The zombie was chasing me down a muddy alley between houses in a bombed out European village. The houses were made of mud and primitive bricks with thatched roofs, and they were half shattered and smoking with gaping holes in the roof and walls. The narrow street between the houses where I was running was muddy and slick. The zombie was chasing me and getting closer and closer and I was in terror. Suddenly, right there in my dream I remembered what I was here to do and I instantly whipped around and sat in the meditation position and stared him in the eyes. The zombie was the classic archetype with rotting flesh, ugly bones sticking out various places, an eyeball hanging out and bad breath. I said to the creature, “Peace be with you,” and suddenly the creature stopped and started shuffling around, looking a bit confused and then it just shuffled off to the right and was gone.
The previous month, I had been reading a book on lucid dreaming and one passage in the book alleged that if a person in a dream could say “peace be with you” in a dream to scary creatures and mean it, then whatever the creature was, it could not hurt you. I was fascinated by this and practiced programming my mind before bed with the phrase “peace be with you” for a month before this finally happened. At this same time in my life I also noticed some subtle, but profound changes in myself where I was facing the ‘zombies’ or the things that triggered the fears in my daily life in such a manner that these issues melted away from my experience, just like in the dream.
You can face the fears in your life. When you face your internal fears, then the external issues that appear to be causing your problems will resolve. The fundamental truth here is that your inner reality out-pictures as your outer reality and when you overcome the fears within yourself, then the demons of your life become the daemons of your inspiration and transformation. There is no magic to this. Simply put, your fears create the repeating patterns of problems in your life, and when you face your fears, then you learn to face your life problems in a new and more effective manner so that these issues are resolved.
Collectively, our fears as a nation and as a world have kept us trapped in ancient, repeating cycles of conflict where we recreate the same patterns of manipulation and control over and over again in our personal lives and in our society. Our world and our politics can seem dysfunctional and overwhelming and it appears that these external issues are causing your fears, but the truth is that it is your choice to hold onto your fears or learn to release your fears and free your mind from the patterns of manipulation and control in your life. You can respond to the events in your life and the events in our world with fear or with clarity and love, and no power in the universe can stop you from making this choice. The world has always been dysfunctional, and various leaders and people in power have always exploited the fears of the people to maintain control. Just look at history: It’s always been this way. The only difference now is that this dysfunction seems a little more clear and on the surface. As a nation and as a world, we are beginning to see through the rhetoric and the half-truths and the positionality of people in power on both sides of any given question to a more clear understanding of the issues at hand.
Whenever, I look at leaders or political pundits on either side of an issue, I first look at their demeanor and the level of respect or lack of it. While there may be good points made on either side, I know that anger and fear will never take me any place that I want to go, so I don’t heed the people who pander to people’s fears. When you release fear, then it is much easier to sort through the facts to get a more clear perspective on any issue in your life or in the world. Most often, people on both sides of any issue have valid points to make and when I let go of my tribal thinking, or the opinions of my group or political affiliation or community, then it is easier to sort through the differences of opinion to reach better thought out positions and reach better solutions in my personal life and in our collective life as a nation and as a world.
This is actually too simple for complicated minds. The bottom line is this: Don’t let your fears run your life: period. The zombies of your inner life don’t have to dominate your decision making process. Only you can allow that or not. Whether you are addressing the issues in your personal life or responding to events in our world, you have a choice, but it takes facing your inner zombies so the dysfunction in your life or in our world doesn’t have to control your life. When you deal with the fear-based thinking in yourself, then you become more present and clear in your thoughts actions and words. That’s when you learn to better resolve the issues in your personal and family life and that’s when can become a force for positive change in your life, in your community and in our world.
Namaste,
Steven Fisher
