Fear can be a very constraining, limiting and even paralysing feeling. Tap into some of the options that therapy and spiritual practice offer in order to escape the grip of fear.
Fear can be nourished by Residues of Internalized Beliefs
Fears that have an authoritarian vibe about them can be internalized voices of authority from your childhood that you’ve allowed inside your mind. They are now whispering to you: “No, you shouldn’t!” and “Look at the big index finger!” Very often, these thoughts are based on a slight malfunctioning in our working models of self. We have carried certain schemes and beliefs about ourselves that are just not helpful.
Therapy is an extremely helpful tool to discover what the beliefs are that sit within you. You can transform malfunctioning schemes and beliefs into more healthy ways of thinking of yourself. Typically, it will require good work with a therapist who specializes in this in order to really make progress.
You can also work on that spiritually. I would always suggest to combine the two and to also contemplate: “Why am I holding on to this fear?” A part of it is really hard-wired into your system, and you will need corrective experiences in order to overcome it.
Corrective Inner Talk Helps to Dismantle Fear
You can invite corrective experiences into your life by, for example, having an inner talk like this: “I don’t want to live with this fear. It doesn’t feel like it’s serving me any more. I’m now a grown man. I don’t need to sit with this particular fear any longer. I could choose to accumulate courage within my being. I could look into what the main areas of experiences are when thoughts of fear arise within me that are just not helpful. They don’t make sense for me.”
You can then embrace and accept these thoughts.
The Role of Individual Spiritual Practice
When the moments of fear come up, see what you can work on with the tools that you already have apart from therapy.
– Can you increase courage, for example, with a specifically designed hatha yoga session that increases courage or self-confidence?
– Can you balance the heart and the mind?
Using these tools, being afraid will just feel more and more redundant because now you’re building something inside of you that is different and new.
This trick is sometimes done in Germany; when you have an old building and don’t want to ask for a permit for a new one, you just build a new building within the old building and then take the old building down. To take the house down and then build something new instead is very difficult!
Using Force Ideas
Build courage, soul connection, confidence, stability, and new healthy beliefs that you would like to hear echoing within your consciousness.
For example, something says inside of you: “Hey, it’s okay.” Maybe you need a soothing voice inside. Maybe you need a voice that says that you can do it. Maybe you haven’t heard this often in your life, but you are now free to establish this force idea within you. Gradually, there will be less and less need to resort to old, sabotaging belief systems.
Do the Opposite of What Fear Imposes
A more radical solution is to oppose fear directly. If you are afraid to do something, just go ahead and do it. I’ve done this so many times in my life. The inner voice tries to discourage it, but you don’t accept it. You can just reply: “Yeah? Watch me do it! Look, I’m doing it! What are you gonna do about it?” It’s like an imaginary line that you just trespass: “Look, I’ve crossed the line! What are you going to do?”
Fear is portrayed in a fun way in the Disney movie Inside Out. It takes the pressing seriousness out of the equation, and apparently even kids can do it. We, too, can expand into a more relaxed and detached state of contemplation of one of the basic human emotions.
What’s Next?
For more information and practical exercises on how to work with emotions check out our Emotional Healing Course.
The entire Module 4, containing 7 classes, is dedicated to mastering the family of emotions related to fear. You can sign up for the entire course, which contains 4 modules or for a specific module that interests you.
This article was transcribed and edited by Adriana from the following video: