In this video, Tom Campbell talks about his process of getting rid of our fears.
If you're not familiar with Tom's work, much of it centers around the idea that consciousness if fundamental. He does extensive work on how to have out of body experiences, and talks about many esoteric subjects. He often says that in order to have these experiences, it helps to be more authentic and release many of our fears.
Here are some highlights from his process:
- How do I get rid of the fear?
- 1. First, know that you have the fear. You have to locate the fear. If you don't know it's there and it's submerged, then it's completely impossible to get ride of it.
- 2. To find your fears, notice where there are negative emotions: anxiety, stress, anger, fear, sadness. All these emotions are attached to a fear.
- 3. Become authentic. This sounds simple, but it can be a challenge for many. Essentially, Tom says to be aware of your choices and don't judge yourself. Simply see what you do, acknowledge why you make the choices, and own it.
- 4. Don't focus on the cause of your fears. It's helpful to find areas where we've been wounded and heal those, but we mustn't dwell on the events. In the Air Force, we say, "Stop admiring your problems". Instead, acknowledge that the event happened and that emotions came along with it. In my case, I have fear of not being validated and I must own it.
- 5. Once you own your fear, you have the ability to own it and get rid of it. So, when I feel invalid, I can see how it affects my choices and how that has led me down the path of my life. In Neil Gaiman's book, American Gods, he uses the metaphor of the old gods fading away and losing their power as people stop paying attention to them. Similarly, my fear of not being validated becomes my god and it becomes a powerful god to me as long as I "admire my problem" and give it power. Once I own it, I can turn away from it - cast it aside - and it loses its hold on me, setting me free. Florence Shinn teaches us to "cast this burden on the Christ within and go free".
- 6. Once you've owned it and you choose to make different choices, you rewire your brain and begin to make different choices from a place of love and authenticity rather than fear.
- 7. Give yourself time. Be serious about it, decide to do it, and be patient with yourself.
- 8. Nothing gets rid of fear except courage. Taking that first step in courage can be difficult. We often get used to our ways of thinking and being. Our ego likes to keep us operating the way we always have because it's good enough for our survival. But the ego only wants us to survive - it doesn't care if we thrive. Taking that step away from what our ego wants takes courage. More than that, it takes the maturity and self-awareness to reassure the ego that things will be OK.
- 9. Tell your fear that you have the courage to live with your inadequacy. This takes the teeth out of it. For me, I have a tremendous fear of death. Maybe it was instilled in me through years of indoctrination of Heaven and Hell - but that's irrelevant. These days, I learn as much as I can about near-death experiences so that my fear of death loses its grip on me.
"Tell your fear, take your best shot. Everyone knows anyway. I have nothing to cover up."