The human psyche has evolved in a world of competition and survival. Planet Earth can be a hostile environment where animals and humans have had to fight or flee in order to survive. It is because of this that the 'Fight or Flight' response is imbedded in the human psyche. Even now, in a totally safe environment it can be difficult to totally relax; there is an underlying readiness to respond quickly to defend ourselves or run. Effectively the body reacts automatically to a dangerous situation to keep itself safe. This may also include the Freeze response where there is no reaction to the threat, and this may have been useful at times for survival.

 

But what about fear? It is fear that can trigger these responses and start the adrenalin pumping, whether there is a real danger or an imagined danger. The body reacts to the environment as well as the mind. We may fear that something awful might happen, an accident, an attack, or an unwanted event. It is the mind then that fears what might happen. Fear is the mind's resistance to what it thinks will harm the body-mind. The mind wants to protect itself or its sense of self.

 

The human mind has evolved with these response mechanisms embedded within it. There are pros and cons to this. On the one hand they protect the human and continue the existence of the species. On the other hand fear can take over and prevent the natural expression of peace, calmness and contentment. Ultimately fear and its responses pertain to the survival of the separate individual. In Non-Duality we know that the separate individual is illusory, and reality is an infinite indivisible Oneness. There really is no other to fear. The Oneness, which we truly are, cannot die or be harmed. It is only the reflected expression of Oneness that is subject to the interplay of opposites. Peace and contentment are the true nature of Being.

 

So we need to move on from fear. We may fear spiders, for example, but understanding them better can take away the fear reaction. There may be some deadly spiders, but most are harmless to humans. We don't need to be afraid of the harmless ones. Caution is fine if we're not sure, but irrational fear is something humanity needs to move on from.

 

Fear, competition and survival have been relevant to the human world or the human experience, but we are not the human being. These responses and reactions that have been part of human evolution can and will be overcome. It is part of human evolution to rise up from the dark past into the brighter future, to rise from restriction to freedom. Fear and competition are the old way, the way of opposition. The new way is the Way of Oneness, where there is a recognition that there is only one. We don't need to compete to be the best or to survive. There is no other to beat. We are One and we are Life itself. We perceive the human experience with its apparent sense of ups and downs, wins and losses, life and death. We are That which does not die. We are Life. We neither win nor lose. We are beyond the play of the World of Opposites.

 

Gradually, as the evolution of apparently limited form towards freedom progresses, fear and competition will diminish. The imaginary boundaries will fall. This comes about naturally with the growing realisation of Oneness. The realisation of Oneness is the peak of evolution, rising from the conflict of separation to the unity of Oneness. It is the natural outcome of all successful civilisations.