Liberation from the Lie: Cutting the Roots of Fear Once and for All

by Eric Gross

Despite the plethora of research and writing in the field of mental and emotional health, despite our vast wealth and consumption, despite the availability of so much technology and convenience, people are more unhappy than ever. Liberation from the Cutting the Roots of Fear Once and for All offers a radically different approach to living that reveals the source of our unhappiness and insecurity. Our families, our institutions, and our culture at large are agents of invalidation, repeatedly delivering the message that we are not good enough to be loved for our original selves. We come to believe that we are inadequate, insufficient, worthless--that in order to be happy, we must change. Liberation helps readers break free of the endless transformation trap. By seeing through the shame that drives self-improvement, we can end the interminable process of seeking and discover our innate resilience, strength, and passion.

368 pages, Paperback

First published February 25, 2009

Reviews

[Steve Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

What are "Fear-selves"? We all have them. What is "The Wound"? We all have them too. In Liberation From The Lie, Gross explains what these terms mean in detail and how we can gain liberation from them. I can tell you some of my main Fear-selves. They are "The Pleaser", "The Achiever" and "The Expert." I like to do things I think will please people and I do not want to offend anyone, I like to impress with my achievements, and I like to show how clever I am with my knowledge of subjects. But I was not born with these Fear-selves that function as artificial identities and are not me, even though I can be fooled by them, as can other people. My Wound is feeling that I am worthless, powerless and unlovable. The Wound is caused by early isolation and invalidation. I was not born this way. As John Lennon observed in Working Class Hero: "As soon as you're born they make you feel small..." We are invalidated throughout our lives: by family, in school, at work, by religion that may tell us we were born sinners etc. We are driven by ongoing anxiety and fears stemming from a feeling of lack and insecurity. We seek outside ourselves and whatever we find is never enough. We lose sight of our true selves and let fear-selves think for us and act for us. And this is why the world is in the state it is. As Gross observes early on in his book: "The world is in crisis. We are in crisis." I feel that Liberation From The Lie is a very important book, so important that it could really change the world, one person at a time, if enough people were to read it.