Beyond Fear

Fear doesn’t exist without fearful thoughts. 

But one fearful thought can be incendiary

like an atom that starts a chain reaction.

An anticipation of danger, a memory of failure - 

and that one thought spawns a host of others

which each spawn hosts of others.

And soon your mental space is filled with turbulence

a swirling chaos of images and anticipations.

The thoughts grow denser, like gases solidifying

until you feel them as emotions 

as panic that surges through your body 

and anxiety that shivers through your veins. 

So breathe deeply and slowly

until you can sense some space inside you.

Feel the energy of being

flowing quietly through your body. 

Then find a stable place, a vantage point, 

where you can stand still and watch the thoughts pass by

without being carried away by them.

And soon the space inside you will expand.

Soon a sense of calm wholeness will fill you. 

Centre yourself there

open yourself to that spacious fullness

and slowly those emotions will vaporise.

slowly the turbulence will fade away.

And soon your mind will be empty 

like a clear sky after after a storm has passed.

And there will be no more fear. 

Let Pain Pass By

When you’ve been insulted and slighted 

and your self-esteem is wounded so badly

that your whole being seems close to collapse;

when you’ve been mistreated or humiliated

and your soul feels sick with betrayal 

and inflamed with injustice; 

don’t let your mind latch on to the pain. 

Hurt is a process which will play itself out -

the pain will pass by and fade away

as long as your mind doesn’t interfere.

There’s no need to keep replaying the incident 

trying to make some sense of it -

like the sound from an old tape, its clarity will fade 

the details will grow more vague

and you’ll just grow more confused. 

And with each replay, the hurt will rise again 

and begin to ferment, becoming more bitter,

distilling doubt and fear.

And like a greedy lawyer, your mind will set to work, 

playing with the truth, distorting and inflating the evidence

to extract as much damage as possible. 

Your resentment will harden into a permanent grudge

that lives inside you as a parasite

draining your energy and poisoning your thoughts. 

Once you pick up pain, it attaches itself to you

and sticks to you ever more tightly 

until you can’t put it down again. 

Why not treat emotional pain like physical pain?

If you stub your toe, for instance,

you don’t keep going over the details

trying to understand the stone’s motivations 

and becoming more and more outraged by the injustice.

You don’t carry around resentment  

and fantasise about taking revenge on the stone.

You let the pain pass by, and forget the incident.

Even if you’re left with a cut or bruise

you trust in your body to heal itself. 

So stand back and let your hurt express itself.

Your soul’s resilience will amaze you.

The most incisive insult, the most searing rejection,

the most humiliating failure, even the deepest betrayal - 

they will only hurt you temporarily. 

The pain will pass by, and you will be unblemished.

Your soul has healing powers, like your body, 

and will make you whole again.

All best wishes, Steve