It always helps when I share my fears with others I trust. I am beginning to understand my fear is part of collective responsibility. My fear stories are
not my own, others assisted in their creation as I have in theirs.
Awareness. Breathing. Awareness of breathing. Kwanseum Bosal chanting. (In Korean Zen, Kwan Yin is called Kwanseum Bosal). Coming back to THIS moment. It’s always returning here… here… here…
Accepting the real fear . What drives me to do the things I am doing and how I am responding to the consequences of the action. It is causing me immense pain to face my own fear , the real reason that is propelling most of my behaviour and action . I am feeling very exposed to my own shortcomings. However , I have started to accept my real fear and being mindful that I will slowly and steadily get to being comfortable with my fear.
When I remind myself that the fear I’m feeling is purely a manifestation of my own thinking, it puts things in perspective and grounds me so that I see the reality more clearly. After all, I’m not physically threatened in any way.
When I face even a small fear the result is an increase in self-worth…an empowerment of the self. It is like a smile from a friend that tells me if I can face this small fear I can face anything that comes my way.
Thank you so much.
That I am sensitive to where they are, don’t rush them to tell anything they don’t feel ready to face, yet acknowledge it’s there. A non judgemental attitude about whatever they’ ve done or think they’ve done.
Thank you, Tara. This reminder to welcome fear and acknowledge it as part of our experience lessens its power to result in us increasing our suffering through all the ways we use to run away/avoid the actual experience and acknowledgement of underlying fear. I love your step by step description of how this works in our mind-body! I have found open /expanded awareness/focus meditations helpful to me and to my clients in being able to hold fear, since it then becomes part of the experience, not the whole and therefore more overwhelming experience.
Knowing I have a choice in how I react or respond to the fear appropriately. Being able to define the fear that I think internally into being, from that which is external and not of my thinking. To be present to the present of fear, one breath at a time.
Tara you have saved my life. All your meditations on fear from your YouTube Chanel and insight timer, I have listened to them all. They have helped me as I suffer from chronic anxiety associated with long covid. Many times I felt like I was at the brink and you, Ram Das, and Allen Watts saved me.
You are my personal bodhisattva…
Thank you for everything..
Being with the feeling and honoring the ego’s function for survival, allows compassion and acceptance. Then I ask and investigate if I am safe and connect to the reality of the present moment. Connecting to Source and not identifying with my thoughts and beliefs gives me the confidence to accept the thoughts and feelings without feeding the story. Ultimately I need to accept the inherent powerlessness and vulnerability of being human. Connecting to source through conscious breathing and attention. Turning the future all over to ‘God’.
When I am feeling fear, I try to remember not to react. It is best if I can step away from the situation and exercise, do yoga, chant, or laugh, all of which deepen my breath and help me to feel less fearful.
DAILY am journaling and Gratitude list, Bible passages/prayer, Insight Timer meditations, took an complete 8-week MBSR course at GW Center for Integrative Medicine, talking intimately with family and my dearest friends, speaking with an integrative psychiatrist, and in the most difficult time (following two traumatic brain injuries 2016/17) even did several Ketamine infusion series. However, since the first accident on September 7, 2016, when a girlfriend directed me to the Insight Timer app, MEDITATION has hands down been my saving grace. No medicine, no therapist, no TBI certified neurologist, no family support, etc helped be down regulate my PETRIFIED nervous system like a daily, deep, 45-60 min meditation. Oh! Most important of all is LYNN FRASER, and the Stillpoint method of Trauma HEALING! She has been a lifeline “back” first on Insight Timer, then added her daily 8am Zoom mediation 7 days/wk, her Sunday 10-11:30am Zoom class and discussion, and now her Saturday 4pm Live Insight Timer. Lynn and the community of participants who join all of these healing, sharing opportunities have been invaluable resource in the 5 year recovery out of full stop life ending terrified fear. And you Tara. Your work on Insight Timer, where I first found you, and beyond through local mediation (I live in DC), online offerings, talks, etc. THANK YOU, thank you, thank you. I could not be more grateful to you & Lynn.
Really useful practical exercises. Not just a lot of theory. Gets to the point quite quickly without having to listen to a load of blurb. Taras voice is soothing and relaxing and she talks at a nice speed. Many thanks. Nita
On reflection my fears in reality are disproportional and a distortion of reality. They present as constructions of mind, with a foundation and bias arising from either childhood parental hand me downs e.g. Mother’s fear of spiders by contagen then presented as my own. Or fears have arisen from experiences of uncomfortability, that then disproportionally magnified and grew into fears. They then acted as a barrier to further pain and discomfort, but also growth and development. I have since learnt that fear inducing perceptions when met with a ‘pause’, recognition and awarness enable choices and the courage to embrace and transcend limitations and stepping stones to new possibilities and growth.
Finding Faith and Trust in myself to stay in my body and feel the discomfort, trauma even, again and again and again because something more than the fear is present that I’m aware of. Sometimes I can even thank my fear for bringing me to this something. It’s a powerful presence in me and it feels kind and welcoming to all that I’m experiencing. I gain a lot of inspiration from you Tara, Thank YouKath Whangarei New Zealand Aotearoa
One of my clients finds that the more she tries to understand what’s going on inside her inner fear-based “narrative” the more she can relax and breathe. Also, the calm and presence she experiences during a therapeutic massage session connects her with a more centered place within.
Thank you Tara for your generosity of time, wisdom and understanding on how to navigate these unconscious driving forces in our lives. Many times so subtle we don’t even realize our actions are being detoured by them. This is so crucial especially in these volatile times when there is so much fear, masked as anger, around this pandemic and how to it should be managed.
All the best to you always
Realising that we all have already within ourselves, all we need to cope with the life we have. Our lives are full of good as well as bad and it is our own perspectives that can differentiate one from the other and create meaning for us. Also, we are not alone but a single galaxy in a universe of meaning and love, so connecting with grace freely given, we can accept, endure and find joy in life. Finding our best way to navigate the minutes of our lives is the adventure of a life time. We are here for others not only for ourselves, so looking out for others we can also support ourselves. We need a habitual feedback loop (like a spiritual practice) to awaken and maintain our awareness. Thank you Tara for your articulation of our needs and a pathway of healing.
Hi Tara, thank you for your words of wisdom on dealing with Fear. The words that resonate mostly are Let it be ok that I (Fear) am here.
That it takes willingness to face fear.
Our fearless heart
All so powerful but so gentle at the same time.
Asking myself “what am I afraid of?” If it’s something I cannot control, reminding myself of that. Then practicing acceptance by thinking of the possible outcomes and showing myself that I could survive each of them.
On occasions when my fear turns out to be signal anxiety, and I adjust my plans to reduce the danger.
I educate clients about the evolutionary advantage of the negative bias and signal anxiety, and teach the above techniques. If their anxiety is triggered by a forced decision, I teach them the Four-Square technique to heighten their awareness of their thoughts/beliefs so they can think about them clearly rather than being driven by global anxiety. All of this is interlaced with breath work and body awareness.
What helps me to face fear is to talk to trusted friends to be able to vent the energy of fear, get validation for my feelings, get an outside perspective, be nurtured, feel loved and okay.
I’ve always tried to deal with fear from the outside and not my inside or my mind. I’m talking about substances that intoxicate. I’ve found all this does is remove me from reality so there is no longer fear or anything else like it. Doesn’t work any longer since I’m now clean and sober. That’s why I’m listening to you right now. Thank you.
Judy Ludwig-Keller, Mindfulness Meditation Teacher, CO
Taking time to pause and breathe, as long as I need, to allow those feelings come through and open awareness of what’s really going in the present moment. Is it true for right now, or is this a habitual reaction to the past or future? Time spent being kind to myself and letting go of self-judgment is worth more than spending time fretting and going into a spiral route of anxiety. This sometimes take a while, but the more I practice it the more familiar it has become.
To realise that it’s just another feeling. It will pass, like feelings do. The work is to keep watching it, and not become ensnared in it.
Practising RAIN.
mindfulness
Concentrate on breathing
Feel reassured that there is a way through chronic anxiety. Up for the journey
It always helps when I share my fears with others I trust. I am beginning to understand my fear is part of collective responsibility. My fear stories are
not my own, others assisted in their creation as I have in theirs.
Awareness. Breathing. Awareness of breathing. Kwanseum Bosal chanting. (In Korean Zen, Kwan Yin is called Kwanseum Bosal). Coming back to THIS moment. It’s always returning here… here… here…
Accepting the real fear . What drives me to do the things I am doing and how I am responding to the consequences of the action. It is causing me immense pain to face my own fear , the real reason that is propelling most of my behaviour and action . I am feeling very exposed to my own shortcomings. However , I have started to accept my real fear and being mindful that I will slowly and steadily get to being comfortable with my fear.
When I remind myself that the fear I’m feeling is purely a manifestation of my own thinking, it puts things in perspective and grounds me so that I see the reality more clearly. After all, I’m not physically threatened in any way.
It is helpful to share that we all have these feelings.
When I face even a small fear the result is an increase in self-worth…an empowerment of the self. It is like a smile from a friend that tells me if I can face this small fear I can face anything that comes my way.
Thank you so much.
It is a beautiful program, with practical tips for facing & transcending fear presented with kindness, clarity & compassion.
That I am sensitive to where they are, don’t rush them to tell anything they don’t feel ready to face, yet acknowledge it’s there. A non judgemental attitude about whatever they’ ve done or think they’ve done.
It helps to pause, take long slow breaths, and remember it is possible to come out of the trance.
Thank you, Tara. This reminder to welcome fear and acknowledge it as part of our experience lessens its power to result in us increasing our suffering through all the ways we use to run away/avoid the actual experience and acknowledgement of underlying fear. I love your step by step description of how this works in our mind-body! I have found open /expanded awareness/focus meditations helpful to me and to my clients in being able to hold fear, since it then becomes part of the experience, not the whole and therefore more overwhelming experience.
Assurance that my fears are often temporary and not real
Thank you Tara.
Thank you, I’ve watched, more than once… I have lots to learn.
I am very grateful for access to this information. Thank you, a step at a time..
Listening and validating their feelings.
Acknowledging and allowing rather than defending against fear.
Knowing that most of circumstances are temporary
Knowing I have a choice in how I react or respond to the fear appropriately. Being able to define the fear that I think internally into being, from that which is external and not of my thinking. To be present to the present of fear, one breath at a time.
Tara you have saved my life. All your meditations on fear from your YouTube Chanel and insight timer, I have listened to them all. They have helped me as I suffer from chronic anxiety associated with long covid. Many times I felt like I was at the brink and you, Ram Das, and Allen Watts saved me.
You are my personal bodhisattva…
Thank you for everything..
All 3 good. Thanks
Trusting that there is a way through.
Grounding with my breath over and over. trying to be ok with what comes up (thoughts and more fears) and return to my breath. thank you Tara!
Being with the feeling and honoring the ego’s function for survival, allows compassion and acceptance. Then I ask and investigate if I am safe and connect to the reality of the present moment. Connecting to Source and not identifying with my thoughts and beliefs gives me the confidence to accept the thoughts and feelings without feeding the story. Ultimately I need to accept the inherent powerlessness and vulnerability of being human. Connecting to source through conscious breathing and attention. Turning the future all over to ‘God’.
after reactivity, during my phase of guilt, i realize i moved because of fear
When I am feeling fear, I try to remember not to react. It is best if I can step away from the situation and exercise, do yoga, chant, or laugh, all of which deepen my breath and help me to feel less fearful.
love
thank you Tara
DAILY am journaling and Gratitude list, Bible passages/prayer, Insight Timer meditations, took an complete 8-week MBSR course at GW Center for Integrative Medicine, talking intimately with family and my dearest friends, speaking with an integrative psychiatrist, and in the most difficult time (following two traumatic brain injuries 2016/17) even did several Ketamine infusion series. However, since the first accident on September 7, 2016, when a girlfriend directed me to the Insight Timer app, MEDITATION has hands down been my saving grace. No medicine, no therapist, no TBI certified neurologist, no family support, etc helped be down regulate my PETRIFIED nervous system like a daily, deep, 45-60 min meditation. Oh! Most important of all is LYNN FRASER, and the Stillpoint method of Trauma HEALING! She has been a lifeline “back” first on Insight Timer, then added her daily 8am Zoom mediation 7 days/wk, her Sunday 10-11:30am Zoom class and discussion, and now her Saturday 4pm Live Insight Timer. Lynn and the community of participants who join all of these healing, sharing opportunities have been invaluable resource in the 5 year recovery out of full stop life ending terrified fear. And you Tara. Your work on Insight Timer, where I first found you, and beyond through local mediation (I live in DC), online offerings, talks, etc. THANK YOU, thank you, thank you. I could not be more grateful to you & Lynn.
Heartfelt blessings
,
Paige T.
Really useful practical exercises. Not just a lot of theory. Gets to the point quite quickly without having to listen to a load of blurb. Taras voice is soothing and relaxing and she talks at a nice speed. Many thanks. Nita
On reflection my fears in reality are disproportional and a distortion of reality. They present as constructions of mind, with a foundation and bias arising from either childhood parental hand me downs e.g. Mother’s fear of spiders by contagen then presented as my own. Or fears have arisen from experiences of uncomfortability, that then disproportionally magnified and grew into fears. They then acted as a barrier to further pain and discomfort, but also growth and development. I have since learnt that fear inducing perceptions when met with a ‘pause’, recognition and awarness enable choices and the courage to embrace and transcend limitations and stepping stones to new possibilities and growth.
I love the idea of facing & being open to fear with kindness.
Finding Faith and Trust in myself to stay in my body and feel the discomfort, trauma even, again and again and again because something more than the fear is present that I’m aware of. Sometimes I can even thank my fear for bringing me to this something. It’s a powerful presence in me and it feels kind and welcoming to all that I’m experiencing. I gain a lot of inspiration from you Tara, Thank You
Kath Whangarei New Zealand Aotearoa
One of my clients finds that the more she tries to understand what’s going on inside her inner fear-based “narrative” the more she can relax and breathe. Also, the calm and presence she experiences during a therapeutic massage session connects her with a more centered place within.
Encouragement and reassurance from others I trust helps me face fear.
Thank you Tara for your generosity of time, wisdom and understanding on how to navigate these unconscious driving forces in our lives. Many times so subtle we don’t even realize our actions are being detoured by them. This is so crucial especially in these volatile times when there is so much fear, masked as anger, around this pandemic and how to it should be managed.
All the best to you always
Realising that we all have already within ourselves, all we need to cope with the life we have. Our lives are full of good as well as bad and it is our own perspectives that can differentiate one from the other and create meaning for us. Also, we are not alone but a single galaxy in a universe of meaning and love, so connecting with grace freely given, we can accept, endure and find joy in life. Finding our best way to navigate the minutes of our lives is the adventure of a life time. We are here for others not only for ourselves, so looking out for others we can also support ourselves. We need a habitual feedback loop (like a spiritual practice) to awaken and maintain our awareness. Thank you Tara for your articulation of our needs and a pathway of healing.
Being open to Explore Self and Share what I find; EVEN Though, I may risk being Seen, Exposed, EVEN Disposed.
Hi Tara, thank you for your words of wisdom on dealing with Fear. The words that resonate mostly are Let it be ok that I (Fear) am here.
That it takes willingness to face fear.
Our fearless heart
All so powerful but so gentle at the same time.
Being in the present…breathing, checking in with how I’m feeling and where in the body I’m feeling it…and accepting the feeling.
Talking with a dear friend who I can trust to be compassionate and listen. Often she will encourage me to act in spite of my fear.
Asking myself “what am I afraid of?” If it’s something I cannot control, reminding myself of that. Then practicing acceptance by thinking of the possible outcomes and showing myself that I could survive each of them.
On occasions when my fear turns out to be signal anxiety, and I adjust my plans to reduce the danger.
I educate clients about the evolutionary advantage of the negative bias and signal anxiety, and teach the above techniques. If their anxiety is triggered by a forced decision, I teach them the Four-Square technique to heighten their awareness of their thoughts/beliefs so they can think about them clearly rather than being driven by global anxiety. All of this is interlaced with breath work and body awareness.
What helps me to face fear is to talk to trusted friends to be able to vent the energy of fear, get validation for my feelings, get an outside perspective, be nurtured, feel loved and okay.
The lectures were lovely. Educational and inspiring. James Freeman
I found this interesting because I have suffered with anxiety and depression and don’t always understand why.
I’ve always tried to deal with fear from the outside and not my inside or my mind. I’m talking about substances that intoxicate. I’ve found all this does is remove me from reality so there is no longer fear or anything else like it. Doesn’t work any longer since I’m now clean and sober. That’s why I’m listening to you right now. Thank you.
Judy Ludwig-Keller, Mindfulness Meditation Teacher, CO
Taking time to pause and breathe, as long as I need, to allow those feelings come through and open awareness of what’s really going in the present moment. Is it true for right now, or is this a habitual reaction to the past or future? Time spent being kind to myself and letting go of self-judgment is worth more than spending time fretting and going into a spiral route of anxiety. This sometimes take a while, but the more I practice it the more familiar it has become.
So appreciate the powerful yet simple ways to work with the fear.