Angels and Archangels by Damien Echols

Author:Damien Echols
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Sounds True
Published: 2020-03-31T16:00:00+00:00

ANXIETY, FAITH, AND FEAR

Through my own practice I’ve come to believe that the greatest detriment to our own development is the downward spiral of fear into which we habitually throw ourselves. Modern science is just now beginning to discover and describe the connections between our thought processes and the physical world. Simply put, our thoughts can either improve or harm our physical forms. Anxious or fear-based thoughts are associated with chemicals in our bloodstream that lead to anything from weight gain and high blood pressure to even illnesses, such as shingles. Thoughts of happiness and love, on the other hand, are associated with chemicals that promote feelings of well-being, increased immune function, and so on. I know this firsthand from my experience on death row, especially during my final week in which I was overwhelmed by stress and fear and suffered terrible nausea and canker sores as a result (an experience I refer to in chapter 4 of High Magick). This is why some form of mind training or meditation is so important to the magician: it helps us surface those thoughts that are detrimental, become aware of our habitual cognitive patterns, and establish ways of thinking that actually promote what we want out of life.

Don’t get me wrong—the macho, stereotypical American male, “no fear” approach to life is the furthest thing from what I’m talking about, mainly because it doesn’t work and, in fact, tends to backfire. We simply can’t banish our fear by forceful means. When we try to white-knuckle it and battle fear head on, all we’re doing is placing more attention on it and helping it grow in strength. We’re simply feeding it more energy, thereby assisting it in consuming even more of our thoughts.

Of course, fear goes by many names—anxiety, worry, regret, despair, anger, stress, doubt—and all of us have our own particular way of expressing its fundamental energy. Regardless what we call it, pretty much every unpleasant internal state we experience can be traced back to fear in one way or another, and the only effective way to overcome it is to become aware of its lies and disengage entirely. We do that by employing mindfulness and shifting the focus of our attention toward thoughts grounded in ease, comfort, and love. Doing so, we’re able to generate a whole new set of chemicals and positive energy that will bring about changes we actually want in our lives.

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