A Guide Through Fear

Fear lies at the root of much of your mind body experience. This may show up in any number of ways and will always be specific to you. For me, it often shows up as the sensation of having a tantrum on the inside. I used to have severe tantrums as a child, rolling around on the floor screaming and crying, dysregulated, helpless, and in extreme discomfort. This was my nervous system’s way of crying out for help when overwhelmed and riddled with fear. Those experiences stayed with my body, and when fear emerges, I can feel this experience re-emerging along with it. I can literally see an image of this distressed version of myself show up in my chest. Mind body experiences show up to communicate that this is a fear from long ago and that it needs attending to. The symptoms themselves do not matter. They are permeable, merely pointing to something deeper for you to be with. You must guide your attention to the fear and address it directly. Just like you would speak to a child in distress, you listen to this fearful part of you and create space for it, but you remain in charge. You set boundaries and you create a safe environment to move alongside it.

Each time fear shows up, your own version of my tantrum will show up too. The fear may show up in any number of mind body experiences that may make you question whether this is really fear or something else. But if you create space and pay close attention, you will begin to recognize a more familiar and raw fearfulness that has been with you much longer than the mind body signals. You must do what you can with courage – all that you can muster – to breathe into this part, to attend to it with care, and to move alongside it with firmness so as to ultimately create space for its release.  

I am a visceral person so my action often involves some movement. The movement is not about intensity or force, it is about creating space within. I am loosening up mind body protections and allowing the deeper fear entities to emerge. I am showing my brain and body a new experience with firm intention, with safety, and with power. Once you make a commitment to this action, you may notice other emotions show up too. You may feel tears or a scream rising up for release. Give it voice. Your brain will likely perceive this as threatening, but do your best to remind yourself that this is safe. In fact, it is magical. It is an opportunity presenting itself for you to transform. It is literally energy moving through you, and the stronger it is, the more potential it has to bring you into new states of joy and freedom.