Two powerful ways of working with fear
Sprinkling
For many of us, these extraordinarily challenging times are inviting us to look at and be in relationship with our deepest fears. Fear, as you know, is the most primitive emotion. As a species we are wired to fear fear and avoid it at all costs. The paradox is that in our attempts to avoid fear, we are letting it run our lives.
Yet there is more to fear. And it's really, really good.
I’d like to share with you an eye opening and very ancient take on fear that I recently came across at a coaching program I did with Tara Mohr. She talked about Rabbi Alan Lew’s explanation of fear. According to the Hebrew Bible, there are two different words for fear: pachad and yirah.
Pahad is the “overactive, irrational fear that stems from worries about what could happen, about the worst case scenarios we imagine.” (Playing Big, p. 65) Most of us think of fear as pachad. The fear of not saying the right thing, the fear of being rejected by this amazing new lover, the fear that this time they’ll see I don’t know what I’m talking about (i.e. impostor syndrome). Pachad is often the inner critic taking over.
Yirah on the other hand has three different meanings:
It is the feeling that overcomes us when we inhabit a larger space than we are used to.
It is the feeling we experience when we suddenly come into possession of considerably more energy than we had before.
It is what we feel in the presence of the divine. (Playing Big, p.66)
Thank Goddess for yirah, right?
Now, make a list of all the things in your life that are bringing up fear. Then next to each of them, write down if it’s pachad or yirah. If it's pahad, you breathe into it and offer it some soothing words and imagery. Mother your pahad by gently letting it know you see it and that it's okay to be afraid and that it doesn't get to run the show (cause it's a little unreasonable). Feel it soften in response to your loving care (keep in mind that sometimes you have to soften it many, many times).
If its yirah….how exciting! It’s a sign that you are on your awakening journey and are being stretched in the best of ways. Surrendering to yirah is the divine invitation of these challenging times. As the old ways fall away and the more aligned you is rising, allow yirah to guide your path. Can yirah feel terrifying? Vulnerable? Shaky legs and sweaty palms? Absolutely. Take these bodily symptoms as a celebration of your aliveness!
With shaky legs and devotion to our collective awakening.