Last Mask Center: Fear

Fear

by Christina Pratt

"The goal of terrorism is terror, not death" explains Richard Speier, who draws on decades of professional experience with the problems posed by weapons of mass destruction. "(Terrorism) acts on the ancient Chinese proverb, "Kill one person, frighten ten thousand". Unless you are at the immediate site of a terrorist attack, your worst injury is likely to be fright... What they want to do is to weaken your will".

Have the events of September 11th weakened your will? Are you afraid to cross bridges? open your mail? fly for work or the holidays? Perhaps your fear is manifesting in a more general way as a numbing of emotions, heightened anxiety, depression, or crankiness. Granted, if you live in Queens where planes are falling out of the sky again, work at the Pentagon, or are confronted with "ground zero" every day then you have real challenges to deal with daily. However, for everyone else, if you are still in fear today the terrorists have won.

This is a battle will not be won by the military in Afghanistan. This battle is fought by you, every day, in your heart. What do you choose today?

Fear is meant to warn us of danger, not to make us afraid of it. Do not go unconscious about that important step from fear which is a reflexive response to being afraid which is a choice. Fear is of the moment; it is our friend. It warns us of danger, we assess the risk, and choose our course.

Being afraid is a choice; it is one possible course of action. The step may be so swift and habitual that it feels unconscious, but it is still a choice. Being afraid is an activity that pulls you out of the moment. It takes time and energy and renders you significantly less creative, productive, and functional. Ask yourself, "why do I have time to be afraid? "People who chose to live their life's purpose don't have time to be afraid.

What choice could you make instead of being afraid? Choose to take action. Not the mindless, repetitive actions of obsession or simplistic, knee-jerk patriotism. Take informed action. Turn off the TV. Much of the daily news is agitation without education anyway. It's addictive; seriously restrict your intake. Get real information. Take reasonable precautions and get back to living your life. Instead of listening to the media spin, spend some time each day engage in a true investigation of why you love being an American. Then take action to live a life that is an even better expression of those qualities you love.

If you like this course of action, then continue. Ask some hard questions. If you look at America through the lens of our foreign policy, what do we look like? We no longer have the luxury to not pay attention. Learn about why others hate us. Understanding does not imply agreement. Learn why people protest the WTO, for example. You might even ask yourself, "what do I hate about America? "Then exercise your rights as a free American to change those things you hate.

Above all, don't take terrorism personally. It's not about you as an individual. Terrorists don't care about you or your life. You do. It's your life. Grab it by the short and curlies and live it seriously and passionately. Find a new normal for your life that is better than what it was before. It may be that your life will never be what it was. Perhaps that is a blessing disguised as a crisis. Awareness is a good thing.

Fear often arises when the Universe reminds you that you are not in control. You are here to ride the waves, maybe to make waves, but you are not the wave, nor are you the ocean. If you are in fear today, perhaps the question for you is this, "what is so far out of alignment in my life that I would rather spend time being afraid of things completely outside of my control than living my life?"

If you truly fear for your safety then remember: you cannot control the factors that move us on this scale. Let it go. There is one thing you can control; that is how you chose to perceive your experience of life. There is one thing you can do to remain safe at all times. Stay connected to your intuition and to the spirit world so that you are guided out of the path of danger. When you are afraid you are least likely to notice the signs or to interpret them accurately. In short, when you choose to be afraid you choose to not be safe.

What do you really fear? ...dying before you have really lived your life. That is the only fear that touches the soul. It is not the fear of anthrax, or airplanes, or fact that you are not in control. The greatest fear is that you will live your whole life without ever doing what you came here to do. For people who know that they are doing what they came here to do, every day is a good day to die. They are spiritual warriors who live each day as if it were their last, and in doing so their passion guides them on the true course of their heart and soul.

Resources to transform fear into awareness:

Chödrön Pema, When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times, Boston & London, Shambala, 1997.

Chödrön Pema, The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times, Boston & London, Shambala, 2001.