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Author Topic: How to get over fear?  (Read 11626 times)

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diniesaur

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How to get over fear?
« on: April 19, 2012, 09:12:38 AM »

Yes, I've been not commenting for a while because things have been pretty hard for me lately. I even have intertia just starting this post, but that's probably more of Autism than anything else.

I feel like I would love to start doing a small offering/purification ritual every morning, or with some form of regularity, and I've been feeling this way for quite a while, but I've been held up because I'm afraid that I'll miss a day and disappoint my gods (I have less control over my schedule than I would like because of my age). I don't think I'll Incure Their Wrath or be Struck Down, but I've never liked disappointing anyone. I know this is irrational because it's probably worse to do nothing (or nothing regularly) than to do it most days and miss one day, but I can't get out of the fear. It's just like in college where if I forget to turn in work I'll be afraid to turn it in the next day, or if I'm a little late for class I'll be afraid to go at all because I don't want the professor to get mad at me. No matter how many times people have said, "Better Late Than Never," I still have that fear. I think I have a much better chance at getting over this fear than I did the other one, though.

I know that it's not EsSEnTiAl for everyone to do a ritual every day, or every week, or whatever, but I feel like it would work for me if I could just start doing it and not mess up. It's overwhelming, but it would be great if I could succeed. Can anyone help me with this?
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Ghost Wolf

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Re: How to get over fear?
« Reply #1 on: April 19, 2012, 09:40:41 AM »

Repeat the following:

I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.

-Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear - From Frank Herbert's Dune Book Series © 1965
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earthmuffin

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Re: How to get over fear?
« Reply #2 on: April 19, 2012, 09:47:33 AM »

If you've ever been afraid of jumping or diving into deep water, you know how it gets harder the more you stand on the edge thinking about your fear and trying to summon courage. This is like that. You have to just jump on in without giving yourself time to think.
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vordan

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Re: How to get over fear?
« Reply #3 on: April 19, 2012, 09:57:18 AM »

I really like Ghostwolfs quote!  Tell the Gods that in all things you will do your best, that you are not perfect, you are but human,  and remember to tell that to yourself.
« Last Edit: April 19, 2012, 11:44:15 AM by vordan »
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Mongo

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Re: How to get over fear?
« Reply #4 on: April 19, 2012, 11:20:25 PM »

Ok, you know that the Divine (however you perceive him/her/them/it) is understanding that life sometimes does not permit you from doing what you want to do all the time. And you know that they are not going to crack open the sky and drop a plague og frogs on you if you miss a day.

You've been here long enough and you've read enough to know this. So what are you really afraid of?

That's the first step. Identifying what you are scared of. Are you *really* scared of disappointing entities that you know are not going to disappoint? Or are you scared of letting yourself down? Or is there another factor altogether?

Look into yourself and try to find out what is the inhibiting factor. What are you really afraid of. Once you know that, post back and we can try to help you overcome it. I'd hate to wax poetic about helping you overcome a fear of something only to find out that it's not helping because that's not what you're afraid of.
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VisionFromAfar

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Re: How to get over fear?
« Reply #5 on: April 19, 2012, 11:24:57 PM »

Repeat the following:

I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.

-Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear - From Frank Herbert's Dune Book Series © 1965
Whar be my "like" button?
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earthmuffin

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Re: How to get over fear?
« Reply #6 on: April 20, 2012, 09:54:49 AM »

Ok, you know that the Divine (however you perceive him/her/them/it) is understanding that life sometimes does not permit you from doing what you want to do all the time. And you know that they are not going to crack open the sky and drop a plague og frogs on you if you miss a day.

You've been here long enough and you've read enough to know this. So what are you really afraid of?

That's the first step. Identifying what you are scared of. Are you *really* scared of disappointing entities that you know are not going to disappoint? Or are you scared of letting yourself down? Or is there another factor altogether?

Look into yourself and try to find out what is the inhibiting factor. What are you really afraid of. Once you know that, post back and we can try to help you overcome it. I'd hate to wax poetic about helping you overcome a fear of something only to find out that it's not helping because that's not what you're afraid of.

I have a different take on this-- this is why I say you just have to jump in. You can analyze your fear and try to overcome it but you may waste a lot of time this way allowing your fear to win while you are busy analyzing. That's called paralysis of analysis. Can you act in the face of your fear? That is real courage... not having any fear is not courage; it's just not having fear. You will be fearful of a lot of things in your life. Will you get stuck and not act every time you are fearful?
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Wookie8662

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Re: How to get over fear?
« Reply #7 on: April 20, 2012, 09:49:40 PM »

Repeat the following:

I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.

-Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear - From Frank Herbert's Dune Book Series © 1965
Whar be my "like" button?

I agree.
Excellent post.

On a side note....
I see Karma in peoples sidebars, but nowhere to add to it (Ive seen a few posts worthy of some + karma).
Is this disabled since the last update?
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dragonspring

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Re: How to get over fear?
« Reply #8 on: April 20, 2012, 10:18:09 PM »

You should have and applaud and smite button under the karma.
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Wookie8662

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Re: How to get over fear?
« Reply #9 on: April 20, 2012, 11:09:58 PM »

I thought so too.
Here is what I see on the sidebar:


This can be split off if needed, as its beginning to detract from the original post.
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diniesaur

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Re: How to get over fear?
« Reply #10 on: April 21, 2012, 01:08:08 AM »

1) Thank you, everyone, for the awesome advice on the fear! I have a compromise for myself: I will jump in and do it without analyzing, but if something comes up where I can tell it's Not Working and that there's something deeper that must be resolved, I will slow down and try to fix it. In the mean time, I will try to figure out what the source of the fear is as I am doing the actual action. Does this seem like a good plan, or should I revise it more? (or will I be over-analyzing if I revise it too much?)

I think I know about this:

I thought so too.
Here is what I see on the sidebar:


This can be split off if needed, as its beginning to detract from the original post.

I think that this problem is because Wookie is not a Journeyman yet because of not enough posts, so it doesn't let him add Karma yet. It talks about it here: http://www.paganjourneys.com/index.php?topic=264.0
Is that the applicable answer?
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Crystal Dragon

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Re: How to get over fear?
« Reply #11 on: April 21, 2012, 03:16:38 AM »

Gold star for Dini!  Yep, that's why.  ;)
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dragonspring

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Re: How to get over fear?
« Reply #12 on: April 21, 2012, 07:20:50 AM »

 :duh:  Guess I shouldn't answer tech questions when I am outta steam.... :rolleye:
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earthmuffin

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Re: How to get over fear?
« Reply #13 on: April 21, 2012, 10:19:58 AM »

Dinie, I think you should approach it whatever way feels best to you. I never expect someone to take my advice because I offered it. If it doesn't ring true for you, feel free to ignore what has been said. Having said that, I think your approach sounds like a good plan. If a specific fear keeps getting in your way, then analysis and trying to release the fear can be helpful. Good luck!  ()
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"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion." The Dalai Lama
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