenth Insight: Holding the Vision by James Redfield Page A

and stress and the way we handle it. Sometimes the fear is conscious, but very often we repress it entirely.
    “This is the brave, macho attitude: deny the problem, push it away, conjure up our heroic agenda. If we take this attitude,
     then the fear continues to eat at us unconsciously. Adopting a positive outlook is very important in staying healthy, but
     we have to engage in this attitude in full awareness, using love, not macho, for this attitude to be completely effective.
     What I believe is that our unspoken fears create blocks or crimps in the body’s energy flow, and it’s these blocks that ultimately
     result in problems. The fears keep manifesting in ever-greater degrees until we deal with them. Physical problems are the
     last step. Ideally these blocks would be dealt with early, in a preventive way, before illness develops.”
    “So you think all illness can ultimately be prevented or cured?”
    “Yes, I’m sure we will have longer or shorter life spans; that’s probably up to the Creator, but we don’t have to be sick,
     and we don’t have to be the victim of so many accidents.”
    “So you think this applies to an accident, like my sprain, as well as to illnesses?”
    She smiled. “Yes, in many cases.”
    I was confused. “Look, I don’t have time for this right now. I’m really worried about my friend. I’ve got to do something!”
    “I know, but I have a hunch this conversation won’t takelong. If you rush by and disregard what I’m saying, you may miss the meaning of what is obviously quite a coincidence here.”
     She looked at me to see whether I had picked up on her reference to the Manuscript.
    “You’re aware of the Insights?” I asked.
    She nodded.
    “What exactly do you suggest I do?”
    “Well, the technique I’ve had great success with is this: first, we try to remember the nature of your thoughts just prior
     to the health problem—in your case, the sprain. What were you thinking? What is the fear this problem is revealing to you?”
    I thought for a moment, then said, “I felt afraid, ambivalent. The situation here in this valley seemed much more sinister
     than I thought. I didn’t feel as though I could handle it. On the other hand, I knew Charlene might need help. I was confused
     and torn over what to do.”
    “So you sprained your ankle?”
    I leaned toward her. “Are you saying that I sabotaged myself so I wouldn’t have to take action? Isn’t that too simple?”
    “That’s for you to say, not me. But very often it is simple. Besides, the most important thing is not to spend time defending
     or proving. Just play with it. Try to remember everything you can about where the health problem came from. Explore for yourself.”
    “How do I do that?”
    “You have to calm your mind and receive this information.”
    “Intuitively?”
    “Intuitively, prayerfully, however you conceive the process.”
    I resisted again, not sure whether I could relax and clear my mind. Finally I closed my eyes, and for a moment my thoughts
     ceased, but then a succession of memories of Wil and the day’sevents intruded. I let them go by and cleared my mind again. Immediately I saw a scene of myself at age ten, limping away
     from a touch football game, well aware that I was faking the injury. That’s right! I thought. I used to fake sprains to avoid
     having to perform under pressure. I had forgotten all about this! I realized that later I began to actually hurt the ankle
     frequently, in all kinds of situations. As I pondered the memory, another flash of recollection entered my mind, a cloudy
     scene of myself in another time, feeling cocky, confident, impulsive, then as I worked in a dark, candlelit room, the door
     crashed in and I was dragged away in terror.
    I opened my eyes and looked at Maya. “Maybe I have something.”
    I shared the content of my childhood memory, but the other vision felt too vague to be described, so I didn’t mention it.
    Afterward, Maya asked,