In “Types of Fear” Dr. Michael Laitman explains the source of a child’s fear of the dark, how to treat a child’s fear of the dark so that the child overcomes it, the ages children start feeling the fear of failure, the ages children start feeling the fear of not being accepted or not being the best among friends, recommendations for how to treat children’s social fears, and how to use reward and punishment in such situations.

Download The Full Conversation – “Fear – Types Of Fear” (PDF)

Here’s an extract from the conversation:

Adva Bar-Yehuda: This time I would like to start with a topic that interests many parents, a child’s fear of the dark. A child enters a room and says, “I am afraid” and wants his mommy. How did he learn to be afraid of the dark?

Michael Laitman: Aren’t you afraid?

Adva Bar-Yehuda: Not like my son.

Michael Laitman: There’s no such thing, everyone is afraid of the dark, it depends on the type of darkness. As we discussed on the previous program, fear is the actual foundation of our traits. It is a trait that we shouldn’t eliminate, but rise above it. Fear evolves from fear of this world to fear of the next world, fear that relates to Divinity, that we are not realizing ourselves. So fear of the dark is the most fundamental of all fears, the very first one.

Eli Vinokur: Why is it the most basic fear of all? What is it about the dark that makes it so?

Michael Laitman: Darkness is creation itself.

Eli Vinokur: Creation is darkness?

Michael Laitman: Creation is darkness, yes, “Forming Light and creating darkness.” What is creation? Beria (creation) comes from the word Bar (outside), meaning outside of the Creator, and this is what we are afraid of. Meaning, subconsciously, we are afraid of being outside, like a child is afraid of being far from his mother. So fear of the dark is actually fear of spiritual darkness, a lack of the Light, the absence of the Creator, my origin. And I can complement it only by developing the feeling, awareness, understanding, and His revelation from within the darkness.

We should understand that the fear of darkness is essential, necessary, and we should not wipe it out because if we did, we would not want to emerge from it and advance toward the Light.

Download The Full Conversation – “Fear – Types Of Fear” (PDF)

In “Fears & Anxiety – The Source of Fear,” Dr. Michael Laitman discusses the various types of fears people have, their source, the growing abundance of fears in our era and why they’re necessary, why children are afraid, the kinds of social influence and education required to alleviate children’s fears, and Kabbalah’s advice for how to use fear to draw the greatest benefit for oneself and others.

Download The Full Conversation – “Fears & Anxiety – The Source Of Fear” (PDF) »

Here’s an extract from the conversation:

Adva Bar-Yehuda: I heard you say that fear develops the person. I admit that I found that very surprising. I searched and did not find it in the literature…

Michael Laitman: The issue is not fear itself but how we relate to it. Envy, hatred, lust, honor, adultery, any type of trait we may have inside, the agreeable ones and the and the not so agreeable ones, and the terrible ones, we can manage them correctly and well, since nothing was created purposelessly or to harm us, but so we would manage it properly.

Therefore, if we can manage something as basic as fear, without destroying anything, but by connecting it to a person correctly, we will suddenly see that just as people are, without changing or diminishing anything, we elevate a person over his fear. He becomes as high as the fear. Then, if he rises above it, he begins to see his fear through the now healthy and confident eyes—why he used to be afraid, for what purpose, where it came from, what it gave him, what it is giving me now that I have risen above it, am I lying to myself or not. See what an expanse he opens for himself, what depth he sees in creation and in himself.

That is why the wisdom of Kabbalah says that there is nothing bad, we just need to know how to use it. Therefore, with all the phobias and all the great problems that surface in our generation, we only need to work correctly.

Download The Full Conversation – “Fears & Anxiety – The Source Of Fear” (PDF) »