a fearless gentleness

Most of our lives, we live in fear…
… fear of the future
… fear of the past
… fear of regret
… fear of failure
… fear of falling short
… fear of what others might think
… fear of having to little
… fear of not achieving enough
… fear of losing things and people

… fear of disease, cancer, AIDS

… fear of death

… fear of ________

True love casts out fear.
Live from the heart.
What comes from the heart, reaches the heart.

Yeah right, what does THAT mean???

“When we live completely from the mind over a period of time, we lose touch with the infinite self, and then we begin to feel lost. This happens when we’re in doing mode all the time, rather than being. The latter means living from the soul and is a state of allowing. It means letting ourselves be who and what we are without judgment. Being doesn’t mean that we don’t do anything. It’s just that our actions stem from following our emotions and feelings while staying present in the moment. Doing, on the other hand, is future focused, with the mind creating a series of tasks that take us from here to there in order to achieve a particular outcome, regardless of our current emotional state.

“I have discovered that to determine whether my actions stem from doing or being, I only need to look at the emotion behind my everyday decisions. Is it fear? Then I’m in doing mode.

“When we feel off track, we think there’s something wrong with us – something we have to do or get in order to right ourselves – so we go searching outside for answers. We look to others in hope they will fix us. We may feel better for a little while, but it is usually short-lived, and we eventually end up feeling worse. However, when we really start to tune in to who life intended us to be – and we’re attuned to the emotions that motivate us – we connect with our soul (and its) magificence. We feel clarity when we allow this connection and take our power back, and our lives start to work.” (Anita Moorjani, Dying To Be Me)

We seek what is real and true and authentic. The only place that is available to us is in the present moment. Fear is anchored in the past and in the future; and both are unavailable to us. Fear is something that we conjure up as we attempt to take control over things that are outside of our sphere of influence. It knocks us off our game, our center, and leaves us dis-integrated with our mind everywhere but the present moment; grasping at the regrets of the past and the worries of the future like they matter. All we have is right now. That’s it. I just need to learn to be me, open and listening right now. The only way I’ve found that I can come back to me is in the silence; stepping away from thinking and from words to the essence of me. This can be through walking meditation or other meditation, contemplative prayer, silent worship, or others ways that work for you. Sometimes just being in the woods, in nature is what we need.

“Presence”, or being fully present in each moment, is no longer natural for us as adults. We have been conditioned to be absent, fully absent, emotionally and spiritually unavailable to those around us. But being present is there… in us. As children IT WAS TOTALLY NATURAL. When children play, they enter into that world and become a part of the world of their creation. When they look at something, they stare; they become absorbed by that new discovery. When artists create, they enter into their creation and become that creation so they can see what it is that is emerging. When athletes compete, there is no sense of time or space. But time and space become absorbed into the presence of that sport. (See research on “flow” or on Theory U)

Unfortunately, most of us have forgotten who we are. Caught up in the cares of this world, we try to “do” ourselves into “being”. When all we need to do is slow down and pay attention, wake up and become conscious, be silent and listen to the silence. Life is continually speaking to us, reminding us of these three things burried deep within.

At the core of our souls are three questions that awaken an ancient and inherent knowing. Three questions are prodding us to just “be” before moving into action.

Who am I? Why am I here? What am I going to do about it?

These are not doing questions. These are being questions. Doing arises out of being.

The questions are not there for us to answer in our journals or in our church services and then walk away. They are there to transform us, moment by moment, to awaken our ancient wisdom and give us life and energy and meaning. The answers don’t just appear in some sort of final form, they emerge over a lifetime. Gotta love the process.

When we release our grip on fear, it releases its grip on us. Why? Because it is not real, we have conjured it up in our minds. But we are so accustomed to living in fear, it shapes everything we do. What if it is gone??? What would be left???

The Essence of BEING Human:

Fearlessness: courage, dignity, a brave sacred warrior of life. A sacred warrior has conquered fear and so has nothing left to fight. A sacred warrior is a warrior of peace.

Gentleness: open and vulnerable, a sacred warrior is open and feels all of life, nothing left to run from, nothing to hide from. A sacred warrior opens wide the heart to feel the pain of others, the pain of the world, without flinching, without regret. A sacred warrior relinquishes safety and privacy for others. Available and listening, ready for action as it emerges from the heart.

Intelligence: awareness of who we are and why we are here. Consciousness of how we are living life, of whether we are fully present, of how our lives impact others.

How do we remember what we already know

We must intend it.

We must intentionally listen to life, to God, to others.

We must stop and be quiet.

Out of silence emerges inherent knowing.

Out of silence emerges BEING human.

Out of silence we hear that still small voice.

Be still, and know…

All men should strive
to learn before they die
what they are running from, and to, and why.
(James Thurber)

Fear doesn’t exist anywhere except in the mind. (Dale Carnegie)

There are only two emotions, fear and love. Go with love. (Wayne Dwyer)

“The guidance we need . . . cannot be found in science or technology, the value of which utterly depends on the ends they serve;
BUT IT CAN STILL BE FOUND IN THE TRADITIONAL WISDOM OF MANKIND.”
(E.F. Schumacher, Small is Beautiful)

Posted in: Living with open hands