Insight #32: Meaning & Interpretation - Threatening Dog Analogy

I have mentioned earlier that the sensations that you experience, that you associate with fear, are the same sensations that you experience when you are excited, exhilarated, or engaged in any activity that stimulates you. What makes the sensations good or bad is your conscious choice of how you interpret them or the meaning that you give to them. A queue is just a queue, a car is just a car, and a crowd of people is just a crowd of people. A loud noise is just a loud noise, it doesn’t mean that there is threat on the other side – and you don’t have to jump into action. It is your interpretation or meaning that you give to them that determines whether the initial sensations escalate into a panic attack. Remember that you do not even fear the situation or event, you fear the horrible sensations, which are harmless and have never and will never harm you. When you understand and accept that, it will be easy for you to choose a new meaning or interpretation. Go back and review my Sky Tower analogy. The difference between a wonderful experience and one of sheer terror is a matter of meaning or interpretation of the sensations. You have the same conscious power as me and all the other ex-sufferers who have healed themselves to change the way you react to the initial anxious sensations (which is nothing more than a false alarm), to change the meaning that you give them. Check out this very short video further illustrating this insight with an analogy involving a threatening dog.