Fear, Faith, and Believing vs. Knowing

Fear is deeply rooted in uncertainty. Think about it; the only you've ever feared was the unknown. All fear and fears humans have experienced and continue to experience is rooted in uncertainty. A drive in an unfamiliar place can prompt fear, an unknown result, a stranger behind you, or a dark alley.

Any life uncertainty can fuel human fear. Sometimes we even use references to light when talking about knowledge ("he is so bright"). Knowledge takes away from uncertainty and thus reduces fear (to "brighten up" the dark alley). Your friend might know that stranger behind you (his name is Joe and he likes the Beatles). You found the unfamiliar place in a map(You were one street from your house). Us humans find comfort in "knowing" things; It gives us certainty and a sense of stability. It is the "knowledge" of everything that we have always sought. "To know" has become our goal, as individuals and as a planet. To "know" is to be certain.

Beliefs, however, are very different in that we can choose what to believe. "Do you believe in life after death?"- "Do you believe in God?" To believe is to choose a truth, where as to know is to be certain of that truth. I know my name is Alex, I do not merely believe it is. Beliefs leave a small room for doubt; and doubt creates uncertainty. Having said this I see a lot of people misguiding their positive intentions by convincing themselves into "believing" this positive outcome or that positive scenario. The problem with this approach to life is that you will always know that you can choose to believe something else, and thus deep down you will know that whatever you are choosing to believe is not Truth. It is merely a passing illusion, one that may or may not serve you for a period in time. What I suggest instead is to have faith. Have faith in whatever you have chosen to have faith in.

To have faith (true faith) is to trust, and trust gives certainty, and certainty is tied to knowledge, and knowledge leads to truth! We have come a long way in our evolution as a self-aware species, and although we still have much to learn (and experience), man we have grown up so fast! It almost makes me want to stick all of humanity next to a wall and trace how many inches we've grown just in the past 100 years. You and I and everyone we see and know are creating this world with our experiences and our intentions. I believe?I mean?I know (and have faith) that we are all going to be alright.

Alexander Fuentes is currently a student of Metaphysics, He resides in Boston,Ma. He writes on numerous New Age topics including meditation, Unity, psychic awareness, faith, and happiness. His homepage is http://www.myspace.com/alexander_fuentes

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