THE LAW OF SUCCESS Lesson One THE MASTER MIND Part 21

Personal Development

It requires courage to tell the truth about the history of this enemy of mankind, and still greater courage to hear the truth after it has been told. The Fear of Poverty grows out of man's habit of preying upon his fellow men, economically. The animals which have instinct, but no power to THINK, prey upon one another physically.Man, with his superior sense of intuition, and his more powerful weapon of THOUGHT, does not eat his fellow man bodily; he gets more pleasure from eating him FINANCIALLY. So great an offender is man, in this respect, that nearly every state and nation has been obliged to pass laws, scores of laws, to protect the weak from the strong. Every blue-sky law is indisputable evidence of man's nature to prey upon his weaker brother economically.

The second of the Six Basic Fears with which man is bound down is: THE FEAR OF OLD AGE! This Fear grows out of two major causes.

First, the thought that Old Age may bring with it POVERTY.

Secondly, from false and cruel sectarian teachings which have been so well mixed with fire and brimstone that every human being learned to Fear Old Age because it meant the approach of another and, perhaps, a more horrible world than this.

The third of the Six Basic Fears is: THE FEAR OF ILL HEALTH.

This Fear is born of both physical and social heredity. From birth until death there is eternal warfare within every physical body; warfare between groups of cells, one group being known as the friendly builders of the body, and the other as the destroyers, or "disease germs."

The seed of Fear is born in the physical body, to begin with, as the result of Nature's cruel plan of permitting the stronger forms of cell life to prey upon the weaker. Social heredity has played its part through lack of cleanliness and knowledge of sanitation. Also, through the law of suggestion cleverly manipulated by those who profited by ILL HEALTH.

The fourth of the Six Basic Fears is: THE FEAR OF LOSS OF LOVE OF SOMEONE This Fear fills the asylums with the insanely jealous, for jealousy is nothing but a form of insanity. It also fills the divorce courts and causes murders and other forms of cruel punishment. It is a holdover, handed down through social heredity, from the Stone Age when man preyed upon his fellow man by stealing his mate by physical force.

The method, but not the practice, has now changed to some extent. Instead of physical force man now steals his fellow man's mate with pretty colorful ribbons and fast motor cars and bootleg whisky, and sparkling rocks and stately mansions. Man is improving. He now "entices" where once he "drove."

THE FEAR OF CRITICISM

The fifth of the Six Basic Fears is: THE FEAR OF CRITICISM

Just how and where man got this Fear is difficult to determine, but it is certain that he has it. But for this Fear men would not become bald-headed. Bald heads come from tightly fitting hat-bands, which cut off the circulation from the roots of the hair. Women seldom are bald because they wear loose fitting hats. But for Fear of Criticism man would lay aside his hat and keep his hair. The makers of clothing have not been slow to capitalize this Basic Fear of mankind. Every season the styles change, because the clothes makers know that few people have the courage to wear a garment that is one season out of step with what "They are all wearing."

If you doubt this (you gentlemen) start down the street with last year's narrow-brimmed straw hat on, when this year's style calls for the broad brim. Or (you ladies), take a walk down the street on Easter morning with last year's hat on. Observe how uncomfortable you are, thanks to your unseen enemy, the FEAR OF CRITICISM.

The sixth, and last of the Six Basic Fears is the most dreaded of them all. It is called: THE FEAR OF DEATH! For tens of thousands of years man has been asking the still unanswered questions - "WHENCE?" and "WHITHER?"

The more crafty of the race have not been slow to offer the answer to this eternal question, "Where did I come from and where am I going after Death?"

"Come into my tent," says one leader, "and you may go to Heaven after Death."

Heaven was then pictured as a wonderful city whose streets were lined with gold and studded with precious stones. "Remain out of my tent and you may go straight to hell." Hell was then pictured as a blazing furnace where the poor victim might have the misery of burning forever in brimstone. No wonder mankind FEARS DEATH!

Take another look at the picture at the beginning of this essay and determine, if you can, which of the Six Basic Fears is doing you the greatest damage. An enemy discovered is an enemy half whipped. Thanks to the schools and colleges man is slowly discovering these Six Enemies.

The most effective tool with which to fight them is ORGANIZED KNOWLEDGE. Ignorance and Fear are twin sisters. They are generally found together. But for IGNORANCE and SUPERSTITION the Six Basic Fears would disappear from man's nature in one generation. In every public library may be found the remedy for these six enemies of mankind, providing you know what books to read.

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