Nature loves courage, Terence used to say. There is a remedy for modern malady of anxiety, which is rooted in obsession of knowing. Having conqured more and more of unknown, we are, in accordance with nature of greed, never satisfied, on the contrary, increasingly anxious to have more under control – to be certain.
That remedy is to shift the focus from the fear itself and abandon the urge to “cure it”. You do things despite the fear, and not after you suppress it. You do not try to solve the thing you fear, because another immediately will take its place. You allow them to be. Not knowing. Not having guarantee of outcome. Medicine ceremony is a great opportunity for that. There are times when you are not sure you will survive. That is the thing, you are not supposed to be sure of anything, your focus should not be in safe haven you want to arrive at, it should be in NOW. Have the faith that universe will take care of you, yes, but faith is not knowing. It is a choice.
NEVER FIGHT THE FEAR.
“Going into your fear
is like going through a fog.
⠀
The key is whether
you’re regarding
what you experience
as simply something real
or instead
as monumental entrapment,
imprisonment.
⠀
If you panic further,
you breed cowardice.
If you don’t,
then you just have
an experience of fear.
⠀
It’s a matter of invoking
fundamental confidence.
⠀
If you are able
to join fear and uncertainty
with genuine confidence,
then you will come through
to the other side.
⠀
Dealing with the two sides
of the coin in yourself
is difficult,
but it can be done.
⠀
You discover
a further commitment
to working with yourself
and a further feeling
of connection in your life.”
⠀
~ Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche