In his book Letting Go, David R. Hawkins talks about the many faces and the extent of fear. Constant worrying is chronic fear while paranoia is its extreme.  Anxiety and phobias are somewhere in between. A milder form of fear is uneasiness, while shyness, tension, speechlessness, defensiveness, insecurity, and guiltiness are more severe. Because fear is so extensive and takes so many forms, below are some of the more common fears.  

Fear of pain and suffering

Fear of making decisions

Fear of authority

Fear of loss of security 

Fear of loss of control

Fear of change

Fear of public speaking

Fear of fear itself 

Fear of living

Fear of loving

Fear of dying

Fear of rejection

Fear of closeness

Fear of poverty 

Fear of failure

Fear of violence 

“When we stop being afraid, we notice that it is just a feeling”.  Stated differently, when the object of our fear is removed we are left with just our negative feelings.  

What’s causing the feelings then? Our past pains, if not worked through, cause future fears. Our  thoughts, if not monitored, and the information we have accumulated over the course of our lives will cause us to fear.   

To avoid reinforcing fear, one must relinquish holding on to the thoughts and feelings that cause us to feel that way.  Whatever thoughts we harbor in our minds over and over and apply energy to, they tend to manifest in our lives according to our imagination of them.  Therefore, once again reinforcing fear. 

While fear can also be associated with our survival and has a special accord in our mind, our mind’s compensatory devices can fail and the fear can spill “into consciousness as overt anxiety attacks or phobias”. 

Furthermore, fear tends to escalate. “Thus, the typical patient with phobias shows a progressive extension of the fear into more and more avenues of life, leading to further and further restriction of activity, and, in severe cases, to total immobilization”. 

Have you ever been crippled by fear and couldn’t move forward or witnessed someone else in that state?  

What about the notion that fear is keeping us alive because it is associated with a whole set of survival mechanisms? The reality is, according to Hawkins, it has the opposite effect. 

“Fear is what blinds us to real dangers of life.  It is fear and guilt that bring about disease and failure in every area of our lives.”  Fear brings on physical and mental diseases, impacts our relationships and well being. It physically weakens our immune systems and our musculature.   

 “We can take the same protective actions out of love rather than out of fear”. 

We can care for our bodies because we value and appreciate them rather than the fear of disease and dying. 

We can serve others out of love instead of out of fear of losing them. 

We can perform quality work out of respect for our co-workers rather than the fear of losing our job.

What is the antidote for fear then? “Fear is healed by love”. Mother Teresa comes to mind; she has been credited with many healings by way of unconditional love.  

 How then should we relinquish and let go of fear? 

• Some people find freedom and release of fear and guilt through mechanisms of forgiveness in religious experiences. 
• We should allow the feelings to come up 
• See the feelings for what they are without manipulating or controlling them
• Remove all the garbage (all the unvetted, inaccurate information) from those feelings  
• Let them all go 
• Examine what is left and address what needs to be addressed 

In any case, one must take a step forward despite feelings of fear; take for example public speaking.  You cannot overcome fear in that application if you don’t take a step and just do it. 

The quality is irrelevant when you’re taking the first step.  It is the action that matters.  You did it.  Build on it. Improve it.  Perfect it.  And then go and conquer your next fear! 

If you need help working through letting go of your fears or blocks, please send me a message! 

Hawkins, David R. Letting Go. Hay House Inc., 2013