Fear is the base emotion underlying all negative emotions. It is the primal emotion of the Sympathetic Nervous System. Shame, anger, anxiety, aversion, depression, greed, envy, jealousy, anguish, confusion, doubt, procrastination, addiction are all offsprings of fear.

The Way In Which Fear Works

Primal fear that activates a Fight or Flight response is mostly an uncommon occurrence in everyday life. How many of us find ourselves face-to-face with a tiger on a daily basis? How many are robbed at gunpoint, even though the latter has a higher probability of occurring; it is still quite rare. But than one night after watching a movie you start walking to your car which you parked a few blocks away to save parking fee. As you turn the dark corner, you get hit hard and crash violently to the ground. As you start getting up, you feel a cold metal being shoved hard up your ear, unmistakably a gun.

A week later, you are parked in the neighbourhood of your home, which is quite safe. But as you walk towards your home, you are worried and panicky, even though there is no robber, nor gun. What are you afraid of right now, in this moment? Is this fear? No, it is anxiety. It is anxiety disguised as fear, it is not real.

Think about it. Whatever you are afraid of, you have to think it into existence through worry, something that may happen in the future. A bad memory of a past experience has awakened, and now you are conjuring up all the ridiculous ways in which the ruminated upon incident may happen again, only this time around, it will be worse and more painful than the last time.

This simple distinction between anxiety and fear is very important because anxiety is a negative emotional state in which the threat is not present, but anticipated. In modern life, many fear states are like this — they are brought on by things, signposts or signals that stand for harm rather than things that are truly harmful.¹

Fear is a rogue that bluffs you with threats of unhappiness, if not embraced. Fear is like that disgruntled one night stand, the result of a drunken mistake that does not want to go away. It is a parasite that needs you as its host so it can feed off the energy of your emotions. It is alive, and always hungry.

Fear disturbs the vibration of your energy patterns by disrupting the natural flow of your body’s energy as it feeds on it. This causes spiritual disturbance that breaks the harmony between the communication of the individual soul, with the universal spirit, which is the storehouse of all knowledge, and the goal of Yoga.

Retain Your Power

Fear knows that a person can only function optimally when it is secure.² When not under the threat of a constant siege. As a result, fear tricks us into feeling that we are continuously surrounded by insurgents of terror, knowing full well that if he is able to deceive us into thinking this is true, then we will spend all our time trying to cope, like a mule with tedium, confused and unaware of who is behind this sinister strategy. Once we lose focus, and the quality of our awareness deteriorates, fear can start feeding on our energy without us knowing about it.

But once a person establishes some degree of mindfulness to discern what is going on, no amount of fear has the power to hurt them. Even if someone demeans, humiliates, and beats you, in the end it is always your choice on how you will interpret that abuse and what action you will take against it.

When someone frustrates you, it is only your response that is frustrating you. When someone takes on the liberty to provoke you, remember that it is your interpretation and judgement of the incident that is provoking you. The power an emotional experience has, is the only one you give it. I say this because I know. I have been there, many, many times.

Do not get attached to the drama that is unfolding, do not provide fuel for the fire, and there will be no fire. The moment is yours, you are in power. Take a wide angle view of the show that is unfolding, smile, and compose yourself before you ask the loving and all forgiving universe how she would react to this melodrama. No amount of fear can stop you. Nothing can truly hold you back. For your will is always within your control.

Empower Yourself Through This Software

Every bad experience carries within its womb the seed for growth.³ Our trials and tribulations have in it the potential to introduce us to our strengths. The wise have cultivated the habit of looking beyond the fear by putting it to good use. Whenever there is a painful event, turn inwards and ask yourself, where is the lesson in this for me. What is it that the universe is trying to teach me, while reassuring yourself that the universe has never given anyone more than they can handle.

You may have to extend yourself to meet the challenges of the fear, but know that in only overcoming those fears will you be ready to take on greater charge. If your chastity is threatened, than self-restraint is the resource needed, if addiction raises its ugly head, than awareness, courage, and diligence will be needed, and if verbal and physical abuse is encountered, than non-violence, compassion, and patience will be needed in abundance. You were born with all these, it just takes a little time to garner enough courage to bring it forth in the right amount, at the right time.

As you use this application to gain experience in cultivating the habit of matching the appropriate inner resource to each incident in life, your resolve towards fortitude will be strengthened. After a few months of regular practice, whenever fear knocks on your heart, instead of reacting in a haphazard manner, resolve will greet its presence. In due time, you will have become a fearless warrior, of which fear will be duly informed by the universe. For fear itself, wisdom would be in staying out of your way.