Fear Not!

I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.


Tonite I did something I would not have done 10 years ago. At 12:30 a.m. I walked my labyrinth.

10 years ago fear would have prevented that. Fear of what? Fear of the dark, fear of the coyotes, fear of the unknown. FEAR.
Fear ruled most of my younger years. I was afraid of the dark as a child and afraid to try new things. I was scared at every turn at the risk of being ...hurt? unloved, losing something? I was afraid of being afraid..
Tonite upon entering the labyrinth I noticed the small voice of fear whispering in my ear......could be a coyote in the hills. For a second I was unsure of walking. I allowed myself to become calm and then I heard a different voice calling me to take my first step into the walk. AS I did I thought of how beautiful the night was and how the moon was nearly full, allowing me to be able to make out the stone edges of the circuits. THE breeze was cool and I welcomed it as the few mosquitos out earlier were whisked away by it. It had rained and the freshness it had provided was amazing and helped to bring me to the reason I was here to walk and be calm. The fear was erased.
My walk was completely consumed with thoughts of all the fears I lived with for too long and the victories I had over them.
The fears I experienced as a young adult prevented me from experiencing many things.
The fear of flying, the dentist, Fear of heights,visiting the hospital , driving in a car, the dark, bees, being alone, being accepted, doing anything where I might get hurt or the fear of the unknown.

At the age of 37 I won a trip to Cancun Mexico.....It was a great prize to win. But I was terrified to fly. I decided to do something to work on overcoming the fear that prevented me from flying. What was the irrational thought..I am going to crash and die. Every moment I spent thinking of flying this is what I thought...Thinking of driving there "I am going to crash and die"  Imagining sitting in the airport "I am going to crash and die" Getting on the  plane " I am going to crash and die"

(Fears are educated into us, and can, if we wish, be educated out.)

Obviously this wasn't going to get me to Mexico let alone to the airport. I bought a tape on conquering the fear of flying and I did just that. Every night I listened to that tape. I got rid of the old messages in my mind and replaced them with positive images that included....driving to the airport picturing myself on the beach with my toes in the sand. ..waiting in the airport imagining the view from our beachfront hotel room.....boarding the plane and thinking about how good it would feel to be on a holiday after all these years. I also got real and when I did have those small brain burst of I am going to crash and die.... I corrected that thinking with thousands of people fly everyday and make it to where they are going.....the only reason we hear of only the crashes is because that is what makes the news.....I would imagine my own news flashes ..."Today it was reported that thousands of people world wide took off and landed in airplanes all over the world."
After the trip I realized I could apply this to all areas of my life. The dentist was next. I did visual therapy as well as exposure therapy to succeed at getting past that fear. I am totally fearless of the dental work being performed. Now I just worry about the bill ...

I had an awful fear of bees.....TERRIFIED!   now I live on a farmyard that is surrounded by carraganas. Every spring (right now) the bees in the trees are so numerous that it sounds like small motors when you walk by them.  I have no fear of them at all.   NONE.

Yep I took this picture.

The dark......well it really isn't that dark . Even on the darkest night you can still see.... When my grandson was about 3 he would sleep over. We would lie down at bed time and he would be scared.  Terrified of the dark and what he couldn't see and what he thought he could see. HE would ask me what is that and point at a shadow and ask what is that . It looks like a monster....or alien.
After several sleepovers and he still being fearful I came up with something that helped him overcome his fears.
I decided it was my turn to be afraid.."Zak I am scared ....and pointing to a shadow ask him " What is that?" He would look and soon have the answer for me. Soon he had every shadow and every sound figured out FOR ME!  IN turn it was figured out for him as well. It is easy to tell someone not to be afraid but the secret is in them learning there is nothing to be afraid of.  Figure out what is in the fear ....and overcoming it....
 Now common sense tells us we need to be cautious when taking a risk or doing something new or dangerous but knowledge needs to override fear to be able to enjoy the experience.
SO my walk tonite was amazing and I am thankful to have come so far in overcoming fear in so many areas of my life. Life is so much more enjoyable when not living with fear .

I challenge you to take on your fears......face them with an open mind and use knowledge and reality checks to get past them...fear is really mind over matter..............it really is. When you chalange your fears you are truly challenging yourself.

I missed out on alot of things in the first 37 years of my life due to irrational fears........I am glad I am past that................you can be too.

ON a suspension bridge and loving the waterfall below!

You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.
Eleanor Roosevelt

Thats me up there!!!

The fear of death is the most unjustified of all fears,

for there's no risk of accident for someone who's dead.

It's the heart afraid of breaking
That never learns to dance.
It's the dream afraid of waking
That never takes the chance.
It's the one who won't be taken,
Who cannot seem to give,
And the soul afraid of dyin'
That never learns to live.