Letting Go of Fear by Aeeshah Ababio-Clottey and Kokomon Clottey continued from Part I Inner Peace and True Health Most of the time when we think of health, we think of our physical body. However, our focus in this book is about our mind and our great need for inner peace, which leads to racial healing. Mother Teresa, who worked so devotedly during her lifetime to uplift the poor and diseased, said that the most serious problem facing us in this century is spiritual deprivation. InnerSelf Magazine Thousands of articles on health, lifestyle changes, behavior, parenting astrology, and much more. Holistic Politics Social and political commentary, discussion forums, and thousands of news feeds. Natural Yellow Pages Listings of natural products and services worldwide. List your natural product or service. Article Index - Back Online Soon Links to related articles around the web. Share a link to your articles online here. InnerSelf Market Natural products sold and shipped by Innerself We are inclined to resonate with this belief, and for this reason we have defined racism as a life-threatening illness, a deprivation of the spirit. We have learned that racial harmony cannot be legislated. It is not a legal issue. It is a heart issue. Today more than ever we are torn emotionally over the issue of race.  From the perspective of attitudinal healing, health is not about our physical condition; instead, health is seen as a state of being free of fear -- a mental state. Health is a state of being free of conflict, free of emotional pain, free of guilt. Health is a harmonious state -- alive, energetic, loving, and kind. In this state, we can experience a personal transformation. This is what true health is. You may be asking yourself right now: How can I experience this? Our belief is that you experience health by letting go of fear and setting a single goal of experiencing inner peace. You learn to let go of fear every time you intentionally keep your heart open at the very moment that you most feel like contracting. By breathing into the area in your chest that starts to constrict when you are afraid, you are choosing health and healing over fear and separation. Putting the Principle into Practice "Health is inner peace,  and healing is letting go of fear. 1. We have been working with the principles of attitudinal healing for some time, and we still find that we struggle with them, especially when we are challenged with an opportunity to let go of our fears about the "other". None of us wants to admit that we may be feeling guilty or victimized, or that we may be acting as an oppressor when confronted with racial, cultural, class, or gender issues. And, let's face it, when we are experiencing fear, we cannot feel peaceful; we cannot experience true health.  The key factor when we are faced with a fearful belief is to make the choice not to resist the feeling. We can admit to ourselves that we are not peaceful and ask for help and express our fears and prejudices honestly. We have learned that it is often difficult to resolve these kinds of issues alone. The quickest way to let go of fear is to reach out to another human being. Many times we are experiencing so much embarrassment with issues related to racism that we are unable to ask for help. We bury our feelings. Simply reaching out to a friend or family member we trust can help us begin to change this dynamic. 2. However, if you find yourself experiencing the constriction of fear around the issue of race and you are not able to reach out to another, sit down quietly and do the following: Take a pen and paper and begin to list all your fearful thoughts about race. These might include your fears of the "other", as well as your fears about your own prejudice.  Take several long, deep breaths as you list your fears, imagining yourself breathing the fears out as you list them. Then, make a contrasting list of loving images and breathe deeply. As you take these deep breaths, imagine yourself breathing in all the love from your positive images. 3. Remember, letting your breath flow and keeping your chest open allows you to let go of fear, and letting go of fear will bring you the true health of inner peace. This article was excerpted from "Beyond Fear: Twelve Spiritual Keys to Racial Healing" by Aeeshah Abadio-Clottey & Kokomon Clottey. ?1999. Excerpted with permission from the publishers, H J Kramer, PO Box 1082, Tiburon, California. All rights reserved. Info/Order this book. About The Authors Recipients of the Jampolsky Award for Exemplary Work in Attitudinal Healing for the Racial Healing Project and the Ghana Project, Aeeshah Abadio-Clottey and Kokomon Clottey are internationally recognized for their workshops on racial healing. Together they founded the Attitudinal Healing Connection in Oakland, California, and Ghana, West Africa. The Attitudinal Healing Connection's website is www.ancestralhealing.com. Comments (0) >> Write comment Name Website Title Comment Write the displayed characters Add Comment

 

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