Fear is a Sickness: Part 1

I have been thinking about fear a lot.

And, as a human, I am also fighting to not be pulled under by the tide of fear myself.

We recently watched Apocalypto which, despite being super intense with gnarly violent scenes, I love it. To me, it resonates as a fairly true depiction of that period in Mayan history. At one point in the movie, the subject of fear comes up as they see another tribe escaping through the jungle. And the father, Flint Sky, tells son, Jaguar Paw, what he saw on those fleeing people:

“Fear. Deep rotting fear. Fear is a sickness. It will crawl into the soul of anyone who engages it. It has tainted your peace already.”

Flint Sky – Apocalypto

Fear has its place, as I explain in this old post here. Fear is one of the reasons we have been able to survive as a species. Safety. Comfort. These are all born in response to fear.

Fear is like a fire. Fear can be the spark that ignites innovation when we use it to our benefit. But if we let it get out of hand, or if we are not watching it, it can consume and destroy everything. If we allow fear overtake us and make a home in us, Fear is using us.

Now, mastering our fear does not mean that danger disappears. Danger is very real and something to be aware of. Attempting to separate ourselves from Fear is also futile. It exists within us. We are made of both light and dark. Just as we are all made of both Fear and Love. Attempting to remove Fear will only fuel the destructive nature of that fire. To reject a part of ourselves is Fear-based. A Love-based and unity consciousness approach is to accept that fear exists and to be able to sit with it without losing ourselves to it. Our fear also has many valuable lessons for us, like where we still need healing. Internalizing the lessons Fear has to teach us can spark innovations of healing and spiritual evolution. So, yes, we can utilize and accept Fear as a teacher. But it is not a good master.

The tricky thing is fear, my friends, fear is an illusion and it is elusive. The problem now is that we are being constantly bombarded and hooked by fear. In our current reality, fear is no longer a small flicker in people’s minds to spark innovation or evolution. It is a wildfire. People are infected with the sickness of fear. And we are watching this do more harm than good right before our eyes.

You will be able to recognize when Fear has mastered someone or grown to the point of destruction in the mind when it creates separation. This is when it has become a sickness of the mind.

And this is the spiritual battleground we are all standing on right now. Open your eyes and you will see it is true.

The sign that someone is infected with the sickness of fear: SEPARATION. Separation is a symptom and also a cause of Fear. Love calls for unity. There is a reason making love is the unification of two souls not the separation. You can identify if something is Love-based/Light or Fear-based/Dark based on the call for unity or for separation.

The attempt of Fear to claim you as its own will look like separation from the body. This means things like separating you from accepting what your body looks like; from the innate intuition, wisdom, and healing of the body; from aspects of your human bodily nature (menstrual cycles, sexual urges, breastfeeding, etc.); and similar.

The attempt of Fear to claim you will look like separation from your fellow human beings and loved ones. This looks like separating groups within The People based upon arbitrary lines of skin color or sexual orientation or political party. It looks like separating you from loved ones during holidays which anthropologically have shown to be important rituals for continuing and reestablishing social connections. It will look like separating neighbors with shadows dances of violence so each fears the worst is possible of the other.

The attempt for Fear to claim you as its own will look like separation from your own discernment and critical thinking skills. It will separate you from Truth with layers of shadows and shock to create doubt. It will separate you from trusting your own judgement by ensnaring you in strong emotions with carefully crafted language and single sided perspectives. It will create separation from credible sources by making the journey to find them murkier.

The attempt for Fear to claim you as its own will look like separation from your True Self, which is really a being of Love and Light. Look at young children if you need a reminder of your true nature. It will look like separation from your passions with the illusion of obligation and responsibility and impossibility. This will look like a separation from your intuition and your inner guidance in exchange for social acceptance by telling you your avenues to success are limited. It will look like separating you from your freedom and autonomy in your life by telling you you don’t know what’s best for yourself (when who else could be a better expert on your life?). It will look like separating you from the ability to use or claim your voice. It will attempt to separate you from your divine right and inherent nature of Worthiness, of Enoughness, of Goodness.

And this also looks like separation from your Mother Earth. Fear as a master will attempt to separate you from the abundance that is the Earth we live on.

With this awareness, be very mindful about what you choose to participate in moving forward. Think about whether what you are looking at is calling for unity or separation. Connect to your own guidance and inner knowing because you are watching people chose and accept Fear as their master. You know what I’m talking about.

Remember, passivity and inaction is also a choice.

In Fear is a Sickness Part 2 we will explore WHY this is manifesting in the way it is: Think about the feeling of fear, of anxiety, of dread. Think about what that feels like in the body. If you have ever had a panic attack or been overwhelmed with fear, you know it is a horrible feeling. So despite it being so uncomfortable, why do people get hooked by fear? How could something so uncomfortable and out of alignment with our true nature become our master?