Fear.
How’s your relationship to it?
As Deepak says, when we gain an understanding of the true nature of reality, we lose all sense of fear. Isn’t it amazing how easily we can get swept up by this fear and that fear?
Remarkable actually. And, we KNOW that being overwhelmed by these fears is a one-way ticket to a lifetime of regret, but for some reason it can still be so hard to do anything about it.
That’s why I consistently tap into the wisdom of some of my favorite teachers.
Emerson (see Notes) tells us: “God will not have his work made manifest by cowards.” And pleads with us: “Always, always, always, always, always do what you are afraid to do.” And assures us: “Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain.”
Hafez says: “Fear is the cheapest room in the house. I would like to see you living in better conditions.”
While Paulo Coelho (see Notes) says this in The Alchemist: “There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”
Abraham Maslow (see Notes on Motivation and Personality): “It seems that the necessary thing to do is not to fear mistakes, to plunge in, to do the best that one can, hoping to learn enough from blunders to correct them eventually.”
The Roosevelts (first Eleanor then Franklin): “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.” And: “The only thing to fear is fear itself.”
Frank Herbert (from Dune): “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.”
Wallace Wattles, the author of The Science of Getting Rich says this in his great little book The Science of Being Great (see Notes): “You can never become a great man or woman until you have overcome anxiety, worry, and fear. It is impossible for an anxious person, a worried one, or a fearful one to perceive truth; all things are distorted and thrown out of their proper relations by such mental states, and those who are in them cannot read the thoughts of God.”
I could go on for quite a while but I think you get the idea. Fear, the mind-killer, is the only thing we have to fear. We MUST conquer our fear if we hope to live our hero’s journey to the fullest. Here’s one question that’s helped me address a lot of my fears: “What would I do if I wasn’t afraid?”
You know who answers that question?
Your Highest Self.
And that’s a good person with whom you should have an ongoing dialogue, eh? :)
So ask and answer that question (through your actions) every day. Why? Because that question gets us closer and closer to the power of intention.