There were a number of Harry Potter movies on TV recently.
This got me thinking about dementors.
Harry Potter's dementors were dangerous because they first sucked the joy and hope from a person, then they sucked the soul out of them.
Do you realize we have present day, real life dementors? There is something a lot of us fall pray to that sucks the hope and joy from us and I believe it is totally capable of sucking the very soul from us.
What is this horrible thing and why have we let it loose on the planet? This horrible thing is FEAR and yes we have let it loose on this planet.
I believe we welcomed fear as soon as we left Eden.
We were afraid of wild animals, we were afraid that the rains would not come, that the herd animals would not migrate, that the gods would be angry.
I could write ten pages just listing all the things we as humanity have been afraid of through the ages and this would not even touch our personal private fears! Why do we allow this fear to persist? OK, some fear is good, it keeps us safe.
But what about the fear that wakes us up in the middle of the night in a panic about current relationship troubles or our pile of bills that we can't pay.
This is the fear I am talking about; this silent invader that does not contribute a solution but keeps our mind in a panic so we can not think logically.
This is not a good thing.
This fear sucks the joy right out of life.
This is the fear that caused people to jump out of multi-story buildings during the great stock crash that preceded the 'Great Depression'.
This is the fear that smothers hope.
What can you do about it? The solution in the Harry Potter movies was to eat chocolate.
I had a friend in college who would get in a fight with her boyfriend then sit and eat a quart container of Milk Duds.
Chocolate releases endorphins that make you feel good.
But this good feeling brought on by the chocolate is not long lasting.
There has to be a better, longer lasting way, and there is! No it does not involve years of professional psychiatric help although that is available for those who want that path.
However there are a number of things you personally can do to relieve the fear in your life.
1.
The first step in overcoming fear is to take action.
Do something to help change your path so you have less worry and fear.
If you are worried about losing your job, work on your resume or start a search for a new job.
Take action to lead you in a different direction.
Sometimes just taking action can alleviate the worry.
Taking action will put you in a more hopeful mindset and back in control.
2.
Sometimes we worry about something that we have no control over.
Does this worry and fear help? Does the situation change because you worry? No, it does not.
Your best bet in changing the situation is to let go of the fear.
Replace it with faith that the 'Universe', God, or what higher power you believe in wants to bring you good things.
Release the worry and latch on to faith, believe that good is coming your way, and then expect it.
Whenever you find yourself thinking fearful, worried thoughts, shift them back to expecting good to come your way.
This will also put the 'law of attraction' working in your favor.
Remember that what you think about comes about.
I know that this step is often a hard one to accomplish, but it is very important, in fact I would say it is crucial.
The next two steps can help you accomplish this step successfully.
3.
Gratitude is an important ingredient in letting go of the fear.
Be thankful for what you have right now.
Just making a list each day of 10 things you are grateful for can help.
Some days it may be a struggle, you may find yourself writing that you are grateful that the day is over.
But be grateful! Fell the emotion behind gratitude.
You will find it gets easier to find more things to be grateful for if you practice this each day.
4.
A great way to totally eradicate negative emotions (such as fear and worry) is to use EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) or some other form of Meridian Tapping.
Start by getting a notebook and writing down all the incidents in your life that have been uncomfortable for you.
Anything that caused you pain or problems or anyone that caused any form of emotional turmoil.
You are not just looking for things or events that caused fear in your life, but anything you wish had not happened.
Our emotions are often so tangled together that the first emotion to surface may be anger but often anger is just a cover for an underlying fear.
You should come up with at least 50 items or events to write on your list.
Now pick one of the items and start to apply EFT or Meridian Tapping to any emotion that arises.
When you clear one emotion another may take its place.
When you can finally replay the event or think of the person with no negative emotion, move to a new item and do it again.
It may take 30 minutes or more to clear one event, but it will be worth it.
After you have cleared a number of issues, your life will start to feel calmer and more in control.
Use of the above techniques will lead to a calmer more peaceful life, one where you are back in control not your fears.