This post is highly inspired by a discussion between Gail, Mark, and myself. The topic of fear never ceases to affect our lives in some way. Be it our own fears or those of people we encounter or are close to.

One thing is clear: fear handicaps us. Sometimes it can save us from harm (e.g., not jumping off a high cliff). Although I call that kind of fear intuition. What I mean here is the limiting effect of fears that arise from uncertainty.
Fear can keep us from seizing opportunities that fall into our laps. It can keep us from living the life we’ve wanted because we’re too afraid of the effort involved, of being questioned, of failing along the way, or of losing a perceived safety net.

Where does this fear come from? It can’t be natural in everyone because we see the evidence in people who naturally take the steps necessary to get to where they see themselves. Some would say they talk from experience. But no one can have experience with something they have not yet experienced. Previous experiences from other situations got connected to another person we once were. This other person has put every similar experience into the same thought folder and has taken information out of it in similar future situations. Diligent beliefs have been collected about why things won’t work out.

The vessel got probably created at some point in our childhood. A child is born without any preconceptions. It has an instinct and personality, but a newborn has no ego or expectations to be disappointed. It is simply there and absorbs what it gets. It is influenced by those close to it, and what it hears about them in its first years, it may believe and store within itself. It learns to keep its mouth shut so as to not be humiliated because it has its own developing mind. It learns to lie so as not to be disciplined when telling the truth. It learns to avoid disharmony so as not to be drawn into a conflict. Instead, it never learns to argue, develop its own point of view, support itself, and be an honest and open person. So, this is where fears are born.

But there must be a meaning behind all this. Otherwise, why would we choose to incarnate if it’s just to get rid of old dogmas? This is precisely the great miracle we are meant to discover in physical life. Before we incarnate, we see the whole big picture (or at least a much bigger picture than what we perceive from our physical perspective). We live as spirit, as light. We know our abilities and who we are very well; and so does everyone around us – light and much consciousness everywhere. But who appreciates and notices the light of a candle in the bright summer sun? That’s why we’re down here: to remind ourselves of who we really are. Here we are: a light in the darkness. As I have often heard, incarnation on planet Earth is the hardest and consequently, most effective way of development. When we incarnate, we pass through the gate of oblivion. That is why we arrive pure and spotless. In childhood, ways of thinking, beliefs, and dogmas act like screens that distort the view of ourselves more and more. We need this because the realization of who we are lies in removing these darkening screens piece by piece.

There is no greater joy, fulfillment, and inner satisfaction than understanding who I really am. Then there is no more proving or justifying myself to others, but also no more hiding. Only understanding why I have to work my way through the stones I have collected makes these stones a path on which I can walk. Or I can make them a tower from which I get a better overview. This understanding alone takes away some of the fear because I understand that fear is only a tool and not a part of me.

Am I free of fears? No
May I ever be free of fears? Probably not
Does that scare me? Not at all

In Love and Light