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THE DYNAMICS OF MEDITATION
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"I am not that.” To any feeling which is not yours, any experience which is imposed on you by anybody-society, religion, family or geographical conditions—to that you say nahum, I am not that, and you erase from the past whatever bothers you. Again and again, say “No, it is not me.” In this way, what you are identifying with psychologically will gradually be eliminated. These psychological identifications limit us, or hang us up. It may be an experience from childhood or our adult life, which has caused a scar or fear. To all these we say, “No, this is not me.” This is the meaning of nahum.
If any fear comes, you think: “No, this has nothing to do with me. Fear is a mental concept. This is not for me." And then in action, you do the thing of which you are afraid and immediately the fear will be over.
Many people die because of fear-of cancer, heart disease or other things. A story will explain what I mean. One day a merchant was walking along a road leading to the city of Baghdad. Before long he met another traveller and they began to walk and talk together. The first asked the second where he was going and he replied that he was going to Baghdad also. When asked what his business was there, the traveller said that he was the Plague and he was going to visit Baghdad and kill many people there. The first man was amazed and asked the Plague how many people he would kill in the city. The Plague told him that he would kill 500 people. As they neared the city they parted company and went their separate ways. Then a great wave of sickness struck Baghdad and eventually 5,000 people died as a result.
Two months later the merchant was leaving the city to return to his home after finishing his business there. As he
