Fear is a perfectly natural response. It is programmed deeply into our extended nervous system as a mechanism for survival.  All living beings have some form of aversive and reflexive reaction to external threats. Becoming more comfortable with our own sense of fear begins with the acknowledgment that these strong sensations we feel are a biologically programmed reaction to some perceived threat. It is purely a primordial force to help us to survive, and to understand its role in our being, we gain some perspective and perhaps some release from our identification with the feeling as it arises.

Fear awakens us directly into the present moment, and to understand its presence is to befriend its deeply underlying intention. Fear is our ally- it is looking out for our sustained existence. To know and to understand is to look and to listen without being consumed by it. When fear wells up inside of you, try to practice bringing awareness to the sensations in the body, and say to yourself something like… fear is natural… it’s “ok” to experience fear… and it’s part of being human. Without personally identifying with the fear, it loses its “force” to tighten and contract our sense of just being with it as it is. The bodily sensations associated with a fearful experience are of you, but they are not totally you. Everyone of us share in this human condition.

Wisdom teaches us to understand fear- to respect its place in our lives, and to use its energies as a means to illuminate our own self-discovery.

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