triplew00t

I've decided that my single most important goal in life will be courage. When faced with anything, I am going to try my best to not fear it, to work through my fear of it. If it is a foe, I will either fight or disarm the situation, but I won't retreat. If it is sickness, I will try to face it with equanimity and not fear it getting worse or complain. If it is a pain, I will try to be stoic. And if it is death, I will try to face it without flinching. Only when I figure out how to master my fear of pain, sickness and death will I figure out how to truly live. This is the message that Zen and Tao gives to me.

Nero

Infidelettante

Try this. Choose a day. Have many things to do. Look for blessings. Say thanks for them. Out loud. Do this all day. I mean all day. The only thing that can overcome the fear of death is the love of living. If you can’t spend one day finding reasons to live just give up now and be done with it.

JT

Ramen

triplew00t,

Excellent mentality! Being courageous is taking life by the horns.

I'd like to add that I've found non-reaction helps a great deal. We often think of how we "need" to react one way or another and don't even consider not reacting as an option. It's about letting go of your "shoulds". If you think about how many times we think something "should" be this way or "should not" be that way and how we feel because they aren't the way they "should" be; we could save ourselves lots of grief if we didn't "should" in the first place.

Another thing is that we tend to give too much weight to what we believe in. If you think about it a belief is only a thought. Try labeling thoughts as only thoughts, not giving them weight. The more weight we give thoughts, the more they can weigh us down. Hope this helps with your current fears (as listed in your post).

Take care,

Piggy

Heathen Dawn

It'll come anyway, uninvited, so why think about it? Thinking about it is time taken from your finite life. Waste not.

triplew00t

Wow. Heathen, youve changed alot since you dropped the emotional nic. Never thought I would hear that advice from you! <g>

Nero

Heathen Dawn

I'm trying to fight my fear, my obsession with death. It's not easy, but make-believe is surely not the right way.

premjan

It might be good to think of it constructively: how to use your fear as a force for motivation and change. Fear is a great resource that can work for us. Those who cannot fear any more are half-dead, like zombies.

lugotorix

You know, I've had to repeatedly learn in my life that, when I dread having to do something, the dreading is worse than the doing. Admittedly I haven't faced something as momentous as dying, but so far, nothing has lived up to the worry about it I've had beforehand.

I find the prospect of my death unsettling, too. The only way I know to deal with it is to work on my awareness now through meditation and mindfulness, so that when it comes, I'll be aware and hopefully ready for whatever comes next.

Daniel

reverendmoss

Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the litle death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear . I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

Viti

I have found that excessive fear and worry only serve to paralyze action and therefore cannot change the outcome. I do what I can to get the outcome I desire and let go of things I cannot affect. Worrying about or fearing things you cannot control is a waste of time and energy.

Works for me.