No Fear: How Never to Be Afraid of Anything Yes! Anything!

By Marvin C. Sterling Ph. D.

Are you the sort of person who is not content simply to judge life according to surface appearances? Do you seek answers to the deeper questions of human existence? Do you feel a profound yearning for something "higher" than a merely materialisic view of the world? Are you curious about the meaning of life? the mystery of death? the nature of "ultimate reality?" the significance of human mortality? Do you have a desire to cultivate the inner life of the mind? Do you wish to achieve more harmonious states of psychological health, and greater effectiveness in everyday living? Do you believe in higher states of consciousness? Do you find that you are naturally drawn toward subjects such as meditation, self-improvement, near-death experiences, and other topics of a "spiritual" nature? Do you blieve that the key to "material prosperity" may perhaps lie in right THINKING?

If the answer to any of the above questions is "yes," we strongly urge you to purchase the book whose back cover are now reading. For you are precisely the kind of person who is capable of benefiting most from a serious and sustained study of this highly practical guide to spiritual progress.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Nov 13, 2000
• ISBN: 9781469772493

Marvin C. Sterling Ph. D.

Dr. Sterling has devoted many years of study and reflection to various fields of inquiry that have important implications for the ideal of optimal mental health. In this connection, he believes that the most significant thing to understand is that genuine mental health is founded on "spirituality," and that it is intimately tied to those higher states of consciousness that define true spirituality. Dr. Sterling holds academic degrees from the University of California, in both Psychology and Philosophy. Moreover, he has written extensively on the Philosophy of Religion. He is a Professor of Philosophy by profession. However, unlike perhaps the majority of academics, he is fully persuaded that the central concepts and core teachings of the world's religions are essentially correct.

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© 2000 by Marvin C. Sterling

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Contents

Introduction

On Sanity and Insanity

The Pan-Spiritualist Worldview

More on the Nature of the Soul

Ontotherapeutic Self-Talk

From the Wisdom of Judaism

From the Wisdom of Christianity

From the Wisdom of Hinduism

From the Wisdom of Buddhism

From the Wisdom of Islam

From the Wisdom of Baha’u’llah

From the Wisdom of Abdu’l-Baha

From the Philosophical Tradition

Introduction

If we look back over the history of thought, starting from the earliest periods and coming down to the present, we will discover that the most able and accomplished philosophers have always regarded the practice of philosophy to be a form of psychotherapy. In fact, if the practice of philosophy is carried out in the proper fashion, it may rightly be described as the very highest form of psychotherapy. Thus, the therapeutic role of philosophy in the life of the soul was recognized in the mystery schools of Ancient Egypt, by the sages of India, by the Greek philosophers (e.g., Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato, Epictetus, and Plotinus), and by a host of other distinguished thinkers, extending down to the present day.

Moreover, the practice of philosophy is therapeutic not only in the sense of being a means of treating mental illness, but also in the broader sense which involves the promotion of mental health as a positive attainment (i.e., as something more than the mere absence of illness). For, healing the mind is definitely something more than just getting rid of mental illness; it is not a simple either-or, all-or-none proposition, as it would be if health were the mere absence of sickness. That is why it is possible for us to continue expanding and improving our mental health, even after all sickness of mind has already been overcome.

As anyone would naturally conclude from its title, this book will have a lot to say about fear. Or, to speak more accurately, this is a book about overcoming fear. The most basic assumption made in the writing of this book is that it is indeed possible for us to eliminate fear from our lives, entirely, ABSOLUTELY! How can we accomplish this? Expressing it in a very simple manner, we may say: Fear can be totally banished from our lives by the conscientious practice of ontotherapy. I use the term ontotherapy to refer to the kind of philosophic activity I just described. That is, ontotherapy is simply philosophic activity engaged in for the specific purpose of establishing mental health in oneself and/or in others. Moreover, establishing mental health and eliminating fear are just two different ways of describing one and the same process.

The prefix onto (pronounced AWN-TOH, with stress on the first syllable) is taken from the word ontology. Ontology is the science of Being,or the study of Ultimate Reality; it is the most basic subdivision of philosophy. The key premise of ontotherapy is that genuine mental health is based on self-knowledge, which in turn is based on the knowledge of Ultimate Reality. Thus, ontotherapy proceeds on the assumption that the real source of our psychological well-being is nothing other than correct thinking, whereas emotional disturbance is the result of incorrect thinking. Briefly, ontotherapy is philosophically-grounded psychotherapy.

Ontotherapy is similar in certain respects to several contemporary schools of thought that emphasize the role of cognition. Thus, it can be placed in the same general category as Alfred Adler’s Individual Psychology, the rational-emotive therapy of Albert Ellis, and the cognitive therapy of Aaron Beck; for all three of these approaches to therapy have in common with ontotherapy the same basic assumptions about the significance of erroneous thinking as the main cause of emotional disorders.

However, ontotherapy is also very different from such contemporary therapies. For, while these other cognitive therapies are primarily secular in orientation, ontotherapy stresses the point that attainment of the highest degrees of mental health is only possible when deeper levels of philosophic understanding are achieved. It seeks to push this philosophic understanding up to the level of religious insight, or, in other words, to refine this philosophic understanding to the point of transforming it into genuinely spiritual insight concerning the human soul, God, and the universe. In short, its goal is not simply to promote superficial positive thinking, but rather to establish metaphysically accurate thinking, so that a healthy emotional life may arise on the basis of such accuracy of thought.

Now, ontotherapy is actually something from which every human being can benefit. It is vitally important for each one of us to work with diligence toward eliminating the various forms of mental illness from which we may suffer. And it is even more important for us to realize that we are eternal beings, capable of making progress in the enhancement of our mental health unendingly into the future. Ontotherapy is a means by which we can achieve these results.

Mental health, strictly speaking, is a condition of the soul. And this condition of the soul has an unlimited possibility for refinement and strengthening. In other words, no matter how far we may advance in this process of strengthening and refining, it is always possible to go further (it is always possible for the health of the soul to become even stronger and more refined).

My aim in writing this book is to familiarize the reader with certain powerful philosophic truths which have relevance to the field of psychotherapy. However, this book has been written for the general public; it is not intended exclusively for professional philosophers. Therefore, I have attempted to express these philosophic truths primarily in nontechnical language. The word truths is important; I have deliberately chosen to use that term here. For, in actually speaking of truths—in this totally non-hedging fashion—I depart from the usual approach of a great many contemporary philosophers. I refer to those philosophers who regard all truth as merely relative. Such philosophers typically try to avoid taking a firm and definite position on the issues they discuss, for fear of appearing to be dogmatic. However, as I see it, one of the most egregious mistakes which any human being can make is to believe that there are no absolutes.

Accordingly, in this book my goal is to convey truth, absolute truth, with respect to the issues I shall deal with. I make no tacit assumption of relativism, and I explicitly reject the notion that there can be wisdom without answers. For, to have wisdom just is to be in possession of some answers.

Nevertheless, the truths which I seek to communicate in this book are not to be simply believed blindly; they are set forth with the aim of practice in mind, and it is precisely by means of continued daily practice that these truths can be verified independently by each reader. Briefly, anyone who actually puts into practice the ideas presented in this book, and who does so with seriousness and persistence, will make steady progress toward overcoming all sickness of soul; will lay the foundation for perpetual improvement in the positive health of the soul; and will even have taken a significant step toward establishing and maintaining the health of the physical body.

1

On Sanity and Insanity

People are disturbed not by things, but by their view of things. Epictetus

(Stoic philosopher, 1st century A.D.)

Materialism is a weak flame that is blown out by the breath of mature thinking…the clue to the meaning of ultimate reality is found in Personality. This personal idealism remains today my basic philosophical position. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Strength to Love) & (Stride Toward Freedom)

In this book I will devote considerable attention to the subject of insanity; therefore, I would like to begin by telling you exactly what I mean by that word. I use the word insanity in an extremely inclusive sense. In fact, I shall employ this term in a sense so broad as to apply to all varieties and degrees of mental unsoundness, that is, to all sick-ness-of-soul. For, there is a common thread that runs through all of the diverse forms in which mental unsoundness, or sickness-of-soul, may appear. To be specific, the vastly numerous forms of sickness which the human soul can exhibit all involve certain closely interconnected modes of thinking, feeling, and behaving. In other words, an insane person is someone who has thoughts, feelings, and behavior of a certain sort.

But if it is something about the way in which insane persons think, feel, and behave that justifies our saying that they are insane, what exactly is this something? The answer is as follows: Those particular patterns of thought, feeling and behavior which form the basis of psychopathology are distinguished by the fact that—in certain respects—they are out of keeping with the real nature of things. Mental unsoundness is based on the disposition to think, feel, and behave in ways that clash with how the world is actually constituted. It is habitually to exhibit thoughts, feelings, and actions which do not agree with the way in which the universe is in fact put together. Briefly, to be insane is to be out of touch with reality and, as a consequence, fundamentally mistaken about what reality is like.

So, again, when I speak of insanity, I refer to the entire range of those widely differing kinds of unhealthiness which can afflict the soul, however mild or severe they may happen to be. I stress this at the outset, for it is a point which must be borne in mind, if a certain key assumption of this book is to be rightly understood. That assumption is the following: Insanity—in some form or degree—is nearly universal among human beings. Almost all of us are in some measure insane, or at least have been insane throughout a significant portion of our human existence.

Of course, in saying this, I do not mean that all human beings are psychotic. But, even in the broad sense of the word which I have just outlined, what could possibly justify so drastic a claim as that all human beings are insane? How can anyone say such a thing? The answer to this question will become altogether obvious, once we have arrived at a clear understanding of the nature of this universal insanity afflicting humankind. For there is something about the human condition itself which favors the rise of this insanity, that is, something in the human condition itself which makes it highly probable that such insanity will develop.

So, what exactly is this insanity to which the human condition is conducive? That is the question which I shall address in this first chapter. And, of course, as we move toward a better understanding of exactly what this insanity is, we shall simultaneously be advancing towards deeper insight into the true nature of sanity, as a positive quality of the soul. Accordingly, the account of insanity to be presented here will be followed by some fairly detailed remarks concerning its opposite, that is, sanity (or genuine healthiness-of-soul).

Some Possible Real Life Situations

Let us take a first step in the direction of clarifying these matters by constructing certain imaginary situations with which any human being might conceivably be faced at some point. In developing these accounts, I shall talk in terms of the grammatical second person singular, that is, I will use the word you. It goes without saying that these references to you apply to the hypothetical individual depicted, and are no reflection on you personally.

Imagine that you are standing in line at the supermarket to pay for some groceries. As the cashier scans the various items selected for purchase by the person in line ahead of you, you notice that this person simply stands motionless the whole time, watching the cashier as she removes each item from the shopping cart and registers its price. You observe, moreover, that this person is holding nothing in his hands except a set of keys; and you notice in particular that he is not holding a checkbook. At this point you think to yourself, Surely this person will pay for his groceries with cash. However, when the cashier finally finishes her scanning, and displays the total, this customer slowly looks at the price, and then pauses for a few seconds. Eventually he reaches into his coat pocket; removes a checkbook from it; takes out a pen from another pocket; and at last begins to write down the requisite information on his check in order to pay for his groceries.

As you observe all of this you become mildly irritated at the person’s thoughtlessness. You inwardly condemn him for causing such a needless delay, and you even catch yourself uttering a few expletives subvocally (that is, silently cursing this person for his lack of consideration for others). But again, your overall reaction is comparatively mild. You are nowhere near any sort of intense emotional outburst; you are just moderately angry. Nevertheless, the simple truth is that this mild irritation of yours is a thoroughly insane reaction to the situation depicted. It is the manifestation of a certain unhealthiness of soul; furthermore, it is the type of reaction which tends most definitely—although insidiously—to undermine the health of your physical body.

Why do I say this? I say this because in the hypothetical situation which we have imaginatively constructed you inwardly engaged in a certain line of thinking. You embraced a certain definite thought, or more precisely, you entertained a specific cluster of closely interrelated thoughts. Moreover, all varieties of thinking are inextricably bound up with the particular feelings which correspond to them. In other words, FEELING ACCOMPANIES THOUGHT; and it is so intimately connected to thought that you actually cannot even think a given thought, without also experiencing the specific feeling (sometimes faint, sometimes intense) which naturally corresponds to that thought. Thus, in the situation depicted you not only embraced certain thoughts, but rather also simultaneously experienced the particular feelings which accompany such thoughts, namely anger and irritation. But, the important point here is that your mental condition, your overall state of consciousness in this situation—despite the mildness of the emotions involved—was incompatible with a state of inner peace. It is this absence of inner peace which constitutes the proof that you are mentally unsound (even if only moderately so).

Of course, we are only dealing now with an imaginary situation. But how would you actually confront a real situation of this sort? Would your own reaction to the thoughtless shopper similarly be one of annoyance? How would you handle such a situation?

After exiting the supermarket you happen to notice a homeless person sitting on the sidewalk. This homeless person is busy begging customers for money as they leave the store. You quickly observe this person more closely. Unkempt in appearance, with tattered clothing, and malodorous in the extreme, he seems shockingly filthy, and you are gripped by a wave of loathing disgust as you look at him.

Without really observing yourself in the act of thinking, you nonetheless think a series of thoughts such as the following:

"What I see sitting there on the sidewalk in front of me just is a person; that revolting figure which I see is actually a human being like myself, and this human being is clearly in a state of great misery, deprivation, and affliction. The very fact that such suffering and abasement have befallen this particular human being is clear proof that similar suffering and abasement are at least a possibility for every human being. There is, then, obviously, no real guarantee of well-being and prosperity for any human being, including myself. The bad things which have happened to this homeless person could conceivably also happen to me. For all persons DANGER exists perpetually; for all human beings there exists the ever-present DANGER of poverty, lack, limitation, wretchedness, death, and annihilation. No one is truly safe!"

At the same time as you are thinking the above thoughts you also experience an intricate cluster of associated feelings. In addition to the revulsion, the contempt, the disgust and loathing which you feel, you also experience a certain sadness, a vague sort of anxiety, a pitying empathy, a trace of fear, and a profound sense of insecurity.

Insanity’s Main Source

Now, it is clear that the above-described thoughts and feelings are not necessarily signs of severe mental derangement; they do not necessarily point to what a psychologist, for instance, might refer to as psychosis. Nevertheless, this particular complex of thoughts and feelings is an altogether reliable indication of the existence of insanity in the person by whom it is exhibited. That is to say, these thoughts and feelings are unmistakable evidence of the presence of an underlying unhealthiness of soul. In a word, they constitute definitive proof that you are mentally unsound. For these thoughts and feelings—taken together—make for an overall state of consciousness which is thoroughly misguided (i.e., TOTALLY IN ERROR) about certain key issues of human existence.

The main source of this deluded state of consciousness is a certain faulty theory of human nature. In other words, this delusion arises and maintains itself on the basis of a certain incorrect view regarding what human beings are. Fundamentally, it is a certain WRONG-MINDEDNESS afflicting the soul, a kind of misguided outlook on life in general. But at the very core of this delusion is