Written by Lee Lott | 13 July 2011

The gap between fear and integrity is bridged when people act from the heart.  The scandal surrounding News International regarding allegations of phone hacking; the alleged corruption of the police in apparently accepting payments for information, the manipulation of politicians and the bombings in Mumbai, would never have occurred if people had acted with heart-centred consciousness.  Self-interest and indifference to the harm done to others would have been impossible.  Self-respect and serving the greater good occur naturally when people are aligned with the true power of their hearts.

It takes courage to be different, to go against the dominant thinking of family, friends and colleagues, but the old fear centred ways of thinking and behaving no longer serve us, our pockets or planet, as events these past weeks have shown. It is time to evolve consciousness.  To do so it is essential to identify and release the many disguises of fear.

Denial is the first symptom of fear. Many people who are fearful do not recognise that they are.  Their concerns are masked by justifications, rationalisations and minimisation. We have been told that “politicians need to communicate with the media to explain their policies,” whilst valid, this has nevertheless also been used as a justification for “getting too cosy” with the media.  Appropriate boundaries could not be set between some politicians and members of the press because of the fear of backlash.  Other mechanisms of fear such as procrastination and avoidance are evidenced by the delayed investigation of the documents submitted to the police in connection with phone hacking years ago.  Lies are another manifestation of fear.  News International initially stated the phone hacking was due to the action of one rogue reporter and investigator. Then they offered millions of pounds in compensation to the victims of hacking once the vast scale of the problem began to be exposed.

Fear is power given away. We have seen how politicians, police and the media are in the thrall to fear.  It has cost them dearly in terms of reputation and respect. Having the courage to be heart centred would be to own their true power.  Now is a wonderful opportunity to do so!