For about thirty years I felt chained down by the fear of speaking among peers and in large areas. This fear was debilitating, to the point that I would have extreme physical reactions to even the thought of speaking in front of others. It controlled my career decisions, my social life, and even my concept of who I was.
Then, about nine years ago, I started studying Christian Science, including an in-depth study of the Bible along with Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. Learning biblical Hebrew and Greek was helpful to me in seeing connections between the King James Bible and Mrs. Eddy’s writings. I was curious to understand more about God and my relationship to Him. I began to let the new concepts of identity I was learning define me, and questioned thoughts that were not in line with those teachings.
Fear often includes an expectation of evil, which presupposes that evil has existence and power. Realizing that this premise was contrary to everything I was learning was the first blow to those chains of fear.
