Many of us are annoyed, hindered, or even incapacitated by our
fears. Perhaps these fears are generated by frightening childhood incidents
such as being bitten by a big, growling dog, or being left crying too long by
our mother. Many of our patients apologize for their fears and phobias,
discounting them as "irrational". As part of our homeopathic interview with our
patients, we always ask about any spe- cific or general fears and find that
most of us are afraid of something. We are here to be liberated and anything
which holds us back from our freedom is best released. There are some
instances, of course, where our experience of fear is a warning to protect us
from danger and is extremely useful. The fear discussed in this article is the
type of fear which is unhealthy and is not in our highest interest. It's one
thing to decide not to take an elevator to the 9th floor because you want the
exercise or to drive to the East Coast instead of flying because you enjoy the
scenery. It's
another if you can't ride in elevators because you become wildly claustrophobic
or can't fly in an airplane because you are terrified it will crash. Many of us
think we're stuck with our fears and phobias. Read on and you'll see this isn't
true.
Where do our fears come from? Through hypnosis it is often possible
to regress back to the time when our particular fear first originated. This may
be in our recent past, childhood, during our birth experience, in the womb, or
in a past life.
Take, for example, the fear of taking tests. One of our patients traced the
origin to a previous life as a ten-year old boy in a one room schoolhouse who
was unjustly punished for making a mistake in class. Because of his humiliation
in that experience, he carried with him into this life an unexplainable
performance anxiety. Another of our patients had a terrifying fear of
bridges. In hypnotic regression she was able to remember six other lifetimes
where she had had fatal or extremely frightening encounters with heights and
bridges. It is important not only to recall these prior traumas, but to relive
the trauma until it no longer has an emotional charge. These fears can then be
released for good.
Phobias in this lifetime can be generated by shocking or startling
incidents which make a profound and lasting impression on us. Thereafter,
whenever we find ourselves in a similar situation, this impression is
restimulated. Bob, for example, had a terrifying near-drowning experience at
the New Jersey shore when he was three years old. He was knocked over violently
by what he perceived as a huge wave and was under the water, unable to breathe,
for several minutes. This left with him a per-sistent fear of water which was
overcome only through private lessons with a very patient swimming
instructor.
Trauma in the womb or during our birth is a much more frequent cause of
fearfulness than most of us remember or imagine, but is widely recognized by
hypnotherapists and rebirthers. One of our patients complained of a lasting
fear of success and creativity which was traced to her mother's labor being
delayed through medications until the obstetrician finished his golf game.
Another patient who suffers a generalized fear of people was born to teenage
alcoholic mother who told her baby in the womb every day that she wished she
would die. Many of us, when we retrace our memories back to the moment of our
own births, describe a tremendous fear of leaving the safety and comfort of our
mother's body and the light from which we came. Reliving our births in an
atmosphere of safety and support can have profound effects on allowing us to
release fear and insecurity in the present and future.