Love Is Letting Go Of Fear

With Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh in the hospital, it may be good to remember that love is letting go of fear. Then we will be free to love Thay and allow what is to be to be.

Thich Nhat Hanh in Plum Village, 2000 – Photo Jerome Freedman

Love Is Letting Go Of Fear is the title of a book by Jerry Jampolsky.

He was the founder of the Center for Attitudinal Healing in Sausalito, California.

The center in Sausalito and other centers around the world have helped thousands of families and their children cope with life threatening diseases. They sponsor support groups that are oriented toward care takers as well as those who are ill.

The twelve principles of attitudinal healing are

1. The essence of our being is love.
2. Health is inner peace. Healing is letting go of fear.
3. Giving and receiving are the same.
4. We can let go of the past and the future.
5. Now is the only time there is and each instant is for giving.
6. We can learn to love ourselves and others by forgiving rather than judging.
7. We can become love finders rather than fault finders.
8. We can choose and direct ourselves to be peaceful inside regardless of what is happening outside.
9. We are students and teachers to each other.
10. We can focus on the whole of life rather than the fragments.
11. Since love is eternal death need not be viewed as fearful.
12. We can always perceive ourselves and others as either extending love or giving a call for help.

These principles underlie all of the classes and support groups of the Center for Attitudinal Healing.

Osho also has a saying about fear.

Love Is Letting Go Of Fear

When you are faced with a life-threatening illness, it takes a lot of courage to face all your treatments, whether they be chemotherapy, radiation, surgery or something else.

Most people just listen to their doctors and do what they say.

This is the wrong approach. Everyone who is ill should encouraged to take charge of their own healing.

They should do this by doing research on their illness and discuss their findings with the doctors.

They should investigate alternative medicine and adjunctive healing techniques that can increase their life expectancy and improve their quality of life. Some of the alternative healing methods include

• Acupuncture
• Hyperbaric Oxygen Healing
• Chiropractic
• Massage
• Feldenkrais
• Meditation practices
• Yoga
• Nutrition
• Herbs and supplements
• Active Visualization
• Psychotherapy
• Qi Gong
• Aroma therapy
• Calming music
• Inspirational books, CDs and audio recordings

They should find support groups like the Center for Attitudinal Healing and Mindfulness in Healing to deal with the emotional trauma associated with illness and prognoses. Support groups have been shown to increase longevity substantially and to improve the quality of life.

They should gather as much support as possible from family and friends. This could take the form of prepared dinners, massage gifts and help around the house, among other activities.

All of these activities reduce the fear and increase the quality of life.

Looking back at the principles of attitudinal healing, which item touches you the most? Please share your answer in the comments below and with your friends and family.

Note: This article originally appeared on October, 26, 2012. I’m repeating it here because the Principles of Attitudinal Healing are also presented in my upcoming book, 7 Principles of Mindfulness in Healing.

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I have read the books a couple of times. It is written at very simple level and help to understand how love is letting go of fear.