FINDING OUR OWN FANATICISM

Fanaticism describes a rigid attachment to knowledge with an excessive intolerance of opposing views. It is driven by a need to believe in something 100 percent….Anything that contradicts or puts into question the sustainability of the belief is a direct threat, and a fanatic will defend the belief at any cost. Prejudice, intolerance, and violence are the instruments with which the belief is imposed onto the Dream of the Planet.

Regardless of how it can appear, the driving force behind fanaticism is not hate or anger, but rather an extreme form of conditional love for self and others. This is how any beautiful belief in the world can become lost in corruption, as knowledge controls a person’s will for the sake of its own existence.

~ The Five Levels of Attachment

When our attachment to a belief increases, the question of who we are becomes directly linked to what we know. At the highest level of attachment, fanaticism, every decision we make is controlled by our beliefs. We have lost the power of choice.

Practice

Today, look within yourself and see where and when you recognize fanaticism in others, remember that they are not bad or evil; they are only confused due to the extreme attachment to an ideology.

Living a Life of Awareness

~ Don Miguel Ruiz Jr.