Joe shares a story of hearing teacher Stephen Harrison say “power is the ultimate expression of fear” and then using that very insight as a power move — rejecting Eckhart Tolle’s “The Power of Now” as an expression of fear without even reading it. His allergy to the word “power” was itself an attempt to have power over reality, to hold onto a framework that made the unknown manageable.
This reveals a deeper truth: the desire for control — over others, over circumstances, over your own understanding — is always rooted in fear. You can’t be in the unknown of life evolving as it does, so you grab a concept, a framework, a position, and wield it as a shield. Even spiritual concepts become control mechanisms when held too tightly.
The irony deepens when you realize that Harrison’s entire teaching method is to destroy everything you try to hold on to — making Joe’s rigid adherence to Harrison’s quote the exact opposite of the teaching’s intent. The fear of being without a framework created a new, subtler framework of control.
“That was me trying to have power over my reality. That was my allergy to that word. That was my expression of fear.”
“I can’t just be in the unknown of life evolving in the way that it does. I need to be able to have some sort of control mechanism.”