Fear was a dominant emotion in my life until I began studying Yoga philosophy. As an environmental sciences major in college, I often felt completely gripped with fear. Constantly studying and evaluating humanity's destruction of the natural world convinced me of the planet's sure demise. This constant state of fear left me feeling off-balance and often very insecure about the stability of human life. These fears worsened substantially post-college when 9/11 struck New York City: I was certain that not only would there be an environmental collapse, but likely a nuclear or chemical one as well. I showed up in the world much in the same way that I do today: I was social and charismatic, I'm quite sure that I appeared happy, and I was. But this was an insecure happiness as I was sure my happiness could be stolen from me at any moment due to outside forces.
One of the most powerful components of embracing flow is learning to live without fear. Living fearlessly is essential for cultivating true happiness: fearlessness is freedom in its purest form. I will make it clear that I'm am not the Buddha: it is a long path and I'm in my infancy, but through Yoga, I've learned a lot about living fearlessly. Yoga has been an essential tool in this transformation. For me living fearlessly has manifested from four key components: 1) cultivating a non-reactive mind through practicing detachment, 2) believing in Karma (fate), 3) accepting the idea of Maya and 4) practicing free-will.
1) Calm Abiding and Detachment
Through my time on mat and my study Yoga I've learned this: the world is ALWAYS in sate of balance, always. For every evil there is good, for all the darkness there is light. We, as physical beings, have chosen this world to live as it is a world of contrasts--both good and evil, and through these contrasts we make decisions about what is right for our own growth and our own path. The evil that we see out there is simply someone else living their own life, burning off their own Karma. It's only a part of our own story and our own drama if we allow the space for it. Living fearlessly requires practicing detachment. When good news comes, enjoy it, when bad news comes, let it go. We know the world is always changing and always contrasting, so why are we surprised when things are bad? When we grip and attach to fear believing things will never get better we participate in the downward spiral and unwittingly promote negativity. A constant state of negativity is simply not possible: the law of impermanence is always at work, and things will always get better. And they will always get worse. We can't control the flux, so we must learn to control our reactions to the flux and our attachment to the highs and lows by cultivating a non-reactive mind. "The act of detachment can and will help you to live a life of fearlessness and joy."*
2) Belief in Karma/Fate
Believing in the idea of Karma has been an amazing tool for releasing fear. I accept that not everyone open to the idea of Karma, and I'm certainly not one to push it (although it is interesting to note that far more people and faiths in the world believe in Karma than don't), but accepting the idea of Karma/fate is powerful for living fearlessly. Yogic philosophy teaches that there are neither accidents nor coincidences in life. Everything happens for a reason and everything happens to teach us lessons that are necessary for our own growth--our own Karmic progression. Here's an example of how accepting this idea has released me from a state of living in fear. I've always been completely terrified of earthquakes, literally gripped. Convinced it was the big one, I once hit the deck at Gene Jaurez as the ground started to shake, after totally humiliating myself, I learned that the shaking was only the spin cycle on their industrial washing machine in the next room. Hmmm, GRIPPED. Believing in Karma (fate) has helped me deal with this fear: I now believe that if I am in Seattle and around for the inevitable "big one" it's only because I'm supposed to be. Every time I feel the fear creep in--like when I'm driving on the viaduct--I take a deep breath, and remind myself that perhaps the big one is my fate, perhaps it isn't and it probably isn't for me to decide. It's such a simple concept, it's hard to believe it works, but it does release the fear of the unknown. "Knowing that you are living in perfect alignment with a universal plan requires faith, especially when you do not get what you want. Everything is as it should be. Understanding this allows you to relax and live your life in harmony."**
3) Accepting the Idea of Maya
The ancient Yogis have taught us that the world is an illusion that they called Maya. Modern physics, starting with Einstein's Unified Field Theory, have proven the idea of Maya. Einstein discovered that the entire physical world is simply vibration: pure energy. Everything, at its purest form, is made up of electrons and neutrons, which are nothing and everything, pure energy: mass-less and illusory. Even the rock that we perceive as so real is literally shaking in its boots as pure energy. The complexity of Maya is that the Yogi's never said the physical world isn't real; it's very real, they simply explain that it is as transient to our entire experience as a spiritual being as a dream is to our physical being. Maya is explained s a physical manifestation of collective beliefs. If we accept this Yogic teaching and understand the transient nature of our physical lives, we can let go of the fear of inhabiting this life. Regardless of what happens to us in this physical realm, our true selves, our consciousness and spirit will live on. Accepting the limitless and timelessness of our essence and recognizing that our time on Earth is just a blip on the map or Maya, we are released from living in fear.
4) Practicing Free Will
Finally, and most importantly, we are released from living with fear when we understand the power of living with free will. Nothing is scripted for us, nothing is set in stone. We have free-will and we are our own fate-makers. "Nothing in time and space is meant to be, except for what already exists in the present and all that awaits in the future that will be determined by your ever-evolving beliefs and expectations. Tomorrow is a blank slate."***
*The Yogi in You -- Cameron Alborian
**Wishing: How to Fulfill Your Heart's Desires -- Eliazbeth Harper
***Infinite Possibilities: The Art of Lving Your Dreams -- Mike Dooley
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