My previous associations and my own investigations have taught me that there is something deeper that is held in common by all who inhabit this earth. We all hold the same architecture of fear in our beings. It is this fear that creates the specter of war. It is this fear that prevents us from seeing another way of being, another way of living.

Fear arises in the body when it is triggered by, for example, an outside event such as a dark figure looming ahead on a lonely street. The body sends a rush of adrenaline for fight or flight. The brain begins thinking about the meaning of the dark figure and one ’s being is flooded with the electrochemical response of fear. This fear muddles up one ’s ability to think clearly.

Decisions that are made in this state can overlook the actual facts, or one might retreat in flight before the actual facts reveal themselves. If one continues down the street one might discover that the dark figure was actually just a shadow cast by a nearby tree. Once the dark figure is seen to be a mere shadow, the chemistry of the body returns to normal and the sense of fear and crisis subsides.

The meaning of crisis, according to the Chinese, is composed of two words: danger and opportunity. If one continues down the street to discover that the cause of fear is just a shadow, one begins to uncover the architecture of fear itself. An outside event presents cause for concern, thought takes over and begins to prejudge the situation in a way that produces an electrochemical state of fear.

Can I examine this process after the fact and see the architecture of fear? Can I see that this architecture is the same for all human beings? Can I see that all human beings who are in a state of fear will act out of a confused electrochemical state? Can I see that decisions and actions from this state of fear are based on shadows and not truth?

Truth is more subtle. In order to catch the truth of a situation in life or in the world one must be straight and honest and faithful to that which is. Shadows are shadows whether they are made by a tree or by the mind. Shadows are not the truth. The truth of shadows is that they are shadows and nothing to be afraid of. Can one watch the movement of thought in such a way that one sees the subtle movements away from that which is? If one does not continue down the street, one never sees the truth that there is no assailant but merely a shadow. Incomplete acts, if pursued, would reveal the truth of what is.

Might the subtle truth be that the state of fear is always held in place by thinking? Once the electrochemical state is produced, can one see the connection between what one is thinking and the state of fear that one feels? Can one be alert to the fact that fear is produced inside by one’s own thinking? It is easy to see, in the example, that the assailant is a mere shadow and that the fear is misplaced.

But can one develop the muscle of attention to such an extent that subtle movements away from clear observation of what actually is no longer occur? Can one live in such a way that one is straight and honest and faithful to that which is, to the truth that is revealed from moment to moment? If one watches the process of fear in this way, one will see the truth that it is one ’s own thinking that is producing the electrochemical state of fear.

When a child is born, it will hit and scratch itself for a time until it realizes that it is its own hand that is causing the harm. Once this is seen, the child ceases to scratch itself. Intelligence is born out of the observation and the harmful movement of the hand ceases. If one sees that it is the movement of thought that produces fear, intelligence will be born out of that observation and thought will cease to move in fear.

What happens when a nation is in the electrochemical state of fear? Are not the people of that nation acting as though the shadows are real? How can an individual or a nation or a world of nations find the truth of a situation from a state of fear? Nations in a state of fear can see shadows as assailants. Will they then go to war over them?

Can those who are committed to the truth of ‘what is’ see all the way through the dream of fear? Can they then live the truth of peace and so bring it to life in a world that has only known fear?

We might ask how people can go about this. I would like to suggest the following: People could begin to watch fear in their own lives. There are all kinds of situations in life that present the opportunity to feel fear. Normally, fear catches one completely by surprise and the movement is very fast. It takes over the electrochemistry, the brain begins to distort what it sees and shadows can become assailants. However, after the fear has passed one can think about the situation again. One can begin to experience a slower version of the electrochemical state of fear. It is as though the wheel of a bicycle slows down and one can observe the spokes and the structure of the wheel. In the same way, one can observe the structure or architecture of fear. When fear is produced in this way, i.e. after the fact of a situation, one can observe the connection between what one is thinking and the state of being that is produced. This observation is intelligence. This intelligence is of a different order from fear. It is this intelligence that can change the way we are currently living. It is this intelligence that can change the consciousness of man.

I feel we have a laboratory in which to observe all this if one is attuned to the opportunity offered by the crisis in the world, which is in our own consciousness.