Fear According to Frank

I don’t know about you, but I’m not really a big fan of fear.  Sure, it’s fun to seek out a little scare every once in a while in the movie theater or on a roller coaster, but in general, fear is something we want to avoid, right?  Not so, says Frank Gjata.  Frank is someone who has an amazing ability to take even seemingly negative experiences in life and approach them with curiosity, hope, and humor, and, for him, the experience of fear is no exception.  Read on to see how Frank reframes the experience of fear and shows us how even fear itself is nothing to be feared.

FEAR. It's really quite comforting.

Crazy man say what???

Yep. The way I see it, fear is really more of a result than it is a cause (although it turns into a cause as well).

Fear is simply a result of feeling disconnected to who we really are. Plain and simple.

And it's no wonder we get scared. It's quite scary feeling disconnected from the source of all things, truth, peace, freedom, power, beauty and love. Terrifying really. We become little ol' frightened humans. Aww.

Not to worry though! We humans like to fight back don't we? Fear gets us all riled up. And, boy oh boy, do we humans have a lot of drama associated around fear. We want to destroy fear. Kick its ass. Conquer it. Chop it up into tiny itsy bitsy pieces. Holy mackerel!  We humans have way too much time on our hands. Perhaps we could take up crochet. We can also be so very dramatic. Perhaps we could join the local theater group. And we can be so very aggressive. Okay, tough guys, perhaps it's time to enroll in karate or something.

Unless we're wrestling a lion with our bare hands, all we have to do is see fear for what it really is. A very sophisticated built-in alarm system, graciously warning us we've just become disconnected. It's not the real problem itself. In the same way a fire alarm is not the fire. Fear is our alarm. It's our disconnection that is our own personal fiery hell. (Of course, as we know, experiencing constant fear in our bodies can turn into a big problem unto itself...much worse than an irritating fire alarm going off constantly.)

Because when we see fear for what it really is, we don't have to do anything with IT at all. Sorry to be the fear party pooper. We just have to reconnect to who we really are. That's it. Big time saver. Big headache saver. Big stress saver. There's nothing to fear, but fear itself. Eh? Not really. Unless you have a strange fear of alarm systems or something. Even "disconnection" itself is nothing to fear, since we can never really be disconnected. We can only feel like we are. So I guess the revised quote should be, "There's nothing to fear..." That's it. End of quote.

As we reconnect to who we really are, any fear will disappear instantly. Guaranteed. It's actually an IMPOSSIBILITY to feel fear when we're connected to who we really are. That would be like Superman being scared of an everyday thug or a measly bullet or two. A big yawn.

So again, unless you're being chased by tigers, lions and bears...oh my!...follow these simple fear-eliminating instructions below:

Feel fear? Connect. Feel fear? Connect. Feel fear? Connect. Feel fear? Connect. Feel Fear? Connect. Feel fear? Connect.

Got it?

The scary, yet enlightening, thing that may also come to light is just how often we're in fear without even realizing it! No worries though. Things can shift quickly. Just remember, the next time you feel fear, there's no need to fight it. Just simply connect to who you really are...in whatever way that works best for you in that moment.

Examples of ways to connect? Acknowledging our truth in the moment. Taking a breath. Being present with what is. Letting go. Dropping personas. Unconditional love and acceptance. Laughing. Openness to learning. Being vulnerable. Appreciation. Meditating. Doing what's joyful to us. Acting on our passion. Communing with nature. Connecting authentically with others. Some say chocolate. Who am I to argue? Add your favorites to the list.

Okay, I better wrap this up now. I'm afraid I may have taken up too much of your time. Oh crap...fear. Kidding!

Conscious Ink