Naguib Mahfouz was an amazing, Nobel Prize winning writer who was one of the first Egyptian authors to explore themes of existentialism. He died in 2006 at the age of 94 and is remembered for so many stirring novels, short stories, and movie scripts that he wrote over his prolific career.

But of all his works, there is one quote that is perhaps Mahfouz’ most powerful:

Fear does not prevent death, it prevents life.

When we cling to fear, not only do we give it power over our lives, but we also limit our perception.

Everything we see (perceive) is nothing but a projection of what’s in our mind. And when we choose fear as our source, then all we will experience is various forms of fear. Fear of other people, fear of certain situations, fear of certain outcomes, fear of the unknown, and perhaps most significant to humans, fear of death.

The dissolution of “me” or “my family” is an incredibly challenging concept to us as healthy egos. Our entire concept of reality is bound up in me. So anything that threatens that in any way is fearful.

And by choosing fear, in the words of Mahfouz, we are missing out on life.

Yet what we don’t realize is that fear isn’t real. We made it all up as a way to preserve our ego mind.

For fear lies not in reality, but in the minds of children who do not understand reality. It is only their lack of understanding that frightens them, and when they learn to perceive truly they are not afraid. (T-11.VIII.14)

When we learn to perceive truly then fear disappears. True reality emerges, and life is incredibly joyful.

Join us in Monday’s class where we’ll explore this concept of fear preventing life and how we can make a different choice that leads to a much happier outcome. I look forward to seeing you then.