If you’re a person who has no fear at all, you’re very rare and supremely blessed. Most people and other animals have endless fears of all kinds. Did you know that you can reduce the severity of your fear, and in some cases you can transform it completely? Let’s take a look at some of the different kinds of fears and some powerful ways to come out of the darkness and into the light, out of the fearful world and into the world of courage and strength.
The Different Kinds of Fears
Some fear is instinctual and biological, reminders of when your ancestors lived in the forest in primitive times – and when enemies or seeming threats came near, there were rushes of adrenaline that gave them energy to react. Another kind of fear is emotional. Sometimes you react to a current event in a fearful way because it reminds you of something that happened to you at some other time. Some fears are imaginary, like the scenarios of gloom, doom and ruin that may never happen. There are fears of loss of ego states, like fear of failure or humiliation or death. Some of these fears are attempting to keep you from danger; others are blown out of proportion by an overactive mind.
Here are Some Ways of Transforming and Healing Your Fears
Pay Attention to Fear
Stand back and look at your fear. What’s it like? Where do you feel it inside? Does it affect any part of your body? How does it feel in your mind? Communicate with your fear. See if you can treat it like a person and begin to make friends with it: “I know you’re attempting to take care of me, but I need to be clear and free. Perhaps you can relax a bit,” you might say to it. Give your fear some tender loving care. “I know you’re feeling a bit insecure, but I’m here with you, and it’s okay.” You may even want to stroke your own hand with the other hand, saying, “Don’t worry, I’m with you, and we’ll do just fine” – almost as if you were soothing a child.
Breathe into Your Fear
When you have fear, your breath becomes very shallow. Notice that, and take a very deep breath in all the way to your belly. Deep breathing this way is very powerful. It creates a whole different kind of energy in your body and mind. It brings you fresh oxygen, centers you, and deepens your relaxation. Many ancient texts say that breathing can transform matter. If you like, you can even count as you breathe in and out and hold your breath if you like in between. This type of breathing steadies you and transforms your emotional state.
Contact Your Own Wisdom
Say to yourself, “What would my Wise Mind tell me about this?” Then listen to the perspective your Wise Mind gives you on your situation. It might tell you that everything will work out. It might give you alternative ways of looking at your particular situation. It might remind you that you need to remember to breathe or move your body. It might remind you that you’re loved and not alone in your situation. It might tell you that you’re imagining the worst possible scenario. As you listen to your Wise Mind, you can feel a sense of liberation from a limited perception, and you can move into fearlessness.
Make a Decision about Your Fear
See if you can decide to live in a courageous warrior’s world instead of a fearful world. See if you can shift your perspective so much that you’re able to “change the channel” and move from a dark point of view into an altered world of light. You can tell yourself that you’re ready to shed the burdens of fear that may have been in your life for years, if not eons. This takes some discipline, as fears are very dramatic and vie for first place. As you take on the courage and bravery of the spiritual warrior, you can find that an innate strength and power is coming to the surface, and you are now living in a transformed inner world. This then transforms your outer world and helps you to move through life with greater ease and grace.
Cultivate Trust
You may be able to cultivate the attitude that basically things have a way of working themselves out, that at the core, there may be a benevolence about the universe that is apparent when you look for it. You may find new attitudes coming to you:
* That if you fail, it’s just a message that you need to try again and perhaps take a different approach next time
* That you’re willing now to take a chance
* That you realize now that failing may be a stepping stone to later success
* That you train yourself to see the possibilities for goodness happening instead of gloom and doom, and you center yourself in this
Shine Light on Your Fear
With your inner awareness, let light shine around and into your fear. Transform it as if you were Obi Wan Kenobi with his light saber, reminding Darth that no matter what, he’ll still be more powerful than any darkness could ever be. The light heals and transforms, and strength comes to the warrior whose courage leads the way.