I'm doing a research paper on the Navajo Indians. I read that one of their beliefs was that, in a nutshell, malevolent spirits cause sickness/torture etc.. to people who have the greatest fears. If someone was sick they would sometimes ask shamans to go into the Spirit World to help out whoever was being attacked/sick.
Ring a bell???
That's one of the pieces of advice I see most common here on the Pulse with spiritual evolution, and is one of the cornerstones of Tom Campbells idea in how to spiritually evolve - have no fear.
Also, Robert Bruce says the best way to attract demons is to have fear.
Very interesting
Sorry for re-post
But in addition they said that one of the best ways to find the strength to overcome evil is by turning inward and using one's own powers - a concept I've seen very often from BlueFirePhoenix here on the Pulse.
These ancient cultures were pretty smart.. :-D
Excellent observation, fear has to be the first emotion you need to master. You don't ever lose it, you master it. This makes it insignificant in it's effectiveness and leaves you in control. There will be times where you'll meet it again, however, these are short lived as you grab a hold of your sensibilities and take the reigns again.
In the NP the manifestations from fear create more and the runaway effect deepens until you wake yourself. We've all had nightmares and these are a perfect example.
Face them.
Win the battle and the rest is worth the war.
It's not just Navajo. It's nearly a universal shamanic concept which is addressed in similar ways through a variety of cultures. I sorta knew about it before I started the initiatory path last year. What I went through and experienced totally reinforced this. The path is different but the concept still remained largely intact. It's amazing we're trying to turn to weird and rare plants for medicine but ignoring the most common treatement for serious illnesses that has been used for centuries ... now if there wasn't anything to it why would intelligent rational people continue to use it so consistently.
Szaxx, It really speaks to being calm and observant, not letting fear take control.
Bluefirephoenix, it really is weird isn't it? But people don't think ancient cultures were intelligent or rational. Like we learned in Astronomy. "Modern" civilizations wanted to completely get rid of supernatural ideas for why things happen, and instead turn to what they thought was rational - which would be anything scientifically proven. I guess that's why so many people AP/OBE is so irrational, because they haven't scientifically proven it.
It actually has been but it's not a popular thing so it gets ignored. Politics play a major role in science and medicine.
Wrong section.