There’s much to tell about last weekend’s “Being Fearless” conference, organized by the increasingly influential Omega Institute (be sure to get a copy of the summer program catalog here). Within twenty hours, I saw Malcolm Gladwell, Caroline Myss, Wayne Dyer, James Van Praagh, Rev. Dr. James Forbes, and Elizabeth Lesser—with about 1600 other attendees. I missed the whole second day and I’m dying to know what comedian/telethoner Jerry Lewis said (anyone?).

Rev. Dr. James Forbes, Jr., pastor of New York City’s Riverside Church, gave a rousing sermon in which he listed his strategies on how to overcome “the spirit of fear” that sometimes keeps us from being who we want to be. They include:

—Join a group: “You can’t transform the world by yourself.”

—Find the right project: “When you keep busy praising God, you don’t have time to die.”

—Find the right comfort/commitment ratio: “You must take care of yourself before you heal the world.”

—Stay open to receiving God’s love: “Perfect love casts out fear, and God loves you beyond consideration.”

—Find occasions for unrestrained joy: “You can’t stay frowned-up this way and bring in new order!”