Anxiety attacks are difficult to describe to those who haven’t experienced them, but the naming fear as the “mind-killer” and the “little-death” certainly resonates with my own experiences. I have struggled with chronic anxiety all of my adult life. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. The Litany Against Fear is brief but profound: LISTEN: Rabbi Brad on Finding God in the Midst of Fear To steel himself for this ordeal, Paul recalls the so-called Litany Against Fear, a kind of Bene Gesserit prayer or mantra. The test is administered by the Reverend Mother of the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood, an influential quasi-religious sect of women mystics. Among the most memorable passages for me is an early scene where the protagonist, the young aristocrat Paul Atreides, undergoes a potentially lethal test of his courage and self-control. I first read “Dune” when I was in college. He was inspired by multiple real-world faith traditions when shaping the religious landscape of “Dune.” In an afterword written to accompany newer editions of the novel, Herbert’s son (and fellow author) Brian Herbert explains, “The Dune universe is a spiritual melting pot, a far future in which religious beliefs have combined into interesting forms.” Buddhism and Islam are among the most obvious influences, but the attentive reader can detect hints of Catholicism as well. Like Tolkien, Frank Herbert crafted for his story a fully realized universe complete with its own history, legends, and religions. However, a rival ruling family and the emperor conspire to destroy the entire Atreides family. At the beginning of the novel, the Atreides family gains control over a desert planet with a spice that gives people the ability of interstellar travel. In “Dune,” the galactic empire rules people across many planets in a feudal system. Over the course of six books, Herbert wove a galaxy-spanning saga of death, betrayal, heroism, and sacrifice. ” While die-hard Tolkienians such as myself may balk at this bold claim, certainly, in terms of sheer scale, the “Dune” series merits the comparison. Frank Herbert’s epic novel “ Dune ” is often considered science fiction’s answer to J.R.R.
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