At some point in our lives, if not often, we feel and/or face fears. Fear of what others think of us, fear of dis-ease, fear of terrorism. It’s how we decide to act (or not) every day that can move us closer or further away from our true, fear-less, nature. Sometimes, a little guidance can be a big help…
1. Stop eating animals.
Just as we feel fear, so too do animals. While they may not function with the same mental intellect, we are emotionally linked. When a cow or sheep is held in putrid, cramped quarters or goes to slaughter, it too feels fear—a negative emotion that is, no doubt, transferred on some level to the person who eats the animal. As a human race, we are feasting on fear every time we eat a piece of, particularly factory-farmed, animal flesh. A question to contemplate: does the amount of animal products consumed by humans contribute largely to our everyday fears? Check out Jonathan Safran Foer’s Eating Animals.
2. Identify it for what it really is: False Evidence Appearing Real.
As human beings, we are essentially controlled by two emotions: love and fear. We act out of one or the other. The beautiful thing? We have the ability to choose the thoughts we think and by guided by the emotions we feel. While much of the fear we feel is pre-programmed into us as an instinctual response to potential danger, much of the every day stuff we fear isn’t dangerous at all. We have simply convinced ourselves what we’re fearing is real.
3. Stop watching the news.
Reading and particularly watching the news is hypnotising. Watch enough negative stories and you’ll soon be in fear of walking out of your own front door. If you think about it, I mean really think about it, is there any reason we should repetitively see and hear about stabbings, murders, acts of terrorism and the like? Does it make you feel safer? Does it foster a feeling of love? Of course not, and it’s not meant to. Rather, it invokes a fear response, which in turn makes us hand over our power to those who we think can “save” us, including governments and doctors, when in fact each of us is responsible for our own reality, as well as our own health and wellbeing. If you’re an avid news watcher, put down the remote for two weeks and monitor how different you feel. A study by David L. Altheide states: Fear is bigger news than mere crime or even violence. Fear has become a standard feature of news formats steeped in a problem frame oriented to entertainment. Entertainment abhors ambiguity, while truth and effective intervention efforts to improve social life reside in ambiguity.
4. Research natural healing therapies.
There are natural herbal and homeopathic remedies that can help with overcoming fears. To quote website nativeremedies.com: “Fear becomes a problem that needs to be addressed when it turns into anxiety, panic or phobias. Herbs such as Melissa Officinalis, Lavandula Augustifolia, Chamomile and Passiflora Incarnata are just a few examples of a natural approach to overcoming fears by reducing stress, calming the nervous system and relaxing a fearful mind. Many natural remedies for fear and anxiety combine a number of calming herbs to achieve the best results for overcoming fears and addressing all the different symptoms of a panicked response.” Also explore natural healing treatments such as Reiki, Emotional Freedom Technique and hypnotherapy.
5. Exercise regularly.
Take the advice of Anne Frank, the German-Jewish teenager who was forced to go into hiding for 25 months in Amsterdam during the Holocaust: “The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature.” Exercise gets the blood flowing and increases endorphins, hormones that are secreted within the brain and nervous system, which assists to greatly improve your mood, while alleviating symptoms of fear. Exercising outdoors also connects us to nature, giving us greater opportunity to be more centered in an immediate reality or in “the now”. When we’re truly present, we realise that the everyday fears we’ve been programmed to feel are nothing but an illusion.
6. Meditate.
Meditation is a chance to go within … to leave the every day worries and woes behind, at least for the time you dedicate to the practise. If you’re someone who finds it difficult to “switch off”, there are great books (try Learn to Meditate by David Fontana) and classes that can take you through the basics. Regular practise, which can be done anywhere at any time (yes even in noisy crowds), brings balance—emotionally, mentally and physically, allowing you to not only alleviate the feeling of fear but also put it into perspective.
7. Use the emotion to motivate, rather than de-motivate you.
Jim Morrison understood that fear is an emotion to be embraced, and faced head on: “Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free.” Breaking through fear by facing it is not only liberating, but allows us to grow, in many, sometimes miraculous, ways. It’s also when we break through to the other side that we truly realise that the only thing to be feared is perhaps fear itself.
8. Focus on the positive.
Wherever you are at this moment, no matter the fear are facing, take a moment focus on the good. Find something—anything—that will allow you to shift your focus from the negative to the positive. Choosing a better feeling thought is possible when we realise that it’s only ourselves who have control over the thoughts we think. Reminding yourself to consistently switch your thoughts from the negative to the positive soon becomes a habit, with the added benefit of raising your vibration. As our vibration rises, we begin to attract positive people, events and circumstances into our life. In turn, fear becomes less present and less of an obstacle. If you find reaching for positive thoughts difficult, take out a pen and paper to write daily lists of the positive things in your life and watch what unfolds.
Photo courtesy: Paolo Tarantini
