I have written about fear many times before. I understand that it is very difficult to get comfortable with the idea that we are all eternal beings that cannot be harmed in any way. We see death, disease and destruction all around us in this existence, so clearly we can be harmed, right? Even if it is just within this lifetime, harm has obviously come to us so fear is real and justified, or is it?
I try to write only about concepts and absolute truths without getting into any of my personal experiences. To personalize spiritual teachings shifts the focus from where it should be, on you, the seeker. The journey is yours and, we all must get our knees scraped along the way. However, I am making an exception to my rule in the hopes that it will provide awindow into why fear does not exist outside of this reality and is a creation of the ego/mind of humanity.
I have a very strong memory of one particular past life. I have relived it in dreams and visions as well as dealt with the physical residue of this particular experience most of my life. It happened in what appears to be medieval Europe. I am on a ridge with a lush green meadow running down both sides. At the bottom of the ridge on one side is a small village. It is clearly in sight of the ridge where I am and I can see people that I know standing at the edge of the village looking up at me. They are afraid. I am on a rack.
I am tied to a rack similar to the ones we have all seen that were used to torture individuals in this time period. I do not know why I am being tortured, but I expect it is for heresy and spiritual teachings. The soldiers around me do not talk as they turn the wheel that continues to stretch me to the limits. The pain is quite real, but I do not cry out. There is no one to help me.
Suddenly, with one final twist of the wheel, my right side gives way ripping my arm, shoulder and the right side of my ribs from my body. The flesh on the right side of my headrips away as the rack returns to its resting position with my body torn and mangled at each end of the device. Without ceremony, the soldiers cut the bindings to free my legs and left arm as they roll me off the rack and into a ditch that overlooks the far side of the ridge.
I land on top of others that had a similar fate. As I look over the lush green field from what will soon be my grave, I feel a wonderful calm and peace. I send Love and Light to all that surrounds me, not because of some superhuman ability to rise above my torturers, but because I fully realize my true nature as an eternal being of Light that cannot be harmed in any way. I am awakening from the “dream” of life in this world.
As I write this, my right side aches and feels like it is on fire, yet this story marks one of my most cherished accomplishments and a great gift to my True Self. It allows me to clearly see fear for what it is and separate it from death, disease, pain, and destruction.
Yes, we all have been through and will go through pain in infinite ways within this plane of existence. However, pain, whether it be through death, disease, or mutilation is separate and apart from fear. The human body is miraculous in its ability to stop the pain and protect us from the traumas that befall our bodies. Stories abound of individuals that receive terrible injuries yet they continue unaware of the injury until that injury is processed by the brain. Do you understand the difference?
The pain of the injury is but a small part of the terror that is felt as a result of fear. Fear takes our minds to some point in the future where we multiple the injury a thousand different ways to create terror, anxiety, and uncertainty. The “what ifs” explode into panic and fear of what might come to be. Yet I can tell you with certainty that it is all a lie. It is indeed an illusion of our own making. Within the now of existence, fear does not and cannot exist.
Not only can you not be harmed in any way, but each and everything that you experience in this or any other lifetime also enriches your being and allows you to more clearly see and understand that which you are. You are an eternal being of Light. Embrace those few moments of pain in the context of eternity. Ask your Higher Self to show you the blessings within that pain as you more fully understand Life.
Fear is an illusion of the mind and ego. It is not worthy of your attention or energy. See it and release it for what it is.
Now we are doing yoga…
Namaste
Blair is the co-owner of Yoga Daily in Mt. Pleasant, SC. He is a certified yoga instructor, a recovering lawyer, and a spiritual student. The content of this blog is what Blair considers to be universal truths that span all dogma and religion and it is offered to you in Love and Light. Check out Yoga Dude for additional blog entries. You can contact Blair at [email protected]. Yoga is but one path to the knowledge that we are all One. Please take what resonates with you and leave the rest without judgment or offense.