Fear is another God given emotion. According to The Course In Miracles humans act out of fear or love. There may be other emotions in the mix, but if you boil it down what you’re left with is fear and love. Fear exists to protect us from danger. If you are walking in the Indian jungle at night it is wholly appropriate for you to be afraid of tigers. Walking on the streets of your favorite city it is not appropriate for you to be afraid of tigers. You may have other valid reasons to be fearful, but tigers should not be on that list.
The challenge is to not act from that place of fear. Acknowledge and own your fear, you just have to work on not acting from that place of fear.
Slogans about fear
FEAR = False Evidence Appearing Real
FEAR = Fuck Everything And Run
Fear definitely leads us somewhere. Is it really the direction we want to go in? Listen to what Yoda said about fear.
Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.
Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back 1
¹ In 1980 there was not a movie released with the title Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back. The proper title of the movie as released in theaters is The Empire Strikes Back. ‘Nuff said!
Most fears are imagined, or at the very least exaggerated into something greater than they really are. What if we had something we could say to ourselves to get through the fear? Fears are meant to be confronted and mastered. Here is a suggestion from literature:
I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.
Bene Gesserit mantra as written in Dune, the classic science fiction novel by Frank Herbert
What is the most common commandment in the Bible? The commandment Fear not is said in the Bible 365 times (some count 366, but I’ll go with the lower number). It’s also the most common thing said by Jesus in the New Testament. Sorry fans, I don’t have a count of how many times He said that. Perhaps in a future post when I do my own research.
Response #1 to fear: Ask yourself where in your body does the emotion of fear manifest? Can you describe accurately all of the characteristics of the sensation? Is it all over, or is it localized? If localized is the boundary of the sensation sharp or fuzzy? Is it a tingle, or an ache? Does it have a temperature (hot, cold)? If it is painful, is the pain constant, or does it pulse, or does it come and go randomly? Experience and describe the sensation fully. Stay with the body. Thinking about fear only makes it grow so focus on the sensations of the body.
Response #2 to fear: Have a mantra you say to yourself around fear. Use it when fear manifests. It could be from scripture, or literature, or your own words. If you can’t think of one yourself use the Bene Gesserit mantra above. Keep it fairly short, memorize it, and use it whenever fear arises.
Response #3 to fear: Fear often comes up when we are trying to avoid pain. It could be physical or emotional pain. Use the tool The Reversal of Desire from the book The Tools, by Phil Stutz, and Barry Michels. Use it whenever you are trying to avoid pain. Use this tool often. Don’t scoff at this idea until you’ve done it a bunch of times. If after you’ve done it many times and it doesn’t work for you then judge it as harshly as you wish.
The Reversal of Desire
Imagine that there is a black cloud in front of you. Scream silently “Bring it on”. As the cloud comes toward you silently scream “I love pain”. You pass through the cloud, and when the cloud spits you out on the other side silently say to yourself “Pain sets me free”.
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