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in our view, actually, human race has come into its deepest crisis in history. our life is marked by the central emotion of fear. fear has been making us build walls in front of each other. out of that, we are seperated into groups of politics, traditions, religions, different isms. out of that, we are continiously trying to prostelytize each other, peacefully and warful. a world of perpretators and victims, hunter and hunted, winners and losers. even though the surface of our social systems looks democratic, real life has not changed since the middle ages, even worse! we seem to march back into conditions of slaughtering hounds, rattles in the overcrowded cage practising captalism. or maybe we are just faerful orphans in search of home? it is fear what makes us do terrible things. it is the barricade between chances of understanding each other. but as we think, the precondition of understanding each other is self-understanding. asking ourselves, what fear is hunting us and where it comes from, should be a better preoccupation than fighting. in our view, the answers to this question cannot be found here and now, but in the past of our history. at some point of our evolution, something terrible must have frightened us and makes us run away untli now. going back with today´s maturity of teenagers and coming through the situation a second time, maybe could be a chance to stand the shock and go out of that experience as grown ups with a new sense of responsibility. but we cannot go back. not really.

Fear as each emotion surely have had a value in evolution. it is a useful emotion used certainly in order to survive, and to get ready to escape any kind of danger, by anticipating it. But as well as anguish, pushed to some extrem, it becomes more a restraint, than something useful to adapt. on the whole violence comes from it. I think that during each period humanity had faced fears, nothing new for today. Only their nature have changed because what we need to adapt evolves as well. One day, I fall on the book of that man, Jacques Salome, dealing with intercommunications. The view he is defending is that : "Every desire leads to more or less paralyzing fear or inhibitory, large, deep, conscious and unconscious. "It is possible to reformulate a fear in expressing the desire or need which is at the origin." it's an original point of view. Fears should be in definitive, the many doors to our most authentic desires, leading to new fears and so on. Anyway, with such a view they become useful, and no longer negative emotions. and most of all, accepting them, and listening to them help to stop violence spreading. he had summerised this point of view, in a kinnda fairy tale, which follows; The magician fears A tale of Jacques Salome There was once, just once, in a country of our world, a man whom everyone called the Magician of Fears. What you should know, before I say most is that all women, all men and all children of this country were inhabited by innumerable fears. Ancient fears, from the depths of humanity, when people do not know yet the laughter, abandonment, trust and love. Fears latest from everyone's childhood, when the incomprehensible reality collides with a look of innocence to the astonishment of a word, to the amazement of a gesture or the exhaustion of a smile. What is certain is that everyone, when he heard about the Wizard of Fears, did not hesitate to undertake a long journey for him. Hoping to get rid of, remove the fears that he or she carried in her body, inside his head. Nobody knew how the game unfolded. There were those who returned from the trip, great modesty to share their experiences. What is certain is that the return trip was always longer than one way. One day a child revealed the secret of the Wizard of Fears. But what he said seemed so simple, so incredibly simple that no one believed him. "He came toward me, says he took my hands in hers and whispered: - Behind every fear, there is a desire. There is always a desire in every fear, as small or as terrifying as it is! There is always a desire to know it. " "He had his mouth close to my ear and he felt gingerbread" confirmed the child. "He said also: - We spend our lives hiding our desires, that is why there are so many fears in the world. My work and my only secret is to allow everyone to find dare, dare to hear and respect the desire to venture there in each of his fears. " The child, by telling it all, felt that nobody believed. And he began to doubt again of his own desire. It was not until many years later that he found the freedom to listen, to accept him. However, one day, a man decided to put the Magician Fears of difficulty. Yes, he wanted it to fail. He traveled, came to him with fear he enunciated as follows: - I'm afraid of my desires! The Wizard of Fears asked: - Can you tell me the most terrifying desire that is within you? - I desire never to die, "muttered the man. - Indeed, it is a terrible desire and fantasy that you have there. Then after a pause, the Magician of Fears suggested: - And what is the fear that is within you, behind this desire? Behind every desire, there is also a fear that hides and sometimes even more fears. The man said at once: - I'm afraid of not having time to live my whole life. - And what is the intention of this fear? - I want to live every moment of my life, the most intense, more alive, more joyful, nothing wasted. - So you desire the most formidable, "murmured the Wizard of Fear." Listen to me carefully. Take care of this desire is a desire precious and unique. Live every moment of his life in the most intense, most vivid, the most joyous . without wasting anything, it's a nice wish. If you respect this desire, if you make him a real place in you, you no longer fear death. Go, you can go home. But you who read me, who listen, maybe you will immediately say: "So each of us can become a magician fears" Sure, it's possible, if everyone is working to discover that there is a desire in him, in each of his fears! Yes, each of us can dare to discover, say, or suggest his wishes, subject only to accept that all desires are not met. Everyone must learn the difference between desire and its realization . "So, all desires can be realized, even if you want?" "No, just some. And no one knows in advance which of his desire will only be heard, which will be filled, which will be rejected, which will be expanded up to the stars! That is the great secret of life. To be unpredictable, never enslaved and at the same time, immensely generous side of human desires. "Rumors say that the Wizard of fear could happen in our country .

it is fear what makes us do terrible things I think fear is a great excuse for the terrible things we do. "Every desire leads to more or less paralyzing fear or inhibitory, large, deep, conscious and unconscious. "It is possible to reformulate a fear in expressing the desire or need which is at the origin." Unclear of the true meaning of this -is he saying that for example; if I fear being attacked that my true desire or need is to attack? This seems to confirm what I expressed above with WP. The idea that ".such a view they become useful, and no longer negative emotions. and most of all, accepting them, and listening to them help to stop violence spreading" cannot be correct because it would mean that the violence originated within the individual before the fear. It would only serve to expose potential violence not stop it. Just a thought.(sorry for spelling errors)

@WP "it is fear what makes us do terrible things" I think fear is a great excuse for the terrible things we do. @LR "Every desire leads to more or less paralyzing fear or inhibitory, large, deep, conscious and unconscious. "It is possible to reformulate a fear in expressing the desire or need which is at the origin." Unclear of the true meaning of this -is he saying that for example; if I fear being attacked that my true desire or need is to attack? This seems to confirm what I expressed above with WP. The idea that ".such a view they become useful, and no longer negative emotions. and most of all, accepting them, and listening to them help to stop violence spreading" cannot be correct because it would mean that the violence originated within the individual before the fear. It would only serve to expose potential violence not stop it. Just a thought.(sorry for spelling errors)

thank you both for taking part at this, in our view, central theme of human life. @ little rainbow: this is a wonderful story in which you dig out the secret emotion which is the breakable foundation of our angry world: the fear of death in connection with the desire to live forever. regarding at the momentary situation of mankind, this fear we are running from has turned into delusion and it will finally eat us up. so we should face that formidable thing. there is no magician of fears anywhere outside but maybe deep inside of our memory. the story we are working on goes like this( short version): there was a moment in the course of our evolution where she offered us the ability of thinking. we made the choice, receiving freedom. being outstanding beholders from now on, we could see the abyss of death and it gave us a shock. we put the veil of repression over it, we ran away and started to protect against the world us by building walls. we keep on doing this until now, it makes us shake al over and it makes us building walls in front of each other. these walls of fear we are living in are getting higher and higher and they emerge themselves as cause of our problems. no light, no space, no more freedom. we are still a young species and the stand of our developpment is comparable with the one of teenagers. but in the course of time we have been enriching enough knowledge about the world so that we should have enough maturity look at her as a whole thing. there is no death. there is only change. and we are part of that wonderful thing.

well red your posts Wave projects and Darkroot, sorry to be late in answering, connection problems, but I will soon :-]

i wrote this back in 1989 when i was 18. in it i personify past, present & future. i feel it pertains to your discussion. WP when you compare the stage of our development as a species to that of a teenager. i feel that my personification of Today is that of a teenager too: Today turned around and grasped Past in his view. He wondered how Past got on without the daily conveniences that Today had come upon and had so taken for granted. Being blinded by the limelight Today held his head in high pride and sneered at Past's inferiority. In turning his back to Past, Today found Future standing furiously before him. 'Look at what you have done', roared Future as he grasped Today by the scruff of the neck. 'Look at the confusion you have created; the dirt and ugliness you have left for me to straighten up.' The whirlwind that had been summoned from Future's anger almost toppled Past in it's wake and then rumbled off into oblivion. 'Of course Past didn't grow as quickly nor as efficiently as yourself', continued Future,'but he laid down your stepping stones, those that you have crushed with your heavy gluttony. Now get on your knees and clean up this mess by taking responsibility in your endeavours.' As Today bowed his head in shame, for he knew not where to turn, Past stood before Future for the first time. He saw the sadness and anger in Future's eyes. Past had never before seen such passion and became frightened of this. He became frightened for he thought only of the world's situation. Past was worried that if Future were to take over the reins of the world from Today's command that he would have no mercy, that Future would satisfy his anger by doing harm to the innocent world. Knowing he could do nothing to help, Past stood in silence and awaited Today's initial move. http://michellecfecit.wordpress.com/

this is wonderful, michelle. needs - TIME - to think about it. thank you! same discussion on this website http://www.rogerwaters.com/forum/index.php?p=/discussion/572/the-question-of-fear/#Item_3

@ darkroot fear cannot be any excuse for there is no guilty. guilty should be changed into mistakes made to learn from. but you can find reasons of your behaviour if you look through the undergrowth in your forest, finding the house where the monster is living in. you peer through the window, lock at the door, and the monster you were so afraid of, lies curled up on the floor ( peters words). the desire behind the fear is just the desire of freedom.you DO NOT want to be attacked.

something else i wrote personifying the primary colours. from despair comes hope: red

oops. didn't mean to post that. have to remember to not touch the tab button! red yellow blue Lonely pigments of primal purity. Red's curiosity is peaked! Dive Red Man into Blue Ocean's depths. Drown in a now Sea of Purple pain. Barrel Red Man into Yellow warm Sun. Burn in an Orange Ochre Flame. Yellow Sun embrace Blue Ocean cry tears of pain cry showers of rain. Yellow Sun warm The Earth with your heated angered emotion. Together as you mourn Are Trees' Green leaves born. If you'd like to hear my poem being recited I have a video of it on the home page of my blog: http:/michellecfecit.wordpress.com/

the link to my blog!!???!!!* http://michellecfecit.wordpress.com/

Thank you Michelle Darkroot, hope that the full moon will find you logged ! :-] to read that answer. "if I fear being attacked that my true desire or need is to attack?" I will say, that someone having such feelings, in a dark street at midnight, walking alone in a surbub street, is only experimenting "rational" fear. it makes part of our adaptative process, taking infos from a situation, fear in this case just enable our body to make proper changes in order to get ready to escape it: muscular tension, heart beating and so on. . If the same feelings are experienced by a person, for exemple staying home by fear of being attacked outside, this deals with "irrational" fear. no clues in reality justify it. the problem of fear is truely, that some are making no differences between "real" and "imaginative" reason to feel it. and in this case effectively that fear can be expressed through a positive desire: maybe the one to get in touch with others, in a safe way. landing on the positive side of this emotion, will enable one to walk through her/his fear. That is why each fear is precious. I think that we are so used to think about emotions in a "binary way": the good ones, and the prejudicial ones;fear being one of them. but if I am logical, throwing my fears away, oblige me to deny myself a way to understand who I am better: wrong way. :-] No emotion is good or bad in itself, maybe useful, even guiltiness, Wave project. To be able to feel guiltiness, is what make of me a human being, not stealing, murdering and so on. my values in life are closely linked with it. What I would fight is rather, unconcious guiltiness, inherited from youth, my own limitative building cages. "cannot be correct because it would mean that the violence originated within the individual before the fear. It would only serve to expose potential violence not stop it." I'm deeply conviced of the fact. violence is making part of each of us as potential. Denying the fact will make us ruled by it rather than mastering it. would it be physical or arising through words, directed to others or turned towards ourself. it is linked with aggresiveness, which is once more useful in certain situations. Seeing things that way, helps becoming responsible, and if you ask me why violence is able to arise suddenly, it is no more in my view than the sum of all individual non mastered ones.

@little rainbow: thank you for still taking part! we think that guiltyness only brings new fears, new problems. in our view, the mother of all fears is the fear of death. it is driving us crazy and makes us do terrible things. we should spend more time with percepting the world around us and find out how she really works.until today,we have been missing to regard as the whole wonderful picture. death does not exist. but there is life as a constant change. nothing gets lost. transforming this into our dayly life, could be a help for the solution of our problems.

death, wave, well maybe part of the answer, and only avaliable for the white European man. many cultures have much peaceful views about death as a passage a mutation and not an sterile ending. Women, for their own part, must be withdrown f the scheme as well, for the only reason they, or at least they know they can possibly perpetuate themselves ahead of it, and most important are experimenting ith through their flesh and bones. I, personnaly don't have any fear regarding death. Something more interesting and underevaluated, to my own pont of view, regarding men, is the grieve they have to go through of not being able to live that specific experimentthe same way that women do. Psychanalisis, at least Freudian one, has totaly let this special stage of the boy growth unlearnt. It can explain most of agressive attitude towards earth, women and so on, and is generalised, independently of culture variations.

this is an interesting view you put in, rainbow. regarding the question in a different way to men and women. i agree. so we could say that the mentality of the european man expresses itself in the western civilisation which is spreading more and more all the world. and out of that it is the picture i see concerning fear of death. civilisation as expression of fear. traditions, religions, political systems and ideologies - these institutions is the walls seperating us from each other into groups of strangers and enemies, pushing us more and more into isolation, everywhere. the reason therefor for me is the need of protection, coming from fear. and the beginning of fear, its source, its mother: fear of death, having started from the the moment we started to think and see the world´s abyss: death. running away from that until today, in my view,this is civilisation´ s expression. but all the time, the world keeps on showing to us the whole thing: constant change. but we are still running like hell, building walls. not me, not you or anyone else. but look at the institutions, made by people like you and me! constant change as imagination of our existence instaed of seperating it into life and death - what a wonderful world it could be!