Feeding Your Demons: Ancient Wisdom for Resolving Inner Conflict by Allione Tsultrim

Author:Allione, Tsultrim [Allione, Tsultrim]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: SEL000000
ISBN: 9780316053952
Publisher: Hachette Book Group
Published: 2008-10-11T03:00:00+00:00

10

DEMONS OF FEAR

Confess all your hidden faults!

Approach that which you find repulsive!

Whoever you think you cannot help, help them!

Anything you are attached to, let go of it!

Go to places that scare you, like cemeteries!

Sentient beings are as limitless as the sky,

Be aware!

— Dampa Sangye (1045–1117) to Machig Labdrön

SOME FORM of fear is common for most of us. It may be a crippling phobia, post-traumatic stress syndrome, or something less dramatic, but most of us have some fear demons. Statistically, one in ten Americans has specific irrational fears. There are many demons of fear that involve avoidance of certain situations or objects: fear of public speaking, fear of the dark, fear of dogs (or cats or spiders), fear of heights, fear of water, fear of flying, fear of highway driving, fear of contamination, fear of abandonment, fear of death, fear of poverty, fear of being raped, fear of cancer, fear of blood or injections, and fear of failure, to name just a few. Agoraphobia, a fear of open space or of any place where escape might be difficult or help unavailable, is another common fear that affects more than three million Americans.

All these fears are based on the perception that some outer event is “happening to us,” that something external is coming to harm or kill us, which tells us that these are outer demons. But the external trigger is dependent on the individual; when a group is exposed to exactly the same experience, one person in the group may react with fear whereas another won’t. Fear can come from trauma, it can be “inherited” from a parent, or it can be generated by loss, but often people can’t trace the source of a specific fear. Even if you realize the fear is unreasonable and excessive, you may not be able to control it.

Avoiding situations that provoke fear can interfere with your occupation and your social life. Fears can also come out of nowhere and suddenly “attack” you. Fortunately feeding the demons of fear can be very effective. Fears create avoidance, and they often live in dark, inaccessible places within us. By giving them form, discovering the underlying need beneath the fear, and feeding that need, we can liberate persistent phobias and specific fears. Below are a few examples of various kinds of fear and of how people have worked with these demons.

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