Bear Awareness by Brahm

Author:Brahm
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: Wisdom Publications

KILLING “IT” WITH KINDNESS

I have a severe phobia of certain flying insects and spiders. It’s completely irrational, but enough to freak me out. If I’m meditating and they’re around, I feel the urge to get rid of them and end up breaking my precepts. Please tell me how to overcome this fear so that I can let the creatures be.

First of all, don’t think about it or worry about it. Just do the meditation and make the mind peaceful and calm. My preceptor (Somdet Phra Buddhajahn) told me that he never did much meditation, except as a young monk. At that time he had been meditating somewhere in the jungle, and when he came out of meditation there was a venomous snake curling up in his lap. The snakes in Thailand are very dangerous. If you move, the first thing the snake does is bite you. But even though he knew how dangerous it was, he didn’t have the slightest bit of fear. This really surprised him. He then realized that this is what happens in meditation: things you are usually terrified of are no longer terrifying. It’s just a snake, that’s all. This happens because your mind is very peaceful and calm. Soon that snake slithered away and he got up.

The same thing will happen with your phobia of mosquitoes and spiders. Don’t try to deal with the problem yet. Get your mind into some deep meditation — become peaceful, calm, and happy — and then you won’t be afraid. The calm will actually start rewiring your brain into overcoming that phobia. So just carry on with the meditation.

When I was in Thailand, there were tarantulas walking on the ceiling, or rather, on the rafters. Sometimes they would fall off the rafters. It was so hot I just had my lower robe on and my chest was bare. They would fall on top of my bare skin! It happened many times, but I wasn’t at all scared. It was just tickly, that’s all.

Having a tarantula running over your chest was actually quite pleasant! They weren’t going to bite you; they were just having a tour around.

If you try to get rid of fear, it gets worse. Once the mind is peaceful, calm, and happy, there’s no problem anymore — the calm rewires your brain to get rid of any fear or phobia. When you see a spider or a flying insect going past, you may think, “My goodness, I’m not reacting!” If you just let it be, if you’re peaceful and kind, the fear disappears.

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