Question:
Being present in each moment has enhanced my life and sense of peace dramatically, beyond words even. However, recently i have begun to notice an unshakable sense of fear arising as presence deepens. This fear feels more like an addiction to thinking, it’s as if i would cease to exist if i stopped. I’ve tried to just observe this feeling but it feels sticky and have noticed it creates an intense pain around my heart chakra. i find myself being identified with this emotion frequently and sometimes the pain grows. Is this a common fear many people face in spirituality? and if so, how can one use this fear to find truth?
Answer:
This is very deep spiritual healing territory you have entered, and you describe it accurately. As we become more present, our identity starts to shift from the ego centric self that is rooted in the past/future and starts to align to the eternal present of the higher self. This transition is interpreted as a threat to the ego’s existence and it then generates intense feelings of fear, dread and even pain to stop you from continuing this process. First recognize that from the ego’s point of view this is a life and death thing. Reassure you ego that when you are enlightened and living fully in the present, the ego will still exist and have an important role to play in your life–it’s designed role instead of its usurped role.
When the strong feelings or pains come up, disregard the emotional or mental content and focus entirely on the physical sensation that accompanies the emotion. By putting attention on the body instead of the mind, we escape the clutches of the ego’s arena and allow our consciousness to directly heal the stored fear and conditioning in the cells of our body. Let yourself feel the physical sensation connected to the fear and find the location in your body. You mentioned your heart area. Simply be with that pain in your chest and breathe deeply while the pain increases or decreases in intensity. The sensation will soon diminish and you will find your mind distracted with other thoughts. This means that a level of that underlying fear has been released and is now healed. A part of that deep fear has now been replaced with the truth of your real self. This process may take a while to heal all the ego’s fears, but eventually it will all be cleared and your inner Being will shine forth in it’s true nature.
Love,
Deepak
On the edge of its Mother's nest, does a fledgling feel fear? I don't know, but I've seen a few dead ones and my imagination does take flight…… sometimes!
I have to agree with the questioner, that it used to scare me, too when I drew near to imagination's source. Our old friend *death* is right/left on our tail.
Did you know that death never dies? Should I take that paradoxical leap into His Living Arms! As I wrote, I don't know……..
for some reason i never experienced the fear you describe. my immersion in the spiritual journey is precisely what eliminated the role of fear from my consciousness. the only thing i can say is that what worked for me is that whatever i feared, i ran directly at instead of from. and the more i did it, the more i learned that fear is an illusion, as Mr. Dee says, created by the ego to keep us under ego's control, and as soon as that became a default setting of my consciousness' operating system, suddenly, fear's role disappeared from my life.
interesting perspective. my experience has taught me that "death" is an illusion that can easily be dismissed simply by abandoning the fear of it.
how?
try dying.
you'll find that there's no such thing.
I tried it Eugene……my mother brought me round but not I, her I'm sorry to say…..from that I surmise that my Mother, the Earth, still needs me, inherently fearfully. It's very fine line. I fear that a potential within me/you will not be fulfilled, but, until all avenues to all of each other's hearts are exhausted, I hope not die. (leave this scene) We are surely at the mercy of each other. Jesus was sore afraid but his was a very fine line and he made it
Mind the gap!
Course. it's really the gap that we are talking about……let's fill it with Life and then there is no need for transition…….. see what I'm seeing? ha, ha I'll go on for ever with words as avenues!! Thanks, Eugene, you kept it brief