Haunted Hearts

• ¶ The Dark Children of Fear ↴
• ¶ Grounding of Fear and Inner Reflection ↴
• ¶ Actual Real Things to Fear – Risk Assesment ↴
• ¶ Mapping and Preparation for Real External Threats ↴
• ¶ Brewing the Cauldron – The Ghosts in Our Heads ↴
• ¶ Return to the Reasonable – Meeting Our Fear Receptor ↴
• ¶ Overcoming Unrooted and Self-Generated Fear ↴
• ¶ Catalyst for Improvement vs. Projecting the Worst ↴
• ¶ The Best and Worst Will Come – And Teach You ↴
• ¶ Head On Into the Heart of Fears ↴
• ¶ Seek the Attitude that Resolves Fears ↴

Greetings! The night has fallen and we're camping somewhere in the haunted forest. Or something like that. I've even brought my machete — in case dangerous things cross my path. Just in case.

So, today we're talking about fear. Fear and its dark children — okay? Fear in itself is a primary, primal emotion or a state of mind. And it is there for a reason. It is the outcome of our evolutionary path throughout the eons.

Fear is there in order to make sure that threat and danger and harm do not destroy us, do not damage us, do not damage that which is important for us. So, fear is there, fear is natural.

But then, alas — we are overcome by fear. We have, not only in the mind, but in the biological system, a certain circuitry of readiness. Famously, the fight, flight or freeze response that comes to be when we are faced with an acute threat. Okay?

The Dark Children of Fear ¶

Now, in here, we'd like to look at fear in a bit more depth. Because fear exists for a reason under certain conditions — and under other conditions we overreact. We are afraid of things that are not worthy of being feared. Okay?

And fear has its dark children. Fear comes not alone. Fear, especially when a sense of fear is more constant, we have anxiety, whether general anxiety or anxiety over a particular threat or adversary. From there onward, we have a sense of insecurity. We worry even to a point of paranoia, there is a certain dreading that we carry internally.

And then, into the external, we project distrust, for good reason or otherwise. Are these people going to be the agents of my demise? Should I trust them? Or if I trust them, will they betray me? Will they stab me in the back? Will they work against what is desirable for me, what is in my best interest?

And this may even come to a point of anger, aggression, etc., where we proactively go forth in order to undo the potential agents of our undoing. So there are significant negative potentials present in fear, and we'd like to be sure that they are there for valid reason.

Grounding of Fear and Inner Reflection ¶

We really don't need to have anxiety, distrust, dreading, aggression, etc. — there are plenty more progeny from fear — unless they are really necessary and justified by the conditions we are in. All right?

There is a significant burden in life when we entertain fear that is not grounded, that is not rooted. It leads to maladaptive behavioral patterns. It leads to irrational behavior. It leads to disproportionate measures being taken. It leads to compulsion, etc., it complicates our life significantly.

We'd like to be sure that these complications are actually justified and rooted, grounded in actuality, rather than our subjective mental process that is without a platform in reality. Okay? The very first question is, as in we are reflecting our inner state — fear of what? Now, there is a "what" out there, and there are many "whats" out there, the agents that present a threat. But the real question is, fear of what happening to you specifically.

What is it to you, if a particular thing happens? Where are you holding on to that fear? Do not externalize your concerns perpetually. Always take a look at the inner sphere, see where all of these things are rooted, and how they transform your internal functioning. Right?

Actual Real Things to Fear – Risk Assesment ¶

Now, from here, if we look at fear, let's talk about fear actual. Things that are not just our mental creations, things that, or things that appear not to be our mental creations, things that appear not to be hallucinations, right? Now, there is a need to prepare for threats that are real.

Risk analysis, okay? Examine the context in which the threat exists. What is the impact if the dreaded things comes to be, and also what is the likelihood of it actually happening? From there we get a general sense of the risk that functions as a reference for us, functions as a means of prioritizing our mental and behavioral strategies. There may be a most dreadful thing that would destroy everything out there, potential, sort of plausible, but extremely unlikely.

The asteroid in there, up there, one of those, whatever, nebula planet, is probably not going to be here tomorrow to end our life as we know it. And also, it doesn't seem likely that we need bunkers to shelter for the nuclear winter right now. And also, it's probably not very likely that all of your beloved ones will suddenly die of a terrible virus or an act of random violence. These things may happen, but they are really not very high on the scale of likelihood.

So, these concerns are a lower priority. And as we examine the threats out there that we reflect on, it may turn out to be that a risk is much more significant from more common everyday threats to our well-being. Even the risks in our internal realm are maladapted mental patterns.

The unreasonable fear of threat in itself is actually, that is a legitimate object of fear. There is a virus in your head that makes you behave in bizarre ways and compromise your well-being and even impact your beloved ones in a negative way, and that is something to be afraid of and something that needs to be managed. Right? And now here we have identified the things to deal with.

Mapping and Preparation for Real External Threats ¶

We have mapped the risks to be feared and next phase — response models, response strategies. Should this particular threat be actuated, what are we going to do? Right? We have our fallback plan. We're not simply waiting for the shit to hit the fan. We are actually ready. We've mentally prepared ourselves. We've materially prepared ourselves in proportion to the risk presented.

And then we're done with our preparation and we can get back to a peaceful state of mind. There is no... As long as the conditions remain unchanged, as long as your preparations, your response model remains uncompromised, then be at peace. Whatever that comes, comes in its season.

And until then, there is absolutely no benefit in ruminating over and over again, living in dread and fear. There are a hundred million possible threats in this world. And if you are going to be worrying about each one of those happening, at any whichever time, from all directions or from within you — then you are never actually going to be living a peaceful and meaningful life.

You will simply be driven by the worry, dreading the worst and missing out on all the rest of it. All right? Now, in there, we also have the factor of the fear of the unavoidable. For example, death is such a thing. Death is unavoidable. Our death will come. The death of our beloved ones will come. Hopefully, in the course of nature, possibly as a matter of accident, before the years are full. Now, we cannot make preparations ensuring immortality. So, you know, okay. Acceptance.

Acceptance, and where necessary, contingencies to be put in place. In here, there will at some point, again, be a significantly large earthquake. At some point, the volcano, a bit that way down the road, will blow its lid off and blanket the area in thick volcanic dust. Okay, so that's going to come eventually, right? And I cannot stop it. So, you know, come as it may, I am living my life in the meantime.

All right? So, these are actual fears to be reflected on, to be considered, to be prepared for. And having prepared for which, you can live in peace. All right? Actual fears.

Brewing the Cauldron – The Ghosts in Our Heads ¶

Now, then we come to the cauldron here, brewing every which-ever witch-brew, our untamed minds. All the contents that we do not yet see, that are brewing in there, bubbling, all sorts of noxious fumes coming out. We have all sorts of ominous ghosts in our heads, haunting us, okay? We cannot find a reasonable explanation for our fears, but fear comes, worry comes, anxiety comes, and so on.

So, okay, now given someone may be a particularly sensitive, exceptional individual, have a sense of clairvoyance even, or an intuition of things that cannot be deciphered from the explicit signs visible to others that cannot be analyzed, but there is a sense of impending something, okay? Now, that is possible, but that is not the common scenario.

In the more likely scenario, the ghosts haunting us, the fear, and its children — they are born of other sources, they are born of our own insecurities. Often they are the outcomes of traumatic events that have happened to us, that we may or may not remember, or terrible things that have happened to others, and we have reflected what happened to others.

Even we read it in the news and we began to contemplate, as if that were to happen to me, right? And it hit something deep in our being, it would be terrible if that were to happen to me, and we begin to confabulate, we begin to model, render scenarios, to a point where, over sufficient repetition, they become actual concerns, they become fears, they result in anxiety. But this is something that we have cooked ourselves.

Return to the Reasonable – Meeting Our Fear Receptor ¶

Yeah, okay, anything and everything may happen, but back to actually reviewing what's reasonable, what's likely to happen, what's unlikely to happen, what are the things you can do to change the environment, yourself, whoever that you care about, the person or property or whatever of concern. What can you do in order to make this thing safe?

Well, then take those measures and be done with it, and return to living with a peaceful mind, moving on in your life, okay? In here, we have to introspect, we have to seek, as mentioned earlier, what are you afraid of within you? There is a certain surface within us to which things stick. We have a certain fear receptor somewhere, somewhere in our heads and also in our bodies.

Where is that? How does it function? Get to know yourself, get to know not only your fears, but get to know where your fears impact you, what transformations those fears cause in your being, and take it from there onward as far as what the measures are that can be taken in order to overcome the fear that should not be — to overcome the anxiety, worrying, distrust, etc. that need not be. That's the homework, introspection, okay?

Overcoming Unrooted and Self-Generated Fear ¶

In there, if we do not deal with the unrooted fear, as mentioned earlier, it has a negative impact on our lives, and we'd like to live lives that are free from the interference of issues that are actually not issues, right? Just ghosts in our imagination, we'd like to have the ghosts evaporate by means of introspection, analysis, and also a certain self-cultivation.

So, when I say transcending fear — lifting your consciousness to a plane where the fears are no longer fears that consume you, alright? Come here, sitting in the bush, and there is the pine forest back there. There's the good snake that comes crawling here once in a while. And suppose the snake were to bite me, don't know if it's a poisonous snake or not, but suppose if it is, then okay. And my body might suffer, it's probably not a lethal one, but my body might suffer, might have fever, swelling, etc., that is an experience to go through.

It is not the demise of my existence. I exist on a plane that is beyond this corporeal being. And suppose threats to my ego or a sense of identity, those are also a class of fears, social fears. Again, that is actually even easier than the physical threat.

Physical threats, you actually... A certain level of fear is merited in order to keep yourself safe. However, when your ego is being bitten by the sharp and bitter words of the other person, when you are being undermined and disgraced or whatever, then actually, whatever I... Unto you, your evaluation, I am not the construct that is being made by the perception of someone else, okay? I look into myself and I know what I am, and I'll try to get over that too. Overcoming fear, social fear, physical fear, also internal fear — there are any number of.

Self-generated fears, where both the source and the target of the fear are simply yourself. And those are mostly something to get over. The only really thing to be afraid of within yourself are the things that you do to damage your mind, to damage your soul, in a manner of speaking, by your mindless action, by your unrooted responses, and so on. Those are something to be afraid of.

Catalyst for Improvement vs. Projecting the Worst ¶

But take that fear as a catalyst for improvement, rather than something that you keep on musing about and ruminating and wasting your life away. All right? In here, with all of these fears, we'd like to have a thread of realism, all right?

Do not assume the worst. Because by assuming the worst and holding on to an idea of the worst, you are projecting the worstness into your environment. You are even affecting others negatively. Your anxiety, your dread, they are contagious.

And you may even, by persistently contemplating on a calamity falling upon another person and interacting with them — you may even turn that into a reality, or contribute towards its manifestation by holding on doggedly and projecting. If not intentionally, then at the very least, your mind is leaking all over the place through your body language, through your tone of voice, through your behavioral patterns. Your mind is leaking everywhere through every conceivable channel and you are impacting your environment.

And by constantly assuming the worst, you are the prophet that constructs the worst possible reality. So don't do that. On the other hand, don't be naïve, unprepared, assuming always the best.

There is no reason to always assume the best in this world. In a fluctuation of duality, we have good comes and bad comes and good comes and bad comes. Sometimes it's a little bit rather neutral sort of mind fluctuation.

The Best and Worst Will Come – And Teach You ¶

Sometimes the best comes and the worst comes. And, you know, they come in every sort of flavor. So, by all means, you may be prepared for the worst, but do not expect the worst.

And you may be prepared for the best, but do not expect the best, unless your review of the condition actually suggests that the best is the most likely outcome. Overall, it's better to keep a fairly neutral baseline. Neutral is neutral, working toward the better, all right? In a neutral state, you are not consumed by hopes and worries, but you have a certain peace of mind in which you can go on in your life, getting the most of it.

The potentials will arise as they may, and they cannot be forced otherwise. So, be neutral. Seek equanimity in your heart and in your mind — and equipped with that, seek to live a life that is of benefit both for yourself and for others, free of unnecessary fear. Now, all the challenges and the calamities that come, eventually the worst, or at least pretty bad, that will come. And so, in there you have more fuel for your evolution.

The worse it is, the higher the grade of the fuel. Problems, obstacles, disasters, they force you to respond, to review, even to reinvent. And through that, you become something greater. So, be grateful. Receive with open arms the challenges that become you. Do not resent them.

Head On Into the Heart of Fears ¶

"I do not deserve this." — "No, actually, I deserve it, and I'm like, bring me more, because I want to grow. I want to evolve. I want to be challenged in order to grow."

Right? Head on into your fears. Head on into your problems. There is nothing that cannot be solved. What is solved? Solved means transmuted into future growth and betterment. That is the outcome of any given challenge.

So, with that orientation, not ruminating on your fears, handling them, moving on in your life, evolving. Okay? So, in here, we have the analytical and transcendent approach, as in one is the cultivation of your awareness, ascension of your sense of identity, and being to planes progressively where fear is less likely to have a landing plane, a surface to attach to, including fear of death.

Die! — Okay. So, I will die. I have died. Done. Good. Excellent. That's done for. Check. Fine. Whatever.

Do not live in fear and worry. Fear and worry, aside impacting others, they also consume you. They consume your mind. They also consume your body.

On the other hand, having dealt with whatever is actually worthy of concern, always return to your peace of mind, and in that peace of mind, equipped with a tranquil foundation for your life, well-being will come to you and to those you care about, and even those you don't care about. Right? Peace is a good thing for even your enemies, right? They will stop being your enemies. And it will become something you do not need to fear anymore.

Seek the Attitude that Resolves Fears ¶

Transformation of your existence and your environment begins with you, first of all, with your stance, with your attitude. So seek the attitude. And transcend fear, seek the attitude that resolves matters that lead to fear. Okay.

There are undoubtedly a hundred other aspects that can be looked a in terms of fear. Fear is not a little thing, fear is a pervasive factor, one of the primary conditionings in our existence. A driving force, an instinct that modifies, distorts, directs much of our existence.

So it is something to examine deeper. You unto yourself, me unto myself. Sometimes, perhaps, together at more depth. Including the progeny of fear, all the dark children running around in your head. We have to have discipline in there, don't let them run around wildly. "Explain your purpose. Where do you come from, where are you going? Don't stand in the corridor. Just mischief happening."

Mental discipline. Control the urges within your mind. Seek to tame them. And by taming them, you will see that your sensitization to fear will also diminish. Because fear is not quite as strong without its descendents running around all over the marketplace. Okay. So. In here, we conclude. Slay your fears. Be happy. Okay.