Dealing with Fear  1

Rituals of initiation have been practised in many cultures all over the world. One of their uses is to give adolescents the experience of dealing with their own fear, and their own depths, right at the start of their adult lives.   (The memoir Of Water and the Spirit, by Malidoma Some, describes and interprets some of these rites, as practised in West Africa, in recent decades.)

Initiation might not be something we in the West would wish on ourselves or our children - some rites are dangerous, even life-threatening - but it accords the young people who go through it the dignity of having accomplished something that requires real courage, without inflicting harm on anyone else.

For the rest of their lives, initiates know the scary places they can go to inside themselves, so they can recognise their fear, when it is aroused. Once they have come through the rites, they also know what courage feels like.  They know they have the resources to face down their fear, and survive.

In initiation, every eleven or twelve year old is the hero of their own inner (and outer) drama - rather than sitting in front of a screen where a highly paid actor is pretending to be getting dirty and facing danger.

In fact, traditional initiation engages with fear in a way that runs directly counter to Western popular culture, where filmgoers and children playing computer games are encouraged and enticed to watch, witness and/or ‘cause’ fearful destruction with impunity, and even in a passive, semi-automatic state.

Fear releases powerful chemicals in the body, to which many people become addicted. They confuse this kind of fear-tinged arousal with motivation, with feeling alive, with excitement and stimulation. But when fear is ‘used’ in this way, as a recreational drug, it can take over.

The 'noise' it makes, in mind and body, drowns out quieter voices, the way the lurid tastes of chemically enhanced junk foods spoil the palate for more subtle flavours. Fear - or adrenaline - addicts are easily exploited, parted from their money, and from their own peace of mind.

Related to properly, fear is a warning and arouses caution, heightened observation, withdrawal, and courage – to steady the heart. When fear is around, we need to be very wide-awake.

Half-remembered, fear-tinged memories can linger in the mind and draw us towards narratives (scripts) or psychological games that arouse fear without actual danger to ourselves. When such scenarios involve inflicting imaginary harm on ‘others’, or watching others being harmed, even in fictional scenarios, damage is done to the viewer’s feelings, and ability to feel.

Desensitisation of military recruits, so they can kill without qualm, is part of the army’s training agenda, teaching young people to override their natural aversion to hurting other people. Something similar to military desensitisation seems to be an increasing feature of the entertainment (and even the news) industry.

Parts 2 – 6 to follow