Fear often leaves us feeling powerless, probably the most uncomfortable of all human emotions. Anxiety, a feeling of fearful unease that can be mild or severe, often causes us to doubt our own abilities and inhibits making good decisions. So much of our lives are affected by fear based thinking, and fear based propaganda seems more prevalent than ever. Fear is used to dominate and control, to sell merchandise, and influence choices. Advertisers use subtle fears to market products and services. Fear is often used as a weapon to denigrate opponents, to intimidate, to motivate us to accept certain politics, and to turn us against entire groups of own species, encouraging racism and xenophobia.
Fear is intimately connected to our relationship with time since it only really exists in anticipation of the future. A classic example: A camper is anxious about meeting a snake. If they do meet a snake the fear changes to getting bit by the snake. If the snake does bite, the fear jumps again to the future: the fear of dying from snakebite. Fear is always about something bad is going to happen in the future. If, in the present moment, if we can stay grounded in mindfulness of what is actually present, the scary stuff is not so scary that it undermines our thinking process, and we can better deal with the current situation.
One definition of fear is in the acronym of “False Evidence Appearing Real”. Educate yourself rather than accept spin marketing and make choices that are based on observation and research rather than emotional triggers. Encourage a healthy level of suspicion about claims unaccompanied by evidence. Respect and curiosity can be more helpful than fear in dealing with potential threats. Be in touch with your emotions and notice when fear shows up so you can take action to keep it from taking charge. Fear can easily turn into anger and judgement if left unacknowledged and unchecked. Encourage collaboration between your mind and your emotions to seek balance in your decision making. Remembering the previous tidbit on finger holds, you can use a gentle holding of your index finger to help find calm. The practice of gratitude can serve as an antidote to fear based thinking.
Halloween 🎃 is my favorite holiday because it gives us the opportunity to laugh at scary things. How would life be different with less fear? Would it be more fun?