What Happens When You Face Your Fears

 

When you turn into your fears, you discover one of two things: they exist as walls in your mind; or they dissolve in the light of your gaze.

In Vipassana meditation, there’s a practice where you focus your awareness on a specific spot in your body that’s hurting. Sitting for hours (or even 5 minutes) can cause some major pain! The cool thing about the practice is that as soon as you focus your mind on the spot that’s absolutely KILLING you – it moves. It shifts and changes, or just disappears.

It’s so bizarre!

You’re sitting there completely consumed by the sensation of the pain and then, all of a sudden, you can’t find it anymore! Sometimes you can’t even localize it.

At that point, you adapt the practice – you explore creating boundaries around the pain. Can you contain it? Are the boundaries clear or fuzzy?

The same thing happens with your fear.

You set out absolutely convinced that you can’t do something for a slew of really solid reasons. Then your coach asks you why. She takes her unbearably bright flashlight and shines it RIGHT ON THE FEAR.

Um…… Hmmm… Let me see now. I can’t remember…

The fear moves. It hedges, ducks, side-steps.

Because it’s a compilation of hazy beliefs that have no real bearing on your life. When confronted by your true self – the you that transcends all fear and only knows love and truth and light – they dissolve.

OR they fight. They say no. They hold firm because your mind doesn’t want to go around, over, and through them.

Your fears are like a shield you’re holding out in front of you – warding off change, growth, potential. Because you’re just too tired. You don’t really want to be everything you can be.

The slogan sounds nice, but the implementation sucks. It’s exhausting.

So you hold firm to fear as your last line of defense – your excuse not to change.

But sadly, the damage is done.

By taking that torch and flashing it towards fear, you’ve already seen it for what it is and you can’t go back. Even the strongest wall starts to crumble.

So don’t fear your fears. It may feel scary to move beyond them – to contemplate who you are without them, but releasing them is the easy part.

As easy as shifting your awareness to your pain and feeling it disappear.

Be free. Be brave. Be YOU!

Love,
Alexis