Fear

When we are children, we are taught to fear things. Our parents don't want us to be hurt, and therefore try and instill in us fear of what might hurt us. We are told not to touch the stove, because we can get burnt.

But more than the words, we are given an emotional valence to go with it. We are instilled with an accompanying reaction that makes our lizard brain fire up all the "fight/flight" chemicals and shove them through the body, increasing our respiration and our heart rate. Our mind worries. We imagine vividly the pain of the event, experiencing the hurt when in fact no hurt has occurred. But in this process, we train the mind to instantly bring up all these responses when we see/hear/think about that which MIGHT hurt us.

And then we are adults...

If I were to say to you to fear the stove now, you would probably pat me on the head like the deranged auntie that everyone humors. But how many things in your life do you unconsciously think about that immediately make your mind worry and inspire the fear response right now?

It would be foolish to avoid the stove because it might hurt us. We would miss out on things like yummy, warm food. It would be foolish to walk a large circle around our stove to avoid it.

It is one thing to understand that things may hurt us. It is another to fear them.

Here's the downside to fear... in the world of energy, fear is powerful. It gives power to the object creating the fear and it takes power away from us.

My former Master and I were discussing Kevin Smith's response to the threats and picketing against his film Red State by the Westboro Baptist Church. He was jovial and invited them to his screenings, he reverse-picketed their picketing with signs reading "God Hates Press Screenings" and so forth. In the face of threats against his family and his life, Smith went along as he always does... with a huge dose of in-your-face humor.

This is seemingly either bravery or insanity when faced with a force which is obviously able to (and not afraid to) hurt you. And while there may be many reasons to condemn Smith's actions, what I can say is that I feel him refusing to show fear when faced with potential danger is a good role-modeling of how one might handle that which is dangerous.

I think it is important to show people that giving into fear only dis-empowers you and empowers that which you are afraid of.

I remember being really upset after 911 in the election year when I was at a baseball game and pamphlets were being passed out on how to handle a terrorist attack. It wasn't the fact that the pamphlet had information in it on making sure you had a water supply, blankets, first aid kits, etc. It was the fact that all of the faces on the pamphlet were horribly worried and the writing in it was highly charged to provoke fear.

The problem I have with this is that in most cases, if there is a problem, you can't really do much more than you can do (which in many cases is very little). You can be prepared in general, which is prudent, but otherwise, being afraid of any even is pointless. Just because it might happen doesn't mean you should worry about it happening all the time and be afraid. It might NEVER happen. And you would have spent your whole in a fear-state for NO REASON. It did not keep you safer. You experienced the catastrophic event in your mind and your body. But there was never any reality. And even if the event does occur, after having been in fear state for so long, your reserves are probably tapped out and you aren't in any better position to deal with it anyway.

So why make us afraid of things like this? Because it puts us in that child state again, and we are easily manipulated and lead.

Some might argue that the pulse-pounding rush of adrenaline is hot and fun. Ok. Fine. But that is a limited point in time while you're watching a horror flick or doing "fear play" in a scene. But living that way is consenting to have no power and to give your power to cope away. And where it goes in the spiritual/energetic realm is to the thing you are afraid of or to the people who are manipulating your fear.

One of the mantras in Reiki (written by Mikao Usui) is this:

"Just for today,
do not anger, do not worry,
Do your work with appreciation,
Be kind to all living things."

The translations vary a bit, but you can see the meaning. If I find I am battling against my own tendency to worry (or all the worry floating about in the ether), it is comforting to think that just for today, I can put down the worry. And if every day I affirm this, then every day I am letting go of fear...

If we are to give power to other people, things, or ideas, it should be done with our full intention and consent.

There is not much I am afraid of at this point. Don't get me wrong, I have a preference and I have the normal, knee-jerk reaction to try and avoid pain in many instances. But I work through all of that to be more in control of my reaction and where and to whom I grant my power.

To be a total geek, I often think of the scene in Dune where the Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother holds the Gom Jibar (a needle-like weapon) at the neck of Paul while creating excruciating pain in his hand through nerve pressure while it's in "the box." The notion is that it is a test of being human, the ability to save one's life through not giving in to the animal instinct against pain. In order to help his mind combat this urge, Paul repeats this mantra against Fear:

"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."

Now just so we have levity in this, I will tell you I got an awesome sticker at Comic-con one year that was this mantra but with it being all about Beer instead.

I am purposefully adding geekery and humor to this because I want to practice what I preach.

I understand that life might hurt me. But I'm going to laugh at it for as long as I am able...