Addressing fear is the purpose of the spiritual path. Here are our readers’ thoughts on the topic.
The world has found itself in quite the predicament. Wherever you turn your head, or whatever channel you may flip to there’s an issue vying for your attention, and demanding your anxiety.
We’ve asked our readers to contribute how they have managed in this atmosphere of (near compulsory) fear, and here are your responses. Some are strengthened in their resolve to love, and others aren’t quite sure where they land but are conscious and present in their relationship to their fear. All of the responses are worthwhile, and we are grateful for your contribution.
So, sincerely, thank you for sharing your experiences with us.
Please continue to send in your thoughts and feelings. We do reader submissions such as these from time to time, and we love to hear from you.
With that, we offer you this feature.
I’ve learned to trust my intuition and never bought into the fear or hysteria. Not having a TV helped tremendously.
I’ve learned to trust my intuition
Back in January, when someone asked me what I thought about the virus, I tapped into its energy and my intuition told me that it wasn’t real. Yes, the virus was real but the “official story” from day one seemed manufactured. I’ve learned to trust my intuition and never bought into the fear or hysteria. Not having a TV helped tremendously.
I’ve felt (and still feel) that this was also a spiritual problem and my role has been to stand in my truth and be a calm presence for those around me. I believe that I live in a safe and loving environment, that my body has an amazing ability to heal itself and that I have tremendous power over my health. I’ve learned not to argue with people who think differently because they seldom listen to other viewpoints. Instead, I offer them my love and compassion and let my peaceful presence speak for itself.
I also believe that there is a beautiful world that exists alongside our broken, troubled one and have continued since day one to lead hikers on the magical trails in the forested mountains of Western North Carolina. Seeing how their hearts and minds absorbed the peace and tranquility of the mountains like a dry sponge soaking up water has been a rewarding experience. While I’m quickly approaching my mid-70s, I hope that my calm example gives those around me the courage and confidence to feel the same way.
Language is also important. On the hikes I don’t talk about social distancing (a term which I despise) but ask them to adopt “spacious consciousness” — honoring the space of those around them when necessary. I also believe “sacred seclusion” is also a much better term than “sheltering in place”.
I had a life-changing experience when I went to China in the late 1980s as part of a professional group. On one evening when we met with students who recently graduated with a degree in English, I asked one particular young woman what she planned to do with her life now that she graduated. She looked at me puzzled so I rephrased the question. With soul-vacant, expressionless eyes, she then replied, “Whatever the government tells me.”
What a revelation! I remember thinking that the US delegation was so fortunate to live in America where we have our freedom and would never let the government dictate to us how to lead our lives. Or would we allow that? This encounter taught me to never blindly accept the official story, to do my own research and to always, always stand in my own truth. That’s how I’ve stayed out of fear at this time.
With gratitude for all you do,
— Darlene
I have given up fear, worry and anxiety as useless automaton habits
“I refuse to give in to fear…I have complete faith and trust in the universe…as I look back, whenever my back has been against the wall, there has NEVER been a time when I didn’t make it through to the other side, when my life’s conundrums were not clarified, when solutions have not appeared…so I have given up fear, worry and anxiety as useless automaton habits that are best left by the curb.
I prefer to arm myself with knowledge and embrace love. And, most importantly, I’ve finally learned what it means to make friends with death. That is not to say that I look forward to my demise, but I am comfortable with my faith that energy persists, and that death is just a door to the next step, whatever that may be.
So…knowing that energy can neither be created nor destroyed, I live in the present as best I can and fear nothing.”
— Robbi
More clarity than fear
I feel protected. I feel more clarity than fear. These months spent looking inward more than outward have brought me closer to my loved ones & further from the people in my life w whom I didn’t share depth & allyship. It’s been a unique opportunity to see the big picture & make time to listen to all sides. I’ve experienced it as a time of safety, not fear, of privacy, not paranoia, & I’m not the only one. Many women in my circle feel the same.
— Eurydice
I’m still on the journey of riding the waves of life – which bring up the fears of the day and I’m am always surprised at them, in terms of where they hide, thinking I had resolved them, only to find them appear in different form/disguise.
I’m a living reality that love is stronger than fear
Hi!
First of all – THANK YOU – for you and the Planet Waves team! You all are awesome!
And in response to your question about my answer to fear – keeping myself – particularly my mental and emotional self grounded – is key and you all are a big part of that – thank you.
The context of my answer is that for 20+ years, I’ve been on a quest for knowing my inner truth. The quest came about when my marriage erupted and it created a “critical eruption” (learned that from my Buddhist teacher) when I said “I know what I know from my life, but there is more.”
Since then, I’ve been working with the 3 sisters – shame, guilt and fear – with an icing of pride that I lathered on to create a sense of safety for my persona around my job/career/knowledge. So, even before COVID and all the craziness of this year, I was familiar with my fear companion and I had developed a suite of tools to answer back.
That being said, I’m still on the journey of riding the waves of life – which bring up the fears of the day and I’m am always surprised at them, in terms of where they hide, thinking I had resolved them, only to find them appear in different form/disguise. There are times when I still get big time triggered and other times, now at least, I recognize it and even laugh, take my dog for walk with the trees.
My glass house shattered over the past couple of weeks, when my daughter and I decided to do our 28th annual trip to the Colorado Rockies to ride horses. It was the 1st time that I really went out – anyplace (I work from home, my gym is safe, and outside of not being able to breathe in a mask, I make few trips to the store).
We – me and her – had to decide individually and together what we wanted to do – what was fear, what we reasonably needed to pay attention to, and how we would process the fear of friends who said “WHAT?!?? You’re going to GO??!!???”
There is a saying that even in the worst of times, people do well.
This thought process, like the many the past months have brought, got me to consider what is important. This is in my journey of self-actualization. My sun sign is Pisces in the 4th house. Scorpio rising with Mars deep in the 12th house. Taurus moon opposite Scorpio. It was really clear – out of all the things that I’ve let go of this year – being in the mountains, on a horse for 3-5 hours/day, with my daughter has great meaning and purpose.
She and I both said – at the same time – we don’t know how long we will be here and if something happens to us (like we die in the fall) that last thing we’d say is “I’m so glad I didn’t go to the ranch.” So, an answer to fear – when I can, let me use it to know my inner truth and what’s important.
The shattering came as the trip came closer and I was dealing with traveling logistics – getting to the airport (Lyft, drive, bus?), the airport, what would be open, airplane and all of that. I realized that, in spite of my mind saying none of COVID, the fear, and nonuse that is going on bothered me – it did and it was. It was humbling – how it sneaked up on me and coming face to face with vulnerability – in spite of not reading much media, choosing what I read. Seeing fear – like COVID – being an invisible virus.
There is a saying that even in the worst of times, people do well. My fear was/is that I am not one of those people, but my everyday life – the abundance, some new, cool projects that have come in, my good health, the love that’s in my life – tells me differently. I have found the up/down/sideways path of listening to a different internal voice – the “just do it” motto pales in comparison to the other voices – some are really old, some newer.
This time, it seems, is a coming of age story for those of us ready to do it.
In many ways, what is going on right now, has exposed many ludicrous, crass, violent, power mongering ways of life. They have been with us for a long time. I picked up a book in the Denver airport “White Trash – 400 year history of class in the US.” Woman historian who pulled apart a history never told about what was really going on – not was home of the free and brave.
This time, it seems, is a coming of age story for those of us ready to do it. To surrender to what is, touch the deeper spiritual aspect of our being, and for me to see how committed and passionate I’ve been for these 20 years – of coming back to life again and again. It’s something to see yourself differently and to step into that new story.
It seems that one thing that I am saying is that my answer to fear has been to be with it – and that the situation that COVID has brought and the storm of media and control over minds – has not allowed me to back down, now and, at this stage of my life, to create the next stage and to be unabashedly, unapologetic (wow – 2 “un” words) clear about who I am, my truth and to trust both and walk the path that is here for me to walk.
I’m finding – at times, great peace with this.
Figured you are familiar with David Hawkins work – I was introduced to it 15 years ago and over the years picked it up and now picking it up again… going deeper. I resonate with his emotional vibration calibrations and have worked with them in understanding my emotions as they come and living the path of clearing and being present. In the “Eye of the I” – he notes that 78% of the population vibrates below 200 – and everything under 200 vibrates negatively.
So, of course, then I apply that to what is going on and I remember that I came here to be here at this time and I’m walking the “She/hero’s” path to self and home. It’s rocky and has crashing waves, and dharmic reality, I’m here and at this time of my life, Life is bringing me pathways to be me – with who I am – and to share it with others as they wish, to create their life.
Thanks for asking. This is my answer today. Tomorrow, could be different. I’m a living reality that love is stronger than fear – when we have the courage to let that be so, one day, one moment at a time.
With Love,
— Kathleen
Live in the moment
Hi Eric:
Greetings from your former home. Vashon has been a great place to be during this time of fear and anxiety.
My best antidote has been living in the present or even in the moment. Rather than planning and strategizing life, I try to look no more than one or two days into the future. Yes, at times I still plan and plan deeply. But limiting that forward thinking reduces anxiety. The moment we are in is invigorating and highly complex when you stop the future noise in your brain.
And that is soothing, because the present is manageable, whereas, the future is not.
Respectfully and humbly
— Tom
Keeping on keeping on
I feel angry and sadness that fear is winning in the hearts of the majority, at least seemingly. I feel rebellious too. But I keep shining my light!!!! Raising my vibration and keeping on keeping on.
— Layla
The pandemic is a mystery to me, there is a lot I do not understand.
I appreciate the rules that we must follow
What I observe in people around me is levels, or degrees, of fear.
Most people are being reasonably cautious, wearing masks and avoiding indoor spaces but they keep doing what they need to do.
I include myself in this category. I never stopped doing things that were important, like physical therapy (even during the lockdown phase), doctor appointments, etc. Food shopping and drug stores are ongoing shopping needs and I do these regularly. I always wear a mask and sometimes use gloves, but not often.
When salons and nail salons opened, I readily went and discovered that they were being very careful, so I never was afraid. I have seen most of my friends (outside), and I have gone to restaurants (also outside) with no fear.
Other people I know are much, much more fearful. These individuals will not shop, they have food delivered, they stay away from everyone (pretty much), and seem to feel very much at risk. They would never go to a hair salon or nail salon, ever. I feel for these people. They seem to be in panic mode every second. These people won’t see friends or do any socializing; it is rather sad.
Some of these people have pre-existing conditions, some do not. It is hard to understand.
The pandemic is a mystery to me, there is a lot I do not understand. Why are college students fine at home and then as soon as they get to college the virus shows up. It is hard to understand. Where does it come from?
I assume I will remain healthy; the pandemic feels like something I am watching from afar but at the same time I try not to be foolish about it. In Connecticut you must wear a mask everywhere and I am fine with that.
I appreciate the rules that we must follow. It seems that with wearing the masks, and avoiding indoor group gatherings, we are keeping the numbers low — so that enables us to keep leading fairly normal lives.
It is a small sacrifice to make.
Stay well everyone.
— C. Manis
Love more to fear less
The vibration of fear has been and continues to intensify. I have never FELT so much and been aware of so much human suffering. Humanity is truly at a crossroads.
Personally, I just lost my father, quit my “jobbie” job and am hoping to dive head first into my passion and use my gifts. I am terrified and grieving like many are. AND I know that we are all here in this lifetime for just a minute and that all we really have is this moment, this day. I believe we all agreed to this life, to experience all that we are experiencing. The great fear and also great love if we can be available to it.
How do I handle all this fear? I keep going. I try to stay present. Meditate. Exercise. I keep getting back up and dusting myself off and keep doing the things I love. I always feel better when I can help others. That’s the moral of this for me. Love more to fear less. At least, try.
Blessings Eric and Planet Waves Family
— Kristen
Speaking with an old friend, I learned that he had come to the exact same conclusion that I had about this moment. ‘Each decision you made, throughout your entire life, has led you to this precise moment,’ he said to me.
Not having a job makes every day a day of infinity
Not having a job makes every day a day of infinity. What I mean is that an infinite variety of things to do or not to do stretches itself before me whenever I wake up. Under lockdown, the time I wake up is as infinitely variable as the tasks I can decide, or decide not to, do.
Speaking with an old friend, I learned that he had come to the exact same conclusion that I had about this moment. “Each decision you made, throughout your entire life, has led you to this precise moment,” he said to me.
“I’ve been having that same thought, exactly,” I told him. “It’s like every time there was a fork in the road of the path in my life, I had to make a choice, to go one way, or to make a different decision, and go the other.”
He completed my thought. “And when you made a decision one way, the other path, and all the paths that would have opened up because of that choice, closed off. And the way became narrower, and narrower. And it came to the point you’re at now.”
“Exactly,” I answered, “It all came to the point I’m at now. It all narrowed down to this. So, now what? Where do I go from here? Is it just going to keep getting narrower, or will it open up again? Where do I go from here? What’s going to happen next?”
So often now, upon arising, I sit in a sense of stasis, staring out into my small living room. If you were to see me sitting there, I might seem to be about to jump up into action, or, because of my stillness, I might seem to be meditating. But what I’m actually doing is reviewing the possibilities, and reviewing my responsibilities, which move in a loop pattern so like a mobius strip. If I do this, what will happen? Do I really even have the energy to do that? What do I have the energy to do? It’s not just mental energy that’s lacking, it’s also physical energy.
So often now, upon arising, I sit in a sense of stasis, staring out into my small living room. If you were to see me sitting there, I might seem to be about to jump up into action, or, because of my stillness, I might seem to be meditating.
Because of the pandemic, every place I want to go is closed off to me now. Since I was a teen, and lived and worked in Mexico, I have nurtured the belief that I might return some day in my retirement, and complete my life there. I check the news for Mexico, and their country is in a state very much like our own—it exists in parallel—and they have cut off travel. Other news say people are traveling there, and hotels are at 30% occupancy. Most reports say it’s unsafe, or irresponsible to travel at this time, in the middle of a pandemic.
I considered returning home, to northern California. Now fires are burning down the old grove redwoods that border my home town, and the city has sent its tourists packing, and filled its hotel and motel rooms with evacuees from the burned-out hills surrounding the cities. Family and friends from there tell me that smoke and ash fill the sky, and their cars are covered with soot, but so far they haven’t had to evacuate.
My garden I nurtured in the back yard of my apartment here in Brooklyn has been my sanctuary; it’s offered me a place to rebuild my imagination and y self-esteem. My sense of self-efficacy was restored bit by bit through digging in the dirt, pulling weeds, planting seeds, creating a sanctuary for butterflies, bees, birds—and myself.
Hurricane Isaias put an end to that, when a neighbor’s tree was uprooted from the ground, and came crashing across my back yard. One of the tree branches holding the tree from toppling further against the building has pinioned a planter holding my most beautiful flowers. It’s been weeks already, and no entity has come to remove the tree from the back yard.
It’s gotten to the point that I’m afraid to even think of something I love, for fear that it, too, will be taken from me. Everything I love is not only being lost, but at a very rapid clip.
I felt from the beginning that we (the people) were being used as guinea pigs; the specifics of why were not clear to me, as they’re still not clear, although they are coming into clearer focus, six months into the lockdown.
In journalism school we were taught, literally on the first day of class, to follow the money. So I ask myself, who’s making money during the pandemic? The big-box retailers, like Target and Wal-Mart; the tech industry; the vaccine makers.
I notice that shopping is one of the few things we are allowed to do, in lockdown. Many stores have reopened, and we are once again allowed to shop—with the changed viewpoint from behind the mask. Most of the items on offer seem ridiculous now (although I do need more bras, the ones I have don’t any longer contain my breasts, which have gotten bigger, part of my lockdown weight gain). There’s no longer anyone to show your purchases off to—wasn’t that always part of the fun? I also notice that the models in the ads aren’t wearing masks, and these ads have become a source of cognitive dissonance for me. Where do you go where you can take your mask off? Is there a different class of people who are allowed access to these mask-free places?
I think that in the future, some will remember that the initial reason why life changed in a certain way or ways was due to some sort of a virus that was going around, and then other changes came, and soon everyone forgot that things had been different before.
I got the coronavirus early on, in March. I was catching the subway to work, at a per-diem job as a long-term substitute teacher in a middle school in Ridgewood, Queens. I kept on working as the school went virtual, with on-line learning. Sick with Covid-19, I dragged myself out of my bed to type lessons into the computer screen. Few students attended. When the regular teacher announced she was ready to return, I quit so I could fight for my life. I was told not to report to a hospital, which were filled with those much more seriously ill than I was. A month afterwards I was informed by the school that I had been formally hired, even though no one bothered to tell me, and I lost the union benefits I hadn’t been told I had.
I find it hard to breathe wearing a mask covering my nose and mouth. Sometimes I wonder if the point of all this was to prepare us for something bigger, the news of which hasn’t been released yet. Is there a reason they want us all wearing masks, and being afraid of one another? Racial antagonisms have reached a fever pitch, and white people are having paintball fights against other white people, using homemade shields, in the streets of Portland, with nary a black person to be seen, under the auspices, purportedly, of Black Lives Matter.
The essential workers—the grocery store clerks, the teachers–we’re obviously the last to be informed. It’s clear to me that if students must do online learning, you don’t need thousands of teachers—you only need one. I feel the way is being paved for something much, much bigger than Covid; I think that in the future, some will remember that the initial reason why life changed in a certain way or ways was due to some sort of a virus that was going around, and then other changes came, and soon everyone forgot that things had been different before.
I play with my cat, paint, do housework, and take walks around the neighborhood. I continue to apply for jobs online, which I never hear back from, or get rejection letters from the algorithms. I pull my mask down when there’s no one else on the street, and try to put it back in place when I see other people up ahead, on the sidewalk. I feel like, since I’ve had the antibody test and was positive, I’m really only wearing the mask to fit in, and be socially acceptable.
A favorite thrift store, the Salvation Army superstore in Hell’s Kitchen, has reopened, and I took the subway there several days ago, in hopes of cheering myself up. I wished I had a friend to shop with, and had to hide in a dark corner of the store so other masked shoppers wouldn’t see my tears.
How do we interact in small groups to get things done?
I spend as much time as I can outside.
I hang out with farmers & gardeners – people who deal with actual reality.
I don’t have a cell or smart phone.
I don’t watch cable or channel tv.
I don’t stream or YouTube.
I stay as healthy as I can.
I have self cared with organic food, herbs, flower essences and supplements for 4 decades.
I wear a mask in the places requiring it.
I don’t hang out with groups of people.
And folks I do interact with practice social spacing.
I stopped reading & listening to you because the tone of your presentations came from the same fear mongering school as George Nori’s word manipulation.
I appreciated that you were attempting to find out the ‘facts’, but I’ve watched over the years as you go down rabbit holes and lose focus.
This is the dissolution of the patriarchy and all that it built.
It is the ‘quorum sensing’ of the human biome and all of its microbial participants.
We need to be focusing on what gets us through and creating new ways of being human together. Naomi Klein offered a clue.
How do we interact in small groups to get things done?
— Laura
Anxiety, mandatory or otherwise, is never the most productive response to exterior events.
The answer to fear: stare reality in the face
Dearest Eric,
Anxiety, mandatory or otherwise, is never the most productive response to exterior events. But I’d like to address something else altogether, which is the massive wakeup call that white America has been getting about the actual embodied impacts of structural racism, thanks not only to recent spectacular incidences of police violence, but also to a little viral organism.
I mention it because any reference to the much higher—and very real—COVID death rates in black, brown and indigenous communities throughout the U.S. is wholly missing from your analyses.
You keep talking about the conspiratorial inflation of statistics and official response, but never seem to mention the fact that for some communities that have not had the option to stay home, COVID is actually very real and very pervasive.
I should add that this is not only a result of essential workers being out on the frontlines of exposure. Indeed, we now understand that chronic exposure to air pollution because of proximity to polluting industry is a serious predictor of who lives and who dies once exposed to this virus. We are talking about working class communities of color here, who are habitually on the receiving end of environmental injustice.
We need to widen the lens. The answer to fear: stare reality in the face. All of it.
Yours,
— Shoshana
Stay focused on the big picture
Hi Eric,
Coincidentally I received the email below this morning — while it is a long read, I think it gives an excellent explanation of how I prefer to view the current situation, or shall say choose to (or try to!) … perhaps a precis of my thinking might be to say that I prefer to choose to stay focused on the big picture, and my own choice of perspectives, as much as I possibly can.
Stay curious as to the outcomes, while allowing for the potential of things to develop which are as yet outside my ken.
After all we don’t know what we don’t know … and what may appear impossible today, becomes humdrum & matter of fact tomorrow once the ‘impossible concept’ has been assimilated into every day thinking. We can only view such a limited corner of the perspective, a microdot of paint, not the whole painting.
Also of course to stay in compassion and allowing of other perspectives and view points. There’s no ‘absolute truth’, at least not in a way that our limited brains and imaginations can cope with, only individual truths from individual perspectives, each of which can be totally true and totally valid – at that level – and totally untrue and totally invalid at another.
It’s holons all the way up, or turtles all the way, whichever way you prefer to visualise it. Or elephants. I think I prefer elephants, turtles backs are a bit too rounded for stability, and besides I’m rather fond of Ganesha.
I don’t know if you’ve come across Tom Kenyon, although I find it hard to imagine that you can’t be aware of his incredible voice with its 8 octave range, and whether you may or not subscribe to his view of support from other worlds. If not I think you’ll like him.
Like you he combines the fantastic with the rational, with a scientific mindset and an integral and non-dual approach to spirituality, which sits equally comfortably with his practice of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and channelings from interdimensional beings, or archetypes, or … whatever.
Thank you for your contribution to sanity and wisdom and thought expansion in this weird and wonderful world.
Stay safe and bright blessings,
with love and gratitude,
— Eadie
Fwd: A Hathor Planetary Meditation through Tom Kenyon
Fear is to me…the unknown aspects of not knowing what’s ahead, or how we can correctly navigate life.
Use fear to see what needs to be seen
My response is mine and not a universal answer but rather a simple one that has sustained me and I am now 73 years old. Still unfolding and still on my journey of life.
Fear is to me…the unknown aspects of not knowing what’s ahead, or how we can correctly navigate life etc. I have found the many books I have read (the Bible and The Course, much of Carl Jung years and years.. I am a single mother (3 and 7 year old.) married to a very wealthy drunk who was my HS sweetheart or at least one of them. That’s another story.
But what I thought would bring me love and peace brought me fear, many other aspects of my life were the same. I came to understand that this lifetime was going to be challenging but I had a core faith and more importantly I believed that there was a universal belief in me.. be it myself, the Divine, parents or more aspects of Universal manifestations. I learned fear was fear…
Jung stated to experience ones life…to find the other…and techniques to know my shadow and make friends with it. On and on I read Julian of Norwich, cosmic Consciousness etc.!its there for us.. said in many ways.
Find yours..that’s part of the journey to educate oneself
I am still learning and questioning…Eric you have been a comfort and a friend. A go to…I have joined planet waves when my finances work…contribute to your continuation as I believe in your knowledge, your perceptions and your challenge and guidance to think for ourselves.
In these days of who left the barnyard gate open and a seeming path of grouping that has been set up within our country… I have seen it before.. 60’s, wars, marches, diseases without cures at that very moment. Etc etc. leave the gate open .. why? … we all have our own needs and tasks…we work and live them and through that we live together. Respectfully. Power yes…but not to the danger of our planet…
We are quite a group of fortunate humans who have the right to learn and think.., both inductively and deductively…or not at all and just respond as if debating with he said…the newspapers said…see. I am right.
Or how this one did that and is a liar etc etc etc. The frightening aspect is how stupidity steps in, thoughts are justified and unwillingness to except, the need to out speak or intimidate or outright twisted information that is relayed by supposed to be our leaders..
“Really really really a lot of water” is not how a hurricane that has destroyed and kill is not how catastrophe are usually explained by a leader of the free world!
This Pandemic has shown day by day facts change in moments and so much is ambiguous at best.
To end my point…we will more have more plagues and attacks and actions of extremes -financial and health plagues with a need to simple being able to feed, house, educate and care kindly about each other…rather than leaders and citizens believing and thinking being right is of most importance.
This Pandemic has shown day by day facts change in moments and so much is ambiguous at best.
We are still trying to unify this country. We are still trying to educate and care for all. Some who have had…simply do not understand its opposite of not having…fear steps in…I have been on both sides.
When I knew not what to do to fix or help myself I fell to my knees and said
God or whoever you may be…use me to do what You need me to do. He has. The road less traveled has been profound…living it and receiving it. All lessons for my path.
Now at 73 I refer to the assistance that life offers. Eric you are one of my life lines. Thank you
Fear is a force of good. Hate is not. Use fear to see what needs to be seen. Think. Evaluate, pray.. not for the answer but direction. Life is a path…there is more to come I believe but correction on every level by every one of us…not opinions to win a position is needed…thought and pray to understand all positions.
The answer has a part of each. Then have and use the best stuff within yourself do it.
Thank you for all you do.
— Jody
I refuse to live my life in fear and will enjoy daily life
I agree with you that fear is widespread. The promotion and propagation of which through social and mainstream media formats is causing a paralysis of thought and action. It isn’t helped by actors on both ends of the spectrum and in-between who preach the one trick pony of fear.
I refuse to live my life in fear and will enjoy daily life. But I will be cautious and deal with things as the situation warrants.
Regards,
— Dick
I step outside and touch the earth barefeet everyday
I step outside and touch the earth barefeet everyday, usually before breakfast. I pick up the garbage there and help thus clean up the space, with garden gloves. I take the old leaves from the plants while I am there. I wear no mask if it is in the front yard of the condominium where I live.
We greet neighbors passing by at that hour. They are not afraid. Or I go to the neighborhood park and do more work there. A couple of neighbors do most of the work.
I journal everyday, sometimes furiously, on recycled paper. I collect that paper from boxes that I’ve used, to receipts, to bank account envelopes that I pick up at a sister’s house. I haven’t bought paper in years that I cannot count.
I have no car, but bike to do my errands. I donate powdered milk (from an industry I have personally visited) to people on the streets. It is easy, clean and there is an almost universal deficiency of dairy intake in the general population. None of them are afraid, they are hungry, hopeless, anxious. I always bring with me something to donate.
I generate as much employment as I can, from the guy who makes the maintenance of my bike to a carpenter who is going to come to do some maintenance in my house. I do much more complex things in this area, but it would be hard to explain to an international, most likely urban audience.
I have several spiritual practices, one of which is to meditate daily, the majority of the time by myself, but I also join groups virtually.
— Mariana
I’ve always known that humans are complex beings capable of expressing the extreme of any spectrum of emotion, in a moments notice.
I do not need to give fear a home
I’ve always known that humans are complex beings capable of expressing the extreme of any spectrum of emotion, in a moments notice. I am also acutely aware of how people are really showing who they are with this pandemic: either resistant to balanced information or a magnet for conspiracy-theory-meme’s.
All I know is I do not know enough about COVID-19 to be resistant to measured precautions like wearing a face mask, not being in public if I feel a fever coming on, taking a step back from people sneezing or coughing or picking their nose and touching stuff I also want to be touching (like a door knob).
A dose of sanity regarding eating well, boosting my immune system, drinking plenty of water and getting a good nights sleep is what I use to address any fear that may arise in me or when I am witness to it in others.
I do not need to give fear a home within my psyche regarding COVID-19.
I have no need of another news story with urgent almost hysterical tones of voice reporting the latest statistics, another meme regarding how the 5G roll-out caused it or a vaccine to keep me from contracting it.
Though to be fully honest, I do from time to time fear that a vaccine will be made mandatory. I acknowledge the fear and then remind myself that we’re all going to die from something.
And there’s no need to fear that either.
Happy Smiles,
— JeanMarie
Not attaching to what the mind lights on
A bit of a challenge, for sure. Firstly, back to basic Buddhist practice: not attaching to what the mind lights on, taking and sending of energies (let me feel this gruesome thing for everyone so that we can all be free of it, Lojong). Then, realizing that the fear is a tool, a blunt instrument, being used to keep everyone in the same place and facing down.
The cacophony of issues is purposely distracting and it is important, I find, to stop and be quiet and raise my observation to a higher spot. The other night there was kind of a blinding flash where I saw the enormous reality of the Cosmos and the harmony and love that truly exists there and that we ARE.
This means that however crabby we feel, we must be good to each other, period. A smile even in a mask goes a long way. We’re changing format in a way, becoming less dense and more attuned and while that can be a painful process it is important and it IS happening- so the less we attach to what WAS and the more we remain open to what IS the more likely we’ll be to truly succeed and save our planet.
Just because someone is running their mouth doesn’t mean we gotta listen.
love,
— Kelley
Try to think clearly
As I sit here in Australia and observe with interest the continuing unfolding, re-folding and further unfolding of the (alleged) corona madness that is sweeping the world, I cannot help but think that it is one big Transactional Analysis (TA) framework morphing into a great big Karpman triangle.
The Over Nurturing/Critical government keeping the Child like population in check by using the media with incorrect statistics to keep the population in a Child like state. This is reinforced by so-called experts supporting the government narrative by making ‘guestimation’ claims of many many imminent deaths.
This further keeps the population in a Child like state, unable to think clearly and giving all the power back to the Over Nurturing/Critical parent, who tells the population this is necessary for its survival.
In my mind, it is the fear of death that keeps the ‘Child like’ population subdued and compliant and somewhat in a state of ‘wide-eyed comatose’ surviving. This unfortunately is not LIVING – it is just surviving and the longer the fear of the alleged sickness continues the deeper the population will spiral in a generally downwards direction, further and further into a Child like state of consciousness. Believing they are more and more reliant on the ‘Parent’ government for survival.
The Karpman triangle, with the roles of, Victim, Rescuer and Persecutor comes into play in this scenario when someone tries to push back against the government narrative.
The Rescurer, (anyone who can look and think clearly around what is happening) and (has the audacity) to make a comment against the government narrative, tries to help the population, the Victim in this scenario.
Unfortunately the Victim, brainwashed by the media, governments and experts, with deep seated unconscious fear of death and having totally handed over power and responsibility to the now totally reliant on Parent government for its safety, attacks and Persecutes the outspoken, who in reality is only trying to open the eyes of the Victim to what is happening.
The non-thinking and frightened Children attack and Persecute the alternative views, labeling them conspiracy theorists, tin hat wearers, flat earth believers etc. The Parent government also attacks the Rescuers, further supporting the beliefs of the population that ‘Mommy and Daddy will look after us’ – the spiral continues ad infinitum.
My answer to fear? Try to think clearly, look at mainstream and alternative views, with the objective being to keep everything in balance. Look closely at, and embrace my fears. Be comfortable with death and as far as TA and Karpman go – be neither ‘in Child’ nor in ‘Overnuturing/Critical parent but stay in the Adult state, balanced between the two. Be aware of my role as victim, rescuer or persecutor.
Finally, as much as possible fill the world with Love.
I believe the evolutionary journey of the earth is continuing as it should, we have a choice though, to make it pleasant or otherwise.
Kindest Regards
— Michael
Our society is creating a toxic world and we are not supporting life w/our empty consumptive lifestyle. The earth spoke in early March and I am still holding out that we can listen and act accordingly.
It could be seen that nothing has really changed
Hi PW Team – thanks for the opportunity to contribute and for considering my comments.
I am grateful for the information on the “global pandemic” you share. Makes perfect sense. Definitely not a conspiracy.
I understand what you are saying, I am very dismayed about what I see. I love the term “biopsychic frequency”. People (including friends) laugh at me.
Understanding the astrology as presented by PW and other sources helps me with my spiritual training. I am not surprised when people close to me do not share my passion for this subject. I am surprised however that those individuals are not open to listen when I share any thoughts on questioning the wearing a mask and also what is actually happening (ie- this virus is not the whole issue).
It is amazing there is no discussion, just sharp adherence to the idea of wearing them! Some also support the vacc idea. What happens is we change the subject. Dismay.
It could be seen that nothing has really changed, as the majority of people (western world that I am familiar with much less with my close circle) have not been able to see or do not accept that we are not honouring the planet. This sums it up, could be via inflicting chemicals, war, the medical system or sustained cruel and disrespectful treatment of fellow beings. I wish people could recognize the covid response is the same pattern.
I conclude this after observing people’s choices and also what I see valued by society in general. Also because I embrace the principles of the Indigenous Peoples from around the world. Think Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kilmer -a recent example but there are many. The counsel has been there since the start.
Currently we say we are listening (ex: traditional territory acknowledgements in Canada at events and meetings) yet still do not demonstrate with our actions.
We are fortunate to still have access to Elders who grew up in the traditional teachings, those who managed to escape the Residential School system, in most cases. They are trying to help us remember our connections to all living beings. We could look to our culture of the Taurus Age for similar principles although it goes much further back and is less accessible to draw upon.
I garden and study/practice herbalism, so useful to keep me grounded as well!
Our society is creating a toxic world and we are not supporting life w/our empty consumptive lifestyle. The earth spoke in early March and I am still holding out that we can listen and act accordingly. I will keep trying. Seems plastic is on the rebound. Dismay.
Thank you again,
best wishes from British Columbia, Canada
— Madelin
Fear doesn’t often knock at my door; fear knows it’s not welcome here
Fear doesn’t often knock at my door. Fear knows it’s not welcome here. At times though, Fear enters, usually as a guest of someone else I have welcomed in. This can get tricky because I then need to be cordial with Fear because it is obvious that someone I do care about cares for Fear.
How, you ask, do I answer to unwelcomed Fear? I don’t. I don’t acknowledge its presence, I don’t address it during conversation, I don’t feed the beast.
Fear, however, is no dummy. Fear knows how to build a fan base. If the person I care about insists on inviting Fear to the table, I then do my best to call out Fear for what Fear really is. I remove the cloak, I shine a light so bright that it cannot hide it’s true meaning. On occasion this works wonderfully and the brightness of light sends Fear running out the door.
Other times, it attaches itself to ego and forces my welcomed guest to leave with Fear and take it elsewhere.
In these times I have found Fear in many places I would have never expected. It is welcomed in many doors and seated at the head of many tables, given extra servings and even toasted as an honored guest. I can only assume that Fear has found a purpose and until it’s true nature is recognized for what it is, it will continue to feast and it’s fan base will grow.
As for myself, I will keep my door open for those who seek the truth and a refuge from Fear.
In truth,
— Nicole
My only answer is to love more, and to love consciously. To resist the polarising effects of the fear discourse, to join together on the spiritual level with all those around the globe who have similar intent.
The more fear there is the more do we hear the call to love
For me the foundational insights from The Course in Miracles frames the choice in front of me – love or fear.
The more that the discourses of fear are dominating the more I have had to accept my inability, even with some friends and family, to name the insanity.
So, after many months of critiquing the corporate narrative and discussing alternative narratives in order to push back against the fear, I have finally accepted the power fear has to block these conversations.
So whilst I feel like I’m living in a version of the fairly tale ‘The Emperor Has No Clothes’, waiting for everyone to wake up and say the equivalent of “the emperor’s naked” (there is no pandemic).
I have had to accept that what I see as ‘common sense’ isn’t so common because humanities collective fear of death is front and centre on the world stage.
I have realised that if I persist in trying to counteract the fear on the physical level the result is polarising, which makes me part of the fear paradigm, and therefore complicit in strengthening the veil of Maya.
This brought me to the question – what is really essential here?
My only answer is to love more, and to love consciously. To resist the polarising effects of the fear discourse, to join together on the spiritual level with all those around the globe who have similar intent. To connect my heart with theirs, and through that interconnection to welcome the help of spiritual beings whose strength and support are there and accessible to our interconnected hearts.
Through this lens the ever increasing insanity, the ludicrous dance we are being made to dance is, at it’s heart, a call for humanity to wake-up.
It is this relationship which raises us up to our ability to be ’truly human. So, I create this reality daily, as a living vision in my being, trusting in the powerful capacity of this choice.
With this choice comes gratitude for the events of our times, because it is these events that catalyse me out of my complacency and into my commitment to work with my inner evolution for the sake of world evolution. To take up practices that call me up to my next turn around the evolutionary spiral of my life.
Through this lens the ever increasing insanity, the ludicrous dance we are being made to dance is, at it’s heart, a call for humanity to wake-up.
Seeing it this way I can accept that if this is what humanity needs, this is what humanity needs.
I find the practices of anthroposophy (Rudolf Steiner’s wisdom of the human being) particularly supportive for me at this stage of my life. A central understanding of anthroposophy is that through the Mystery of Golgotha, the etheric Christ energy became part of the earth’s etheric body, and is now available for each of us to connect with individually through free choice.
Our I AM can consciously awaken the Christ within, and then join with the purpose of humanity on earth – which is to cultivate love in its highest sense. So now, the more fear there is the more do we hear the call to love. Fear is just a lack of love.
I have enrolled in a course with a leading anthroposophical teacher, Lisa Romero, called Inner Development for World Development to support my focus and to be part of a community of people working consciously with this intent.
I continue to learn to watch my own reactions to those who still want to sleep, to work more objectively with my ‘personality matrix’ and it’s reactions to this inability to want to see, and to be so very thankful for the support of like-minded beings, such as yourself, who provide that ray of light in the darkness that keeps my faith strong.
Daily practice, integrated into my interactions is essential now!
With love and gratitude,
— Bronwyn
