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In our last issue, we looked at how desire plays a great
role in brainpower. In this issue, we look at how fear does that.
Fear plays a great role in brainpower.
Example 1. A person has a lump and fears it might be cancer so
doesn't get medical assistance. Everyone knows that the earlier you address
such a problem, the easier it is to do so. Yet, people wait. This applies to
persistent coughs, headaches, and other symptoms. By a twisted sense of
logic, they pretend the problem isn't there--in hopes it won't be.
Example 2. We all know crime is a fact of life. Always has been,
always will be. But people fear being a victim. By a twisted sense of logic,
they pretend the problem isn't there--in hopes it won't be. So, they don't
take common sense precautions: install deadbolt locks, work with neighbors
and police to create a security-conscious neighborhood, obtain the correct
home defense hardware and learn to use it effectively, rehearse a home
invasion, determine exit routes, etc.
Of course in the first example the real solution (99.999% of the time) is
to eat right and exercise. But once the symptoms are there, ignoring them
doesn't solve the problem.
IMO, the second problem can be greatly ameliorated by reducing the size
and power of the federal government. Its policies over the last 50 years or
so have done enormous damage and the pace accelerated over the last 20.
Just look at the so-called "free trade" as an example. This pits American
companies against companies that don't have the costs of complying with
American laws, without the offsetting tariff to balance things out. The
predictable result is the loss of hundreds of thousands of American jobs.
New jobs spring up, but not fast enough. Even so, why should we need new
jobs when there was nothing wrong with the old ones other than extremely bad
public policy?
Yes, it's true that the incessant brainwashing lulls people into a stupor
of inaction. But haven't we learned from September 11, Hurricane Katrina,
and other examples that the government doesn't protect us? Haven't we
learned from Ruby Ridge, Oklahoma City, Waco, and every April 15th that the
government is quite willing and able to do the exact opposite of protecting
us?
Transferring our fear into a misplaced sense of trust--relying on the fox
to guard us chickens--isn't a solution sane folks should adopt.
In the Mindconnection eNL, I've talked about virtual lobotomies that
shuttle all information processing to the amygdala. But I have overlooked
something. That shuttling reduces our brainpower to the level that a reptile
has. But reptiles defend themselves.
Let's drop down the brain scale all the way to a wasp. Here's a creature
in which an amygdala would be a major brain upgrade. Aha--you just thought,
"The same can be said for my CONgressman!" :)
A wasp knows to sense danger and take action to overcome it. Attack a
wasp's nest, and you realize they fight back.
So, how in the heck do we develop liberals? I am speaking not of classic
liberals but of people who label themselves as liberals and are actually
statists--they look to the government to solve all problems. Their idea of
government is "the bigger the better." Lest any registered Democrats get too
upset, by this definition Bob Dole is a liberal.
These are creatures whose brains are so disabled that they have less
sense than a wasp. Or even a housefly. A classic liberal would never suggest
that rolling out the red carpet for violent criminals is a good idea.
Today's "liberal" not only suggests this but can see no other choice. While
a wasp believes it has a natural right to defend itself and its hive (its
family) from aggression or even death, a liberal believes that humans do not
have that right. The liberal insists that, despite overwhelming evidence to
the contrary, this job falls to the government. Thus, in this era of
school violence, "we"--at the behest of liberals--tell teachers they are not
allowed to protect themselves or their students while on school property.
This stupidity doesn't come from a shift to the amygdala. It comes from
"government is the answer" brainwashing.
Now, I'm not suggesting that government is the source of all evil and we
need to abolish it. Government is much like hot sauce. A little bit is good.
Too much, and you have an unpleasant experience. Overdo it beyond a certain
point, and even your your a-- gets burned. We are way, way, way beyond that
point.
But back to the brainpower issue. Fear makes us seek a solution. The
"government is the answer" brainwashing works because it provides an easy
answer. You don't have to do anything but trust an alphabet soup of
incompetent agencies. If you can buy into that, you can allay your fears
instantly. The problem, of course, is that proposition is entirely false.
What do to in the face of fear
Rather than be paralyzed into inaction as in Example 1 or conned into it
as in Example 2, use fear to increase your brainpower.
- Let the fear roll over you. Understand that fear is natural. Don't
treat it as something to be avoided. Treat it as a call to action. Your
action.
- Analyze the fear. When in an emotional state, analysis isn't easy.
So, we're not looking to do anything complex here. Ask two simple
questions: "Why do I have this fear? What are the possible dangers that
are triggering it?"
- Identify the danger. From the previous step, you have a list of
possibilities. Look at each one. Decide which of those are real. You may
need to take a deep breath and calm down, or you may need to make a
computer-like instant judgment, depending on the situation. None of this
is a "deep thought" process.
- Identify a course of action. Do you simply remove yourself from the
danger (flight), or do you act to neutralize the danger (fight)? Very
simple decision.
- Take the action.
Dealing with danger
Dangers come in a variety of styles and colors! One point
of differentiation is the immediacy.
Example 1. Joe has a vague fear of a terrorist attack.
What can he do about this? He can talk to people about the Fair Tax,
www.fairtax.org, in an effort to
eliminate the top terrorist group in the world. He can make a point of being
vigilant and reporting suspect activities to law enforcement. He can do a
lot of things, other than simply trust the government to take care of it.
The government didn't do much to reduce the terror of an innocent family on
Ruby Ridge, and it has failed in countless other ways. So taking positive
action not only helps allay the fear but it helps reduce the underlying
cause.
Example 2. A noise awakens Joe in the dead of the night.
Someone is in his home. Now he's really afraid. What are his options? He can
call 911 and wait 20 minutes, or he can transfer his fear he into the
invading criminal via use of a firearm.
Example 3. Someone stops you and says, "Your money or
your life." That's pretty frightening. What do you do? Odds are, you'll lose
your life anyway. So swallow your fear and attack. Law enforcement people
consistently tell us to comply, but actual case histories show that is the
worst possible response. If you have an RTC, use your weapon. If you are
unarmed, use what's available. If there is no weapon, become one. Your
response will transfer your fear into the mind of your attacker.
Example 4. Anna fears she will lose her job. She has
coworkers with this same fear. She notices many people talk about who's
getting laid off next. They are hoping their "big brother" employer won't
cast them aside. Anna decides to identify which things make an employee more
likely to be laid off and less likely to be laid off. She develops a plan to
greatly reduce her odds of being cut, and she puts that plan into action.
Example 5. Jennifer's pulse races as she commutes to
work. She frequently has close encounters and driving in traffic is an
exercise in sheer terror for her. Worse, the effects make her unable to
focus for the first couple of hours at work and she fears this will damage
not only her immediate employment but her long-term career prospects. She
decides to do two things. The first is to take a defensive driving course,
to reduce her vulnerability while exposed during the dangerous trip. The second
is to reduce her exposure by telecommuting two days a week, which she
proposes to her employer after preparing a compelling case advantageous to
her employer.
Proper programming
When you program yourself to always respond to fear in a
manner that addresses the cause of the fear, your brain operates from a
position of calm. This means your cortex can kick in. For immediate dangers,
this isn't as useful. But for situations that are drawn out or chronic, it
can make all the difference. As in that last example.
It's a useful exercise to keep a diary of fears for one
week. Just write down what you feel. For example, "fear of getting front
fender clipped on interstate," "fear I might have bad breath," etc.
After that week has passed, pick the top 3 fears from
that list. That is, which items cause you to be most fearful. There is no
right answer--just pick 3. If it's hard to decide, don't agonize. It's not
so important that you get the exact 3 as that you come up with a list of 3
important fears. What you don't want to do is work on minor fears or try to
fix everything at once. The number 3 is a good limit, for reasons that will
become apparent as you work on this.
Next, think about each of those 3 fears. Try to determine
the cause(s) of each. Then, make a list of potential fixes or counteractions
for each one. Develop a plan and follow it. Once you are able to cross off a
fear from your list, pick out another one.
By doing this, you will find fear stops interfering with
your brainpower. You will also find yourself immune to brainwashing, because
you are in the mode of taking action to solve your problems rather than
relying on the empty promises of a pharmaceutical ad, government propaganda,
political campaign ad, or some
other nonsense. |
