In the United States Halloween has devolved into an event focused on fear and things incredibly scary, terrifying, and grotesque.
Why is that? Is there an antidote to our societies’ relentless focus on fear? “Every act of aggression is a call for help and a cry for love.” ~ Aikido and A Course In Miracles principles Violence comes in many forms, from the very little to the very large.
There are the dramatic forms of violence involving the murder of human beings, from just one to millions.
There are also the less obvious forms of violence, such as simply ignoring someone, being rude, gossiping, or getting revenge.
Even withholding our love and putting ourselves down are acts of violence.
Why do we do these things? Why are we aggressive, angry, and threatening, both to ourselves and to others? We can start this inquiry by asking “What is the source of your anger, aggressiveness, and violence toward yourself and/or others? You might at first say,”Those jerks out there in the world are out to get me, they make my life difficult, and they even threaten my survival.
It’s certainly not about giving up and being weak in the face of violence.
So what is this about? This is about YOU, and YOUR reactions to violence in your world.
It’s important to realize you can’t control the actions of others without further perpetuating the violence you want to stop.
” You must realize what you CAN control is yourself and your RESPONSE to violence in your world.
What happens in the face of violence is we feel threatened; we feel small, afraid, and weak.
Of course in true survival circumstances, when your life is actually at risk, you probably want to follow your fight or flight instincts.
This is more what we’re talking about here: our sense of self – and we need a bigger one! So how do we grow a bigger sense of self, one that lifts us beyond violence? The answer is to connect to your higher self, to the unified field, to the infinite intelligence that is guiding the unfolding of our Universe, to the thing that has been historically called “God.” God does exist; it’s just going by different names now.
If you are perpetuating violence somewhere in your life, big or small, on yourself or toward others, it is simply because you have become disconnected from the Source of life.
You’re disconnected from the Universal Intelligence that informs the highest and best actions for all concerned, including you! When disconnected, you are like cancer, scared and afraid, fighting for your own survival, not knowing that your actions are actually ANTI-survival and are going to kill not only your host, but you as well.
So this is the Source of Scary: being disconnected from your Higher Self, from the Source of life.
This is the antidote for fear and violence being perpetuated in our world: get connected to Source, to your higher, larger self that is beyond fear and violence.
The various spiritual “paths” are simply the various forms taken by the various traditions for helping their followers connect to Source.
Try this: Get connected! Notice in your life where you experience worries, concerns, anger, and frustration – areas where you are perpetuating violence, either toward yourself or others.
In these areas of your life, ask yourself, “Am I coming from fear or love?” Most likely your answer will be fear.
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