Living Without Fear

All of us here have started to notice the increasing changes happening around the US and the world. There is so much odd/bizarre/amazing/unbelievable/appalling activity surfacing that it can be overwhelming for someone who starts to connect the dots. Regardless of what path you're on--government conspiracy, alien existence, spirituality and changing consciousness, etc.--you have a choice about where this road will lead you. You can choose the direction of fear and isolation or the path of Love and growth.

THE PATH TO FEAR

The path to fear can be very deceiving. Of course, no one consciously wants to live in fear and yet many of us find ourselves victim. How does this happen? It's not surprising that so many people are afraid; we live in a culture that has allowed the message of negativity to thrive. We see reminders of inadequacy, violence, and suppression on the news and in movies all the time. Yes it's true, there is a lot of fear mongering floating around, and we can leave the cause/source of this fear for a different discussion. What's important for us to be aware of now is that we have been conditioned to be afraid. Even the realization that our culture perpetuates fear can instill fear in us! Damn! That fear is tricky.

So, how do we avoid fear?

First of all, by asking this question we have already slipped up--we have handed ourselves over to fear! Avoidance is the mistake. To avoid fear would be to give it power, it would further isolate us. We would find ourselves always covering up the source of our suffering, but never dissolving its place in our lives. Now we've faced a dilemma. If we can't run from fear and we can't run to it, then where do we go? This is the source of the confusion that fear has instilled within us. In short, fear is both the result and cause of duality. The concept of fear has an intrinsic effect on our experience of reality: it polarizes everything in this world into a negative and positive. Fear demands we make a distinction between what should be and what should not. And the stronger our fear, the more sure we are about that distinction.

This way of thinking puts us in a serious bind in every aspect of life, and especially on the spiritual path. As the search for knowledge grows and the ever intensifying Truths in life confront us, our approach in facing Reality demands even more integrity from us. Surely, if you find that something is of the utmost importance to you and your path in life, you have decidedly increased the duality involved. In other words, the more serious you become, the higher the stakes. The more vital is your success, the more dire are the consequences. Your obsession will lead to the ultimate fear and the potential for greatest failure.

But fear not, because there is a different way.

TRANSCENDING DUALITY -- THE PATH OF LOVE

We faced a dilemma when dealing with fear. We knew we could not head toward fear and we found that we were unable to avoid it, so how are we to live without fear? The answer is to do neither avoid nor accept. We choose not to play fear's game. This does not mean apathy, in which we would not care what happens. There is a subtle and beautiful difference here.

This special way is known to the followers of Taoism. The word Tao is often translated as "The Way" or path. We learn to face Reality without prejudice and without expectation, and in a seemingly mysterious way we can find that opportunity and peace will naturally result. This means putting aside duality and embracing the natural flow of things. Through this, we discover a whole new meaningful approach to life.

It can be easy to get lost in trying to make sense of something so abstract as the Tao. Our minds cannot logically comprehend it, and our language is so steeped in duality that we cannot succeed in truly speaking of it. Fortunately, there is a shortcut to living this special way-- and it's through the heart. A few months ago I probably would have scoffed at such a sappy idea. I had unknowingly been locked in the polarity of fear for a long time. But once I caught a glimpse of a different way, it was undeniable:

Love, in its purest sense is a transcendence of duality.

Through Love you can understand the Tao. You can escape the Ego and let go. From this vantage, it doesn't matter what the world throws at us--bring on the Orwellian police state, bring on Armageddon, bring on Death! If you really find the Way, you will become impervious to all of these things! It's hard to believe, but believe it. We have an unimaginable amount of power over our Reality, and it can only be tapped through Love.

More to come about tapping that power...

interesting...not saying I'm not "on board'...and I don't doubt or question your thought/intention. I feel I need to grow more and have a similar experience as yours to fully comprehend and ingest the full meaning...but something still to think about

only fear i have is dying before i accomplish what i planned to do

everyone must watch the infomercial in Donnie Darko with Patrick Swayze and fear

Both of you have a huge potential for completely abandoning fear. As far as I'm concerned, it is inevitable that you will both dissolve all negativity and bask in the amazing freedom without it.

Devin, try ingesting the message first Digestion will soon follow.

Admin (lol), your fear of death will help guide you to the light. You will arrive when you finally relinquish that fear. Remember that there are no failures in the universe, and you are on the path to very important things.

its actually not even much of a fear....if i die i die...i just don't want to die before my mission(s) is(are) accomplished

Donnie Darko is surely the first thought that came to mind when I saw this topic

Amen!

TAPPING THE POWER OF LOVE

Love has many meanings, but in the discussion of living through Love, we have a specific definition in mind. The transcendent quality of Love is a state of grace. When you live through your heart and embrace this type of consciousness you do something very special--you become one with your circumstances, in harmony with your environment. You no longer feel the push and pull of right or wrong. Instead, you find solace in acceptance. You accept what hand has been dealt, AND you also accept the game being played. Furthermore, you accept your role in the game. In truth, we are all players in this world.

Acceptance doesn't mean tolerance. Tolerance would be to drag one's feet. Acceptance is to appreciate your situation and embrace your opportunities.

When you live through Love you look at people differently. You see that everyone is on their own personal path, and their path is on the same ground as yours. No higher or lower. You feel for them, and see that no one really poses a threat to you and your journey. We're all just doing the best we can. As your sense of Love grows, your vantage expands and you can see how far reaching our personal paths wind--how they cross and overlap. You begin to notice that the paths extend infinitely. Options in life are unending and at your disposal.

We are now humbled through the vastness of Love. We don't flaunt our Love, we don't use it for gain. We live through Love because it makes life worth living. No matter what hand we're dealt, if we have Love in our heart we are doing just fine.

I completely relate to this. A few months back I new and felt everything you just described. However, I feel like I've lost that. To live that way was so real and wonderful and now I don't know it like I used to. I've let fear creep back in. Thank you for posting, Scott!!

as it will for Scott too Randi....but its all about that chart...perhaps ill dig it up and share

Ry, I had typed out something about the eb and flow/ ups and downs of life and this process but I deleted it. That chart really helps me and it probably will help Scott too some day. Maybe this is me starting the climb again.

Either way Scott's enthusiasm and excitement is inspiring.

weird...they just named the 2 probes going to Mars Ebb and Flow----

and deleting is bad---post it next time

I like charts

Your goal is to reach the bottom graph, where you will always have lows and highs relative to your quality of life, but you want your quality of life to be above where you are now,

Meditation helps drastically in improving this.