Beyond Fear

"Psychological fear is always of something that might happen, not of something that is happening now.

You are in the here and now, while your mind is in the future.

This creates an anxiety gap.

And if you are identified with your mind and have lost touch with the power and simplicity of the Now, that anxiety will be your constant companion."

Eckhart Tolle

We often spend a lot of time thinking about what might happen; projecting a future that may or may not occur, while spinning ourselves into a state of fear and anxiety that has no basis in reality. For many, this state of anxiety about the future is like a constant companion that haunts our every move, tying us into knots, and cutting us off from the natural joy and freedom that are always available in the present moment. If we are honest, this constant worry and fear have little or no relation to what is actually happening here and now.

For instance, we may find ourselves suddenly obsessing about an event that is going to happen next week, creating an unlimited stream of scenarios that may or may not happen. We may notice that, in these mind-made creations, we become filled with fear and completely lose the only space that we actually ever live in: the present moment. Once we begin to see how rarely, if ever, we are in the here and now, we begin to wake up from the fantasies in our minds and the fears that go with them.

When we actually pay attention to this moment, we may notice that it is always much easier than we ever acknowledge it to be. When we open our eyes and see what is in front of us, it is usually way more benign and stress free than we imagine. The key is always this; Be HERE and FEEl your present moment experience, rather than having a love affair with the constant stories your mind is telling you about a future that may or may not unfold.

A great practice is to bring this question to your mind, 'here and now, is there anything lacking'? Do this over and over, and you will notice that, in this present moment, there is NEVER anything lacking. NEVER. In this realization, the fear and anxiety that may have continually haunted you will begin to evaporate, and your natural state of freedom will begin to emerge. All we have to do is actually be HERE.