Is There Really Nothing to Fear?

So many people today operate from a place of fear. I’ve done so myself many times in my life, though now I very rarely do. It was a journey to get where I am—most worthwhile things are. But what exactly does operating from a place of fear mean? What does it look like, and what’s the alternative? Let’s work through it together.

Do we actually have just two basic emotions?

The Swiss-born psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler Ross said that there are only two base emotions in the human condition: love and fear. All other emotions come from one of these two places. The brilliant and inspiring author Don Miguel Ruiz shares the same concept (he calls them “two tracks”) in his book The Mastery of Love: A Practical Guide to the Art of Relationship, and many others like the great sage Neale Donald Walsch have shared a similar understanding.

Some consider this too simplified, especially since human emotions are complex and more than one emotion can be felt at one time. So like just about everything in life, describing the complexity of the human emotional experience as all stemming from either love or fear may not be exactly accurate, especially given how limited words are, but it feels generally right, at least, and it provides a good foundation for understanding, reflection, contemplation and conversation. Or maybe it is exactly accurate…

Fear.

If we can agree at least for the moment that love and fear are the two base emotions in the human condition, we can see that much of the world is clearly operating from a place of fear. Everything seems upside-down right now. Some have way too much while others have almost nothing. People are feeling more disconnected than at any other time in my lifetime. Greed is rampant. Everywhere we look, we see despair, both globally and within all our circles of family, friends, neighbors and coworkers. Violence is escalating everywhere: globally, domestically and locally. Competition with one another has become ruthless, and tyranny rules the day. These are just a few examples of what it looks like when people and societies live from a place of fear. These ways of living are so inconsistent with our true nature. With our essence:

Love.

Despite everything, there are still great and gentle souls sprinkled all across the globe doing all kinds of amazing and selfless work.  Shining their light to serve as beacon for so many. Sharing truth. Healing others.  Creating change. Inspiring. Operating from a place of love.

Fear vs Love.

When our thoughts, decisions and actions come from a place of fear, our behavior toward ourselves and others looks like heartlessness, selfishness, turmoil, separateness, agitation, unhappiness, a state of melancholy, and hatefulness. Conversely, when we’re coming from a place of love, our behavior looks like compassion, generosity, peacefulness, oneness, relaxation, joyfulness and kindness.

Remembering is the key.

How do we move from operating from a place of fear to operating from a place of love? The answer is simple, though not always easy: through remembering. Through remembering our true nature, who we really are and who our Source really is. And how do we remember those things? By being reminded of the universal laws (also known as universal truths) that our Source has so safely wrapped us in.

But where do we start this shift? What should be our foundation? Well, if we asked ten people these questions, we’d likely get ten different answers—and no one would be wrong. I’ll start with this reminder as our foundation—we are eternal and infinite. Or maybe I’ll go with the reminder that we are all one (the law of oneness), or maybe that all is working just as it should (the law of divine order), or… well, for now let’s start with the remembrance that we are eternal and infinite.

Eternal and infinite.

And what does “eternal and infinite” mean? How is that remembrance going to help me pay my bills, feel better physically, heal my relationships, or switch careers? You may have any number of pressing issues that you want to fix in your life, and the idea of being eternal and infinite may feel irrelevant. So let’s examine how to use this remembrance to move to a place of love.

To start, this new remembrance can provide a new and expanded perspective. Many of us are living from the limited perspective that says, “you get one life, you’d better make the most of it.” And that comes with the ever-present pressure of the metaphoric ticking clock in the background because time here in the human condition is finite.

This new and expanded perspective that we are eternal and infinite can help you feel safe and secure, which opens up a path to operating from a place of love. Then, when we’re treating ourselves and others with kindness and compassion, joy, generosity, and peacefulness, we’ll be much better positioned to be more abundant financially (so we can pay the bills), maintain a healthier lifestyle, build better, stronger and healthier relationships, work toward a career more aligned with our true essence and our dreams, and so much more. This is the universal law of attraction—like attracts like. I have seen this universal law work for me over my entire life, both when I’ve operated from a place of fear and when I’ve operated from a place of love. I’ll take the conditions and experiences that result from operating from a place of love any day.  We’ll talk more about the law that states “like attracts like” in a future post.

Eternal.

But I already believe in heaven (or some eternal afterlife), you may say. That’s a great start, but how often do you think about what heaven really means? How often do you sit still and quiet and feel within yourself what heaven might feel like? Have you really thought about the possibilities? And have you considered that the idea of heaven may itself be a very limited view of the true grandeur and adventure that exists beyond life?

Infinite.

“Infinite” is in interesting concept that far fewer people have truly considered in relationship to themselves. The definition of infinite is “limitless or endless in space, extent, or size; impossible to measure or calculate.” If we thought of ourselves in this way it would stand to reason that we’d be less fearful—at least a little bit. Maybe a lot less fearful.

And back to eternal.

Let’s return to the idea that “you get one life, you’d better make the most of it.” In most eastern philosophies, there is a concept of the wheel of samsara or the wheel of life. This wheel represents the cycle of birth, death and, rebirth—also known as reincarnation. If this philosophy is true, which I feel certain it is, that would surely relive some of the pressure to “make the most of this ‘one’ life.” Especially if each “birth” had its own great and perfectly crafted purpose, which I believe they do. The cycle of birth, death, and rebirth is a scary thought for many in our western culture, and that’s very understandable, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true.

First Steps.

Now that we have a very high-level understanding of “eternal and infinite”, here’s how we can put it to use. Imagine if before all of our choices and our actions, the words we speak and even the thoughts we think, we reminded ourselves that we are eternal and infinite. How would this affect the ways we treated ourselves and others? Imagine the shift in perspective if this was the first thing we did when we opened our eyes in the morning and the last thing we did before we closed them at night. This simple remembrance can powerfully shift our energy and perspective in a given moment (especially the moments we all have where we mistakenly think we are “not enough”), and it’s a beautiful foundation to set for ourselves each morning, and then as we close out the day. I’m confident that this would be a great start towards operating from a place of love.

So is there really nothing to fear?

It can feel like there is, that’s for sure. We are told repeatedly and in so many different ways that there is a lot to fear. While I believe with my whole heart that there is nothing to fear, just me or anyone else telling you this would have little to no impact. Explaining why there is nothing to fear, however—that could make a substantial impact.

There is of course no sequential order to the universal laws, and no single one is inherently “more important” than another, but for now, let’s call this reason number one and our foundation or starting point for remembering that there is nothing to fear: we are eternal and infinite.

I encourage you to begin the journey to operating from a place of love instead of fear—remind yourself as often as you need that you are eternal and infinite.

What other universal laws do you think would make a good foundation for shifting out of operating from a place of fear and into operating from a place of love?

The light in me sees and honors the light in you,

—DC