I believe that every experience in this life holds a lesson. While I continue to have these "growing experiences" over and over, it seems I will never learn all I need to learn. Yet, the truth is, there are only a very few lesson any of us need to learn... it's just that we continue to ignore them and choose the same mistakes time and again. Though there are several chapters to cover in this journey of spiritual growth, I believe there is but one ultimate lesson: to banish fear by trusting God completely.

I believe there are only two basic human emotions, and all others are by-products of these ~ love and fear. And love conquers fear. Fear then can be broken down into two catagories: Fear of losing something, and fear of not getting something I need or want. The next time you are angry, depressed, anxious, or sad, ask yourself what you are afraid of losing, or not receiving. If you are honest, you will find your answer. Fear, on the other hand, can often be a cover-up for anger. Some of us have a very difficult time experiencing anger, usually because we were taught to conceal it as children. Unexpressed anger usually expresses itself as either anxiety or depression. If you are one who tends to have a problem with unexplained anxiety, try asking yourself what you are angry about. Most commonly, a person who lives in much fear is one who has yet to release thier anger over some violation in their life. We cannot banish undesirable emotions by repressing them. They must be dealt with or they will continue to re-surface, usually in some distorted, self-defeating fashion. The only time fear is rational is if there is present, immediate danger. I'm not referring to "caution", but fear, anxiety, and constant worry.

Depression is an interesting emotion, as well, and probably the most misunderstood, especially now that physicians and pharmacuetical companies have started pushing anti-depressant medications as a solution. Everyone who has a problem with depression is diagnosed as being "clinically depressed" and given a pill for a quick-fix. This relieves the physician or psychiatrist from the burden of helping the person find a "real" solution, while also relieving the patient of the responsibility for their life and well-being. This gives them an excuse to continue living in their self-defeating behaviors while claiming it isn't their fault they are depressed ~ "it's a bio-chemical problem". Admittedly, there are a few cases (a few in comparison to all who are falsely diagnosed) which do suffer from an actual physiological disorder, Manic-Depression (or Bi-polar, as many like to call it) which causes irrational thoughts and actions. However, even a great many who are told they have this illness actually do not. It is a catch-all, a cop-out.

The vast majority of people today who have been diagnosed as either clinically depressed or manic-depressive actually suffer from a spiritual malady, an emotional, rather than chemical imbalance. Most will not consider this a possibility for themselves, as the entire reason they have fallen into such depression in the first place is their complete unwillingness to take responsibility for their lives. They will live their lives miserable, inflicting misery on everyone around them. These are the "victims", the "martyrs", the ones whom nothing is ever their fault or everything is always their fault. Anytime you are dealing with something that is said to be bio-chemical, take an honest look. Certainly there is an actual chemical imbalance in the brains of those who are depressed. This does not mean that the depression is caused by the chemical imbalance. Chances are, the imbalance is the result of the depression. It is a scientific fact that our emotions strongly affect our physical bodies in many ways. Strong emotions, either agony or ecstacy, can cause headaches, vomiting, diarrhea, hives, muscle spasms, joint stiffness, sleeplessness, irregular menstral periods, infertility in both sexes, and lowered immunity to infection. Every strong emotion we experience, especially one which we hang on to indefinitely, is going to cause a chemical imbalance. Modern science treats only the physical body, not the spiritual being. Human nature (our lower self) would much rather take the quick-fix rather than becoming mature and responsible, and the pharmecuetical companies are more than happy to cater to our emotional slothfulness.