We live in a world on the threshold of chaos.
The time of predictability is ending, there is no normal.
We are facing multiple, emerging, existential threats.
Fear is our warning system – and is an essential and intelligent response to real and present danger.
Its role is to keep us safe.
Anxiety on the other hand (often masquerading as fear; as in fear of failure, success, rejection etc.) is our inner response to imagined danger, does not serve us, and can lead to severe emotional and medical difficulties.
It is easy to slip into an adversarial relationship with chaos and fear.
Thinking that if we acknowledge them, they will overwhelm us.
Our response is often suppression, rejection, denial, self-soothing, freezing, dissociating and pretending all is well in the world.
But what we deny or suppress often possess us.
Judging fear as bad or weakness puts us at risk of ignoring our warning system.
It is time to come into right relationship with chaos and fear.
To recognize the role and value of fear.
As we become more authentic we become more present, sensitive, and intuitive.
And we often find that our “intuition” about what is going on around us, and what will happen in the future, becomes more reliable.
And, through fear, we become more attuned to impending dangers, threats, or disruptions.
It is important to honour our fear, and to hone our ability to sense danger, without being paralyzed or overstimulated.
To feel fear and track where it resides in our bodies.
And to evaluate if the fear is real and present or something that has been triggered from the past.
Beware of mistaking anxiety for fear.
Recognize that fear is an invitation to courage, and act from courage rather than fear.
Clinging
One response to fear is to cling to what we know, or what we think will keep us safe.
Such as a hope, a solution, a comforting belief, a ‘normal’, or someone.
It is important to honour what we are clinging to, if it genuinely serves us.
And, it is important to recognize when we are clinging to something that no longer serves us.
Such as assuaging fear by clinging to the past. Or clinging to emotions such as anger and resentment to protect us from feeling deeper pain and heartbreak.
Releasing clinging opens us to be more present and thus responsive and nimble in our minds and actions.
Longing
As we become more authentic we become more connected to our deep, inner longing.
Longing fuels life and love.
Beyond day-to-day wanting or needing, to a deeper yearning for something beyond.
Longing is often layered, deeper aspects closer to our hearts.
Not just ‘I love ___’ but the deeper ‘I am longing for ___’.
Our deepest caring; close to the deep sorrow of something missing.
It is important to honour longing, despite it sometimes feeling ‘beyond’ what is possible.
.
Workshop Preparation
Fear:
Build three lists of what you currently fear.
Focus on fear (an approaching danger, threat, disruption) and be wary of including anxieties.
1. Fear of what might happen globally
2. Fear of what might happen locally or in your family
3. Fear of what might happen to you personally
Pick two or three of the fears that are most pressing in on you.
For each fear make notes (or art, eg. a mandala) on:
1. What, specifically, is the fear? Why are you afraid?
2. Where is the fear centered in your body?
3. What do you think or intuit will happen?
4. Is this fear ‘yours’ or has it been handed down from your parents / grandparents?
5. What colour is this fear?
Exploring fear in this way can often eliminate the “bogey man” and bring us into focus.
Find something that can serve as a talisman for your fears.
Breathe your fears into the talisman and bring it to the workshop.
We will share, honour, and further explore our fears, together.
Clinging:
Make a list of what you are clinging to.
They might be hopes, solutions, beliefs, denials, or something or someone else.
Pick two or three of them that you feel most strongly.
For each ‘clinging’ make notes (or art, eg. a mandala) on:
1. What, specifically, are you clinging to?
2. Why are you clinging to it?
3. How does this clinging serve you?
4. How does this clinging bind, block, keep you stuck or otherwise not serve you?
5. Is this clinging ‘yours’ or has it been handed down from your parents / grandparents?
6. What colour is this clinging?
Find a stone that represents your clinging.
Breathe your clinging into the stone and bring it to the workshop.
We will share, honour, and further explore our clinging, together.
Longing:
Given your situation in life, your journey to authenticity, and the many facets of your identity, what are you longing for.
Tune into your heart, this isn’t a bucket list, but your deepest inner yearnings.
Choose two or three of your deepest longings. Don’t worry about them being “unrealistic” or unobtainable, the goal isn’t to develop an action plan, but to recognize and honour what we yearn for.
Make notes (or art, eg. a mandala) of what you are longing for.
1. Describe in detail what you are longing for.
2. How does the longing feel?
3. Are you longing for what was or what you dream could be?
4. Is this longing ‘yours’ or has it been handed down from your parents / grandparents?
5. What colour is this longing?
Find a piece of wood that represents your longing.
Breathe your longing into the wood and bring it to the workshop.
We will share, honour, and further explore our longings, together.
.
See also: Feel, Danger Consciousness, and Fear Grief and Gratitude