If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.
--Saint Thomas
Getting clear on what you're scared of can instantly diffuse ticking anxiety bombs and release your creative power.
Why are you afraid? This is where you get it out of your system: bankruptcy, unfulfilled potential, trashing your reputation, losing it all. And then (because we just can't stop there), you're going to apply some simple analysis to it. You may have nothing to fear after all.
This is an incredibly simple and powerful exercise that I learned from the Diamond Approach, a self-realization philosophy developed by A. H. Almaas (a great introduction to his massive body of work is his book The Unfolding Now). I respectfully refer to this as the "Because Why Inquiry." Watch the video and we'll get into it.
Today's Worksheet: Deconstructing Fear
Getting clear on what you're scare of can instantly diffuse ticking anxiety bombs. This is where you get it out of your system: bankruptcy, unfulfilled potential, trashing your reputation, ending up a spinster, losing it all, a supposedly fatal diagnosis. And then (because we just can't stop there), you're going to apply some simple analysis to it. You may have nothing to fear at all.
This is an incredibly simple and powerful exercise that I learned from the Diamond Approach, a self-realization philosophy developed by A.H. Almaas (a great introduction to his massive body of work is his book The Unfolding Now). I respectfully refer to this as the Because Why Inquiry.
Think of something you're afraid of. Got it in your head? Now ask yourself "Why am I afraid of ____?" Answer it. Ask again. Because why? ANswer again -- you can give the same answer or a different one, but eventually you'll need to get unstuck and discover another reply for yourself. Keep repeating the Because why? question and keep answering it. It's amazing what the basic repetition can dig up as you drill down closer to the source of your fear.
What are you afraid of? "I'm afraid of getting fired."
Why are you afraid of getting fired? "Because the money is good."
Why are you afraid of getting fired? "Because competition in my industry is tough."
Why are you afraid of getting fired? "Because I'd be humiliated."
Why are you afraid of getting fired? "Because I'd have to tell my father."
Why are you afraid of getting fired? "Because my dad would have one more reason to think I'm never going to amount to anything."
Why are you afraid of getting fired? "Because I'll never get the love I want from my father."
Eureka.
This is a powerful exercise to do with another person that you trust. As they keep repeating the Because why? question to you, you may have to resist the urge to scream at them, "Stop asking me that!" Avoid brutality. That's not part of the exercise. Ride through the annoyance and your own emotions and you'll crack through some layers to the light of insight.
How do you feel when you see the reasons behind your fears?
href="http://link.huffingtonpost.com/join/mindfullivingchallenge&hash=987ae63fe3180298a5856c58af1551c5" target="_hplink">To join the 30 Days To Fire Up Your Creative Genius Challenge, click here!
Follow Danielle LaPorte on Twitter: www.twitter.com/daniellelaporte
i am scared mama. i know i have done what you told me not to.
i am scared of mean people and the government, i trust no one mama.
(not much has changed) .....
Key also is knowing how toxic people operate (to manipulate and control those with whom they are relate). The question “What am I afraid of?” is essentially "what is being indicated is in danger". It is the potential for harm that is made use of by toxic people to trouble a person. They use what they know of a person's fears, aspirations etc. against them. ( you can read more about their tactics here https://kyrani99.wordpress.com/)
A person is troubled indirectly through the presentation of ideas. Your method is good because by asking we become connected with the key ideas/issues, which when resolved eliminates the fear and worry. And it can be used in difficult cases where an added idea is presented to make the danger idea unconscious. (ESP inside of close relationship is at a premium and used cunningly by toxic people). This will cause the victim to be less able to resolve the problem.
After awhile, usually a little longer than 30 days, you don't even need to ask why and you simply cut to the chase. Peeling away the layers of a problem that is of ones own self making can be difficult when one only has mind to understand mind. And the lathe of heaven will mow you down. A more recent incarnation of the lathe (the Matrix) even implies you can defeat it when in fact there is nothing to defeat. Oh de feet, Oh de feet, I'm so tired of walkin...
I couldn't give a rat's for my father's or anyone else's opinion, they don't come into it. I'm afraid of homelessness, simple as that. Not all fears are some sort of Freudian nonsense or stuff that can just be wished away.
Oh and if you're talking about bombs, it's defuse, not diffuse. Totally different meaning.
When we look through the eyes of our human ego there is everything to be afraid of.
That simple and also that complex as we get attached to these physical bodies.
We judge by appearances rather than see the underlying reality of those appearances. ie that attachment, grasping, craving, and misguided desires are part of the evolution of consciousness process.
But then what kind of expressions of the Infinite would we be if we were instantly able to see the underlying reality of all phenomena.
The struggles and hardships and fears develop the soul to be a beautiful reflection of divine love and intelligence.