Tackling The Subject of Human Fear….Snakes and Otherwise

TACKLING THE SUBJECT OF HUMAN FEAR…..SNAKES AND OTHERWISE

I’ve had several good questions come in but haven’t had an opportunity to take dictation. Now I’m aboard a speeding bullet train between the northern coastline of Spain and Madrid, with six hours of unbroken, slightly swaying and a bit bumpy, time to take some dictation. Please read the recent posting of Lori’s question about The Fear of Snakes for the background of this question, which we are expanding to cover the general topic of fears of all sorts, for all creatures and not just humans. First, lets consider the obvious truths we already know about this subject:

1. Animals, birds and insects share this characteristic with us, as they will flee danger or defend themselves when alarmed.

2. Fear is a primitive instinct, a base emotion, directly wired into the nervous system which releases chemicals into the blood stream when triggered.

3. Even anger is a higher emotion because it relates to a target while  fear can simply be the perception of a threat or an incoming danger.  Anger is the reaction in an outgoing energy of defence. Fear can be subtle and diffuse but anger is often violent and concentrated as the force employed to strike fear into the heart of that which frightens you.

Okay, now that we’re in the mood to name the beast, let’s begin with Lori’s comment about public opinion and the media’s tendency to fan the flames of hatred for snakes and to a much lesser degree, of spiders, scorpions, sharks, and such. Naturally, this attitude makes for good headlines but beyond that, there’s the physiological explanation for humans to feel defensive. These threats are dangerous and can sometimes kill you! So can rabid dogs, grizzly bears, auto accidents and cigarettes, but we don’t vilify them the way we do the snake.

Lori seems to be asking whether there’s a metaphysical reason that a snake itself, even  though the majority are harmless, will cause such a visceral reaction within perfectly intelligent people. Someone with a snake phobia will panic at the sight of a non-venomous King snake equally as when faced with a King Cobra. However, not everyone has this autonomic reaction to snakedom and some folks actually enjoy handling the smooth, muscular body of a moving reptile… even the poisonous or constrictor variety, if proper precautions are observed. In them, the abhorrence is absent. I say this with confidence because it’s true of me, as it is of Lori. We like snakes!

So, the question comes down to why humans polarize on this issue? Secondly, would any education campaign do much good to change those who fear these slippery creatures? And third, do Biblical references, which equate snakes with evil, lie at the base of this fear? Oh, my Holy Spirit! What is Your take on this knotty question?

“Oh My Linda Layli, Layli Linda! What a great question this turned out to be! I am certain that we can exonerate the Bible on this issue because many who cannot read or who have never been exposed to these particular Holy Teachings, are desperately afraid of snakes. It’s actually a very tempting literary device to use something, for which most humans display an innate fear, as a symbol of that which they are instructed to avoid. So, putting evil in the same category as a snake will certainly help to scare people away from activities which might otherwise attract them. It’s the same as personifying forbidden negative traits with a human-appearing devil.”

And it’s much more likely that we’ll run into a snake in the course of our life than we will a firebreathing Mephistopheles. Maybe a few people will think of the Garden of Eden when they meet a reptile, but not many. Come to think of it, Eve wasn’t afraid of the big snake in the branches of the Tree of Good and Evil, but stuck around for a personal conversation and even took a bite of the apple he offered. That story is really about temptation…. and yes, the avoidance of smooth-talkers and slippery agents…but, it’s pretty subtle on the fear factor.

Okay, are there any cosmic clues concerning the division of human emotions on the Snake Question? As in, do we come from different parts of the universe, for instance?

“Yes….okay….right…! We don’t really want to go into this statistical detail which does divide the human race. Not right down the middle, by any means whatsoever. Most people on earth hate snakes. Period! End of question!  And no amount of learning is ever going to eliminate that uneasiness at the pit of their stomachs when put in the same room with a reptile. Pure and simple, it is something that they are born with and it actually applies to about 99% of the population of this planet. Reptiles are considered alien species and there are a few humans with reptilian characteristics, who are here from other planets as a result of colonizing experiments that We have conducted in the past. These people would, naturally, not be afraid of snakes.  There are also other people who have no fear of snakes because they are from the higher dimensions, living on earth in human form and performing various tasks for Us.”

Shall we just leave the snake lovers to figure out where they may fall in those categories?

“We don’t want you to exercise caution in the asking of your questions but sometimes they do give away more than We intended to reveal. So, let’s just leave it at that.”

And so, we conclude this fearful post specializing in snakes. We will continue the general subject in the next post. Stay tuned!