Rosanne Bostonian

November 14, 2023

Sitting with our Fears

young woman sitting on a dock by the lake

As many of you are, I am a seeker of Truth as It expresses Itself in this world we mistakenly call reality.

That was a mouthful!

What I know from studies in psychology and spiritual study is that layers of what we think we know, what we think is “me” gradually peel off and leave the soul exposed. Joel Goldsmith said, Rejoice spiritual student, for even as the outer building crumbles, the Inner Temple is revealed.

In our culture, we are hypnotized into believing youth is forever, relationships don’t change and that we are an individual self that we have to preserve at all costs. The cost of this is remaining hypnotized and not awakening. We blame others for changes that are inevitable and, if we embraced the flow, would be of service to our individual awakening. Gratitude can replace blame.

Commenting on the material world, such as squirrels and the like, is fun. I love the commentary and laughter of how things unfold within our eye’s reach. The playfulness of living as we do, must give way to deeper consideration. Ultimately, our deliverance from suffering is to break free of hypnosis, a sense of individual me, and continue ascension to higher awareness. This means defeating the ego’s expressions, which can be both “wonderful me” and “fearful me.” They are flip sides of the same coin.

What is Fear?

I learned today that fear is what individual me feels when it is trying to avoid death. Metaphorically, this means that to surrender to that which is in a state of humility and willingness (Pema Chodron “lean into the sharp object”) means both the death of “wonderful me” and “fearful me.”

What emerges is “peaceful Me,” or that authentic entity that is resurrected after death. In this case, death is metaphoric for letting go. This is the hardest challenge for us… Just take a gander at an episode of Hoarders for an extreme, material version of this tendency. Make no mistake, we all have a need to hold on to things, people, and status quo in every shape and form.

Whenever we come close to letting go, we feel fear. It can be a physical sensation in the solar plexus. Those of us with big bellies have a lot of fear stored beneath the Mason-Dixon Line. This is a glandular expression of our stuckness in the form of various hormonal issues. “The body remembers what the mind forgets.”

Sitting with our fears is the willingness to complete the process death and resurrection. Bringing love to those dark places is letting go. When we do this, we become the Children of God, and this is freedom. I’m working on it…I hope you are too.

Thank you, Teresa (my mentor and teacher)…for a beautiful unveiling of Truth.

With lots of love, Rosanne

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