I encountered an unexpected book testimony today and wanted to share some quotes from it. It's not presented at all as a Christian testimony, just someone's experience in transforming from fear to joy. some quotes I was aware of the gulf— that is, of the inability of circumstances to assure inner peace. Any thinking person is. I was barking up the wrong tree. I now see that even in a kind, self-aware person like I was, the ego is alive and well, and doing its mischief—which is to say, busy creating illusion, causing inner suffering. Little did I suppose the forms ego could take: fear, anger, guilt, desire, anxiety. The collapsing of the house of fear would have been entirely sufficient as a miracle. But then I started noticing other things. I seemed to feel content all the time. No matter what was going on, fun or hard or neutral, I felt something quiet but constant running beneath it, apart from it. That something had the quality of other, of being outside the flow of familiar life. It was quiet; still, it felt more substantial than whatever was going on in the familiar realm. The sensation was qualitatively different from any I had ever felt. It was not a good mood; it was not joy exactly. It was utterly independent of anything external—of praise, to-do lists, good news, problems, wealth, daily routine, whatever. It did not seem to have any existence in time. I knew with absolute certainty that this condition was permanent. Yet there was this shattering joy, so overwhelming a force I could hardly contain it. Although I was uncomprehending, I never was afraid. Whatever was going on, however strange it felt, there was no doubt the change was good. (For the longest time, that was all I knew to call it: “the change.” Nothing more need be said—nor could be. What words could there be for such a thing? (note--she was having to have yearly mammograms and she was having considerable fear from it) I was lying there thinking about all this, when all of a sudden I had this thought to say a little prayer, to ask for help. I said, Could I maybe do this tomorrow without being terrified? Who was I asking? I don't know really. But the moment I had that thought, I felt something happen, like something physical was lifted off of me. I felt dancing around my head, as if somebody were whirling around me in circles, clapping hands, laughing. Rejoicing. Frazier, Jan. When Fear Falls Away: The Story of a Sudden Awakening (p. 4). Red Wheel/Weiser. Kindle Edition. Recently I had the thought that, though the world may question us, if we walk in the Spirit it shows that we are of God, whatever they say. Maybe that same kind of "in life" experience lends some value to this testimony even though it is not directly Christian. Who would one make that prayer request of, though? The book itself is on sale today as a Kindle version for 2.99 at https://www.amazon.com/When-Fear-Falls-Away-Awakening-ebook/dp/B0876P4DFK/

Posted by John Fullerton at 2025-02-12 22:58:00 UTC