What might happen if you were to pause and approach fear with curiosity and compassion?
We don’t have to allow fear to control our actions. With compassionate curiosity, conversing with our fears can help clarify our values and motivations to help inform our decisions.
We may find more freedom to move forward in a way that will honor our core values. Or perhaps the wisdom to wait until we can arrive at a more fully integrated decision.
Fear is coming from the protective part of our brain. We don’t rely on it to make our decisions because that’s not what it’s for. But we can respect and welcome its logic for what it is and learn how it’s trying to help us.
To help open ourselves up to this part of our brain, you can begin by paying attention to where you feel fear in your body. Notice it and welcome its presence into your experience. Can you find what triggered it? What might it be protecting and why? How might all of your parts begin to move forward together?
Our goal in working with our fear is not to eliminate risk but to find the freedom of integrated wisdom and attentive courage.
Darrel Voth 