Fear All the Way Down

At the core of every negative emotion is fear. Even something so seemingly trivial as minor irritation. How? Behind the nuisance is the thought, "This situation is not how I’d like it to be." There’s a gap between what is and what should be. "Things are not perfect; I am not perfect."

And therein lies our culprit: I am.

The deeply unconscious, silently subtle purpose behind every emotion is to reinforce the self. Feelings exclaim with certainty, "I am!"

Each emotion is an intentional negation of oneness in order to ensure a dualistic me. A maladaptive yet consistently logical response to the fear of no-me.

And that is how fear sits at the base of every single emotion. It’s the guardian savior of selfhood. Fear underlies all suffering.

Thus, the way out of pain is to deny the denial of oneness. To unmask the cloak of fear.

This is not done by fighting the fear, nor attempting to conquer it. Rather, we simply look at fear’s presence, its insistence on identity. By observing the interplay of emotion and experience — with kindness and without judgment — the fear will dissipate into the nothingness from which it came.

Shifting awareness from the name and body self into this observing presence gently invites what A Course in Miracles refers to as "love’s messengers" that "return to you what love sees. They go forth to signify the end of fear."

Join me in Thursday’s class where we’ll discuss the nature of fear and lessons we can practice to enter the realm of joyous peace. I look forward to seeing you then.