Worries and thoughts are like fleas on a dog. They constantly bite the individual, suck the energy (blood) and torment. It is only when the number of fleas or worries become insurmountable do we see it as a problem.
After a while the individual becomes comfortable being a worry wart. In fact they believe if they do not worry they will have adverse results.
There are two components to worry. One is the thinking and the other is anxiety with fear. The thought or thinking is important because it helps sort out an effective way to approach the problem. However the anxiety or worry part is detrimental both to the body and consciousness. After a while the anxiety takes over and takes a permanent residence in the individual.
Thus what started out historically as an approach to thinking to solve problems later became anxiety and fear. If you can learn to think without fear or anxiety you can be more effective. In the end, though the results are determined by Gods will and your own karma
How can one get rid of the fear component? It is very hard. It requires a constant diligent practice of yoga and a constant re affirmation not to worry. It may take three to twelve years or in multiples there of and is very difficult. (according to Ramkrishna Paramhansa it should take three seconds or minutes or at the most three days to uproot each sanskar). If we do not make an effort now the way God has the system arranged is that the situations that evoke anxiety will escalate birth after birth till we are determined to uproot it once and foreever. This was stated both by Paramhansa Yogananda and the mother. Please refer to the books by Yogananda on how not to worry or getting rid of fear from your consciousness
Every person, whether a Yogi or not should make an attempt to get rid of the worry consciousness. How did Ramkrishna Paramhansa say, sanskaras (including worry etc) can be conquered in 3 seconds or three minutes or 3 days (based on if the disciple was of the highest order, or mediocre or adham (weak))? Paramhansa Yogananda began to crave Ginger ale. Once he went to someones house and he asked for Ginger ale. They did not have it and he felt a little remorse. He immediately realized his craving. He closed his eyes and got rid of the craving within 3 seconds. How did he know he got rid of the desire? Next time there was an opportunity to have Ginger ale, he had a sip and he was disgusted with the taste. If someone argues with me and states this is self hypnotism, my answer is as follows
1) Yogananda did not Will that he dislike the taste of Ginger ale. All he Willed or did Sankalpa was that he do not crave it anymore
2) In the final analysis, everything that we see or perceive is because we have been hypnotised by Satan or Maya into its existence instead of seeing everything as God. Like Swami Vivekananda said, we have to learn to dehypnotise ourself. So, we could say, that Yogananda dehypnotised himself from the craving of Ginger ale.
For a Yogi, the method of achieving this is as follows. He turns his eyes upwards to the Agna chakra. He merges his consciousness in the divine with a WILL to get rid of the “affliction” and it is done. At that time, he or she is surrendered totally to God, does not want anything but God, realizes that worry and desire is a strong impediment to reaching God and lets the holy Ghost / divine light or Aum get rid of the worry (cauterzie it permanently).Â
For ordinary people like me, this is not so easily accomplished. it takes a lot longer. Our trataka or Will or ability to remain submerged in the divine at the agna is weak and constantly the worry tendency or any other desire pulls us down. There are several reasons why this happens to us.
1) No matter how much we intellectually say we have surrendered to God, a part of our heart has NOT surrendered to God and that part which has not surrendered creates Worries and Fear. Otherwise, for a child of the Divine where is the reason to fear or worry?
2) The reason why we cannot surrender completely is because we have lack of faith. If we had total faith in God, we would gladly and willingly give ourself upto the divine will.
3) The reason why we lack total faith is because we always have the mistaken ego that we can solve our problems by our own effort rather than relying totally on God.
A word of caution : There are people who appear not to worry. However, they may not worry in a given situation but worry or have fear in other situations. Moreover, there are some who are mentally numb and have the I do not care attitude. THAT IS NOT FEARLESSNESS.  The fearlessness I refer to is the fearlessness of having total faith in the divine. In India, some people have the name Abhaya meaning fearlessness. It is the name of God, because only God can be totally fearless (or one whose consciousness is fully merged in God).Â
I cannot end this without explaining how the liberated souls function without worry or thoughts. These great souls when faced with a problem, go to their “shell” surrender to God and follow divine Guidance and the Guidance of God alone. I will end with a tremendous example of Yogananda. Yogananda was building a wishing well in California. It so happened that a big boulder fell on his leg and shattered his foot. Immediately the disciples wanted to take him to the hospital but Yogananda asked mother and mother said no. The pain was excurciating. The next day, his foot had all the colors of the rainbow and some more. The pain had gotten worse. Once again, he did not go to the hospital inspite of his disciples persuading him because Mother said no. (A normal person would be worried about amputation etc at this point). The same thing happened on the third day.
On the fourth day, Yogananda had to give a discourse. He walked down, horribly limping and just as he was about to enter the lecture hall, Mother said, now walk on your shattered foot! Yogananda stepped inside the lecture hall with his shattered foot. The pain, as per Yogananda was excruciating. But with that, his foot was healed instantly!
Bhavin