Fear and Its Lessons

There is nothing to fear but fear itself – as Winston Churchill said. Fear has a value, as does every single emotion in our lives. It is about time that we use these feeling experiences for the fodder that they are and not as a key to avoid something.

If you are seeking enlightenment, your job is not to only seek happiness through some spiritual practices and affirmations, you must be willing to dive into the deep mud, muck, self-criticisms, and fears that can have you frozen and not moving forward. The key to expansion is in understanding your fears and how they serve you and transcending their hold on you.

Fear can leave your stranded, stuck in a moment, stuck in a way of being – all while your mind is convincing you that you are doing the wise and smart thing. I challenge this idea and I invite you to look at your fears as a launch pad for your own self-expansion. Let’s get this out of the way, there are some very logical fears that also keep you alive. Fear of bears, fire, floods, slipping off a cliff, an angry person with a gun, etc. These would be logical and will help to keep you alive.

But your fears – unexamined and unchallenged are shackles preventing you from your fully expressed self. Let me say this again - your fears, unexamined and unchallenged are shackles preventing you from becoming your fully expressed self. To be the full you, you must take on this challenge.

Here are some common fears that you can challenge: fear of being alone, fear of flying, fear of snakes, fear of spiders, fear of public speaking, fear of germs, fear of failing, humiliation, and death, just to name a few.

There are times when fear keeps you safe, but when the fear is illogical, when you cannot consider leaving it or letting it go, that means it has its hooks in you and it is based on something that is rooted in your subconscious and your pain body. How it lives inside of you allows it to control you and alter your behavior while profoundly impacting your freedom.  These fears, and others you might have, have been controlling you for a long time.

You will never be able to surmount the impact of these fears as life limiting elements unless you stop and question them. Every unchallenged fear is a limitation on your life expression, on your freedom, and in the end, on the level of happiness you get to experience in your day-to-day life.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself to prompt new thinking:

·         Does this fear keep me safe or keep me limited in my experience?

·         How old is this fear? Did I adopt it from someone?

·         If I released this fear, what might be possible? How much freedom would I gain?

·         What does this fear teach me about myself?

·         How am I served by this fear, or think I am served?

If you ask yourself these questions, practice some radical honesty, and open your heart for deep answers from within, your inner landscape will position you to accept the fear as useful, or you have the option to challenge it to free yourself from the fear. Often, this inquiry will show you something you need to protect yourself from, but not necessarily from the current expression of the fear. For example, the fear of public speaking might actually be a fear of not being accepted or you might fear being seen as a fraud. Without inquiry you will never know for sure.

As I always say: QUESTION EVERYTHING – especially what you think you know.

You are more than your fear.