Releasing the Shadow of Fear--Andy Sway

[This blog is a modified version of an invitation to a private group healing event that took place on July 17, 2011 in NYC. To be put on a mailing list for future events please email Andy at andysway@gmail.com.]

It is said that there are only two emotions: love and fear. All other emotions are just variations on these two 'primary colors' of emotion. Fear is what underlies all emotions that block our personal evolution. Fear contracts us emotionally, creatively and even in our muscular tension. It leads to physical and emotional breakdown. It keeps our senses on high alert, aging and damaging the body and making the mind neurotic. Love is the emotion that encourages the flourishing of our uniqueness and the creative self expression that uniqueness is here for.

The interesting thing about fear is that we let it guide us even when it is barely present. Even the threat of future fear will oftentimes stop us in our tracks. One of the biggest fears we have is the fear of feeling certain 'negative' emotions in the future. Think of that! We don't do what our souls and intuition call for us to do because we fear having a negative emotion in the future. "I can't go to that foreign country because I may feel lonely and lost when I'm there." "I can't have that relationship because I'd feel terrible if it ever ended." "I can't talk to that person because they may reject or judge me and then I'd feel like a loser and it would confirm my negative self image."

The main task of evolving spiritual beings in this time of acceleration is to clear out as much as we can of the avoidance that makes negative events and emotions CYCLICAL rather than EVOLUTIONARY. Most of us have had the experience of cyclical negative events. Perhaps we always go through the same job or relationship cycle: We start off confident and hopeful. We are naive and optimistic and open our hearts to a new possibility. We next sense some kind of alienation that we try to sweep under the carpet. More alienation (rejection) is noted and avoided until there is a break up, firing or whatever......

Cyclical negative events are a sign that we are not evolving through our experiences as well as we could. The evolutionary cycle is not a cycle in at all the same way. Evolutionary challenges will always be there as omens and signposts that can only be read by someone who is grounded and able to feel emotions without resistance. In an evolutionary response to the cycle above we would first intend the type of job or relationship we seek and we would manifest a version of it. Next we would see the challenges within the job/relationship as indicators of places we need to grow and evolve. We would accept the challenge, knowing we cannot 'lose' if we stay authentic and open-hearted. No matter the result, personal and spiritual evolution would be ours.

The shadow of fear is much more dangerous to our ability to evolve than actual fear. When facing actual danger we react instinctively. When people get in car accidents, for example, people often report time slowing down and no fear being experienced. Contrast that with a neurotic fear of potential car accidents. With the neurotic fear, we spend hours or even our whole lives giving energy to avoiding something not presently there. This channels vital life energy, passion and creativity into a useless channel. We become tense, drained and fearful. We live in our negative imaginations. We send out an energy to the universe that can only attract negative scenarios back to us.

How to reverse that:

Feel your vulnerability and fear.
Instead of fearing future fear, be afraid now. But don't let your mind run away with it. Let the body and mind be still and just intend to feel fear and vulnerability. Relax into it. Trying to 'fix it' just makes 'it' more real.

Feel the innocence, joy and pure life force that is being blocked.
Behind your avoidance of negative emotion is your life force, your soul. So many of us spend our whole lives avoiding ourselves while pretending to be on a spiritual quest. Start seeing emotional avoidance as akin to self hatred. Any feeling your body wants to have should be felt completely. The body knows how to digest every feeling and turn it to wisdom if you just let it.

Allow your weirdness.
We are all unique. That means nobody is normal. How have you submitted to the standards of others rather than coax out the uniqueness of your creative spirit. Believe it: You really want a relationship with this most magical aspect of you. This is where the core of your ALIVENESS emanates from.

For more information:
email andysway@gmail.com
see www.andysway.com