Emotion: Fear – The desire to strike out but not doing so because we think they will hit us harder. The desire to reach out but not doing it because we think we’ll get hurt.

According to the law of cause and effect:

Thought (cause) = Emotion (effect)/ Emotion (cause) = Action (effect)

Thinking:

Crisis after crisis;  Disaster’s looming and I’ve got to hide;  I can’t let them find me out;  I don’t want anything to change;  I have to get it right or they’ll kill me;  I have to get them before they get me;  I’m not OK;  I’m confused and don’t know what to do, so I can’t do anything;  I’m not enough;  I’m not safe;  I’m trapped, there is no way out;  It’s closing in around me;  It’s so confusing that I just can’t move;  It’s not safe;  It is safer to stay still and not take any chances;  They’re out to get me;  What if I fail?;  What if I get fired?;  What if I get into trouble?;  What if I make a mistake?;  What if they don’t like me?;  What if. . . ?;  What will they think?;  No use, why try;  No matter what I do, it doesn’t make a difference;  No way, forget about it;  No way out;  Tomorrow;  What’s the use;  Why bother . . .

Acting

agitated; ambivalent;  apologetic;  chaotic;  confused;  cowering;  cringing;  defensive;  disorderly;  distraught;  distrustful;  disturbed;  embarrassed; evasive;  frenzied;  frozen;  hesitant;  hyper-active;  hyper-focused;  hyper-vigilant;  hysterical;  indecisive;  inhibited;  irrational;  lack of clarity;  meek;  mistrustful;  nervous;  no action;  not trusting;  overwhelmed;  panicky;  paralyzed;  paranoid;  procrastination;  quaking;  scared;  secretive;  self-sabotage;  shady;  sheepish;  shock;  shy;  superstitious;  timid;  traumatized;  treble;  tunnel vision; wishy-washy

STOP – CHALLENGE – CHOOSE

Stop: Ask yourself –  how do I feel right now? Use emotional  dictionary from previous  postings if you are not clear about your  emotional state. Feel the  feeling: where in your body do you feel anxious, insecure, unsafe or vulnerable? How  does that feel? If this  feeling was a color what color would it be? Remain with the feeling and  watch it transform.

Challenge: Are your  thoughts true? How can you know that what you  are thinking is absolutely  true? Who would you be if you didn’t think  those thoughts?

How do you know that you are not OK? Is it absolutely true that  you are not safe? How do you know? Who would you be if you didn’t  believe this was  true?

Choose: What would you do if you loved yourself for who you are? How would that change the state you are in?

When you are dealing with a negative emotion don’t try and   get rid of it, its a valid part of you that wants attention simply   because there is an imbalance within, so you have to learn to love and   accept it.

Here’s a simple little saying to help you remember – When I love it, I move above it. Mark (Anup) Karlsson

Remember:

Emotions reveal the thoughts and patterns that seek attention.

Thoughts are not reality. Thoughts do not define you. You can choose what you think.

Actions speak louder than words (thoughts). Calm your mind and your actions will be more fluid.

Meditation, exercise and healthy food improve the quality of thinking.

“FEAR is an acronym in the English language for “False Evidence Appearing Real” Neale Donald Walsch

anxious     apprehensive cautious

clammy cowardice

defensive   distrust

doubt  dread embarrassed

evasive foreboding

frantic      hesitant     horrified        hysterical

inhibited insecure irrational nausea

nervous       panic      paralyzed

paranoid scared      secretive

shaky  shy

skeptical  stage fright

superstitious suspicious

terse  terrified  threatened  timid

trapped  uncertain uneasy

vulnerable want to escape  wary

worry

HOW ARE YOU FEELING TODAY?

FEELINGS ARE YOUR RESPONSE TO THE REALITY AT THIS MOMENT IN TIME.

ACCEPT YOUR FEELINGS, IF YOU RESIST  THEM THEY’LL LAST EVEN LONGER AND CREATE MORE STRESS

FEEL THE FEELINGS AND WATCH THEM TRANSFORM.

“FEAR is an acronym in the English language for “False Evidence Appearing Real”” Neale Donald Walsch

Recently I had a close encounter with a bat. It flu into my apartment, that is how close it was. I am afraid of bats, or shall I say – I was afraid until I met this fragile creature and named it Angelina.

She was trapped in the apartment for 5 hours and soundlessly flu around while my dogs remained oblivious to it. No matter how high or low she flu, one dog kept sleeping and another one was curiously looking at me while I was hiding under the table. I felt ridiculous and at times thought I was living a nightmare.

Eventually I decided to close myself in a (bat-proof) room and call friends to help me with Angelina’s rescue. While waiting for their arrival I Googled ‘bats in the house’ and found a lot of interesting facts and myths related to these creatures.

This is what I found on www.wvu.edu/~agexten/wildlife/bats.pd:

Many myths are associated with bats, such as the saying “blind as a bat.” This isn’t true. Bats can see quite well. Another myth is that bats get caught in people’s hair. They don’t. Nor are bats destructive pests like rats and mice. In fact, a colony of bats could cut down on unwanted mosquitoes around your house and help keep your garden free of insects.

The more I was reading the more I felt my fear of bats was based on an event that happened when I was 8 or 9 years old: I think I saw bats for the first time and was mesmerized by their flight until my friend said that a bat can get trapped in hair and the only way to release it was to cut the hair off. Just the thought of carrying a bat around until I found scissors seemed like the worst thing that could happen. That is how 30 years of living with fear of bats was programmed in my brain. How powerful (and paralyzing) is that!

The process of naming the bat Angelina, reading more about the facts, myths and symbols and finally seeing her magnificent flight into the night I felt more empowered then afraid. This was put into a test the next evening as I walked around a park: bats were flying all over the place! I smiled as I checked in with my body – my heart was not beating, I didn’t panic, I didn’t run away, I didn’t feel disgusted. I was free of my fear and bats are cool.

“Bat medicine teaches us to release fear and any pattern which no longer fits in with our pattern of growth. A new beginning, trusting one’s instincts, the bat is powerful medicine.” (http://symbolism.wikia.com/wiki/Bat)