2005-01-06-Feeling Fear
Salt Lake City #4
Contents
• 1 Heading
o 1.1 Topic: Feeling Fear
o 1.2 Group: Salt Lake City TeaM
• 2 Facilitators
o 2.1 Teacher: Tonsah
o 2.2 TR: Dianna
• 3 Session
o 3.1 Opening
o 3.2 Lesson
o 3.3 Dialogue
o 3.4 Closing
Topic: Feeling Fear
Group: Salt Lake City TeaM
Facilitators
Teacher: Tonsah
TR: Dianna
Session
Opening
TONSAH: I am Tonsah, your friend and teacher here, to lead you in new ways and with an adventurous new and ever-growing love and appreciation for each other and our celestial Parents.
We begin this evening with a prayer:
Oh, mighty Father, heavenly hosts and the throngs of supporting angels, teachers and friends, we are ever desiring your touch. Lead us closer to your light, abundance and love. We are thirsty for the living waters and seek to be filled to the brim with your ever-present touch and warm embrace. During those times when we feel empty and alone we seek your guidance to bring us closer to your perspective, knowing that we must only reach out to you for endless support and love. Amen.
Welcome, Anthony to our meeting. Please be seated and join us. We are very pleased that you are here, as well as the others. Now we are ready to begin.
Lesson
When each of you has a feeling of fear, you restrict yourself from learning new ways of being closer to our celestial Parents. We would like to hear your thoughts on what it feels like when you experience this fear feeling, and how you cope with that moment of momentary feeling of uncontrollable urges to run and hide yourself from the touch of those who care most about you. What is it that drives you away and how are you able to bring yourself back to the moment of perfect harmony? Let us begin with your comments on your experiences with this driving force in your lives. Please begin.
Dialogue
Simon: Well, Tonsah, sometimes I feel like there is a tightness in the middle of my chest, or if the fear is greater, even a tingling in my arms, shoulders or neck. I feel ready to pounce or run. Usually I just let that feeling be a non-reality and let it pass through and deal with the reality of what needs to be done rather than respond to it, but I guess that sometimes I do. I attempt just being in what is Father’s will when my antennae picks up on these fear feelings.
TONSAH: Thank you for your comments. Next, please.
Ryan: Could you rephrase the question, again?
TONSAH: Certainly. I am interested in the ways in which you handle your feelings of strong, uncontrolled fear. When this type of emotion hits you, how does that tend to impact your daily existence, and how are you able to bring yourself back to Oneness with spirit. Does this answer?
Ryan: Yes, it does. When I sometimes get in this uncontrolled state of fear, I try to get into the stillness mind and talk with Mother and Father and try to release everything. At all times this works. I feel a lot better afterwards if I can get into a really deep stillness and try to talk everything over and give everything over. This makes me feel so much better.
It makes me feel like, “Heck, you know, this was not such a big problem in the first place.” I may have figured this out, but really, inside, it is my Thought Adjuster that is letting me see this, and I realize that, “Hey, this was not such a big fear, why am I reacting like this, it is such a small thing. It is part of the animal nature that I need to let go of.” Is that what you were looking for?
TONSAH: Yes. Thank you. Next, please.
Marshall: When that fear, that flight or fight instinct hits me, Tonsah, I tend to completely react from the ego/animal mind and immediately attempt to come in with my own solutions, shooting from the hip. As this escalates, all sorts of spirit poisons emanating from this fear are discharged and the longer I allow this to occur by trying to control it through my animal mind, it only affects me greater and greater. I become tight in the chest and head, I find myself breathing from the upper chest, and adrenaline causes me to react further.
The only way I can break that cycle from escalating further is to get into the stillness mind, surrendering all control to Father, Mother and Michael. As difficult as this can be initially, I find that as my breathing steadies and I can get into the super-conscious mind arena, all becomes peaceful, and as Ryan just mentioned, I find myself realizing that really it is not that big of a deal, in fact, in most cases an illusion that I am allow! ing to control me, thus by reacting and attempting to control it, I am acknowledging an illusion. But, after being in the stillness mind, a peace comes over me and I know that I can trust that all will be taken care of and any answers will be revealed.
TONSAH: Thank you. And you, Anthony?
Anthony: Well, the fear that comes to mind recently has been more of an anxiety about being late, and it escalated a little bit in the fear of missing my airplane flights, but that went well and in general the anxiety of being late makes me tense and tight. I generally try to be calm and realize it will be all right. Tonight, I almost did not come in, seeing that the meeting had started already, but came in anyway, thinking that would be better than missing it. I generally figure that in God’s time, things will work out for me.
TONSAH: Well done, my friends. Each of you has found a technique to use in order to bring your mind back to the centeredness found in being in the place of relaxation and calmness. I encourage each of you to find new tools that allow the feelings of fear to disperse and these feeling of peace to become accentuated and grow within you.
I would like to share my own personal way in which I have trained myself to let go of these intense feelings and come back to a place of balance. I first recognize that this feeling of fear is untrue, that there is nothing for me to be concerned about, whatsoever. This immediate recognition often disperses the fear feeling immediately, however sometimes there are some buried emotional attachments that tend to supersede this statement, so I then lead myself to being in spirit through the use of my mind as well as the infinite support and guidance given from my celestial caretakers.
In those beginning moments of feeling them fill me with their loving touch, I can experience the peace that comes from knowing that I am a divine child of God and that I am cared for in ways that heretofore I could not understand. As the fear dissipates, I am often left with such a feeling of gratitude for the clarification to my perception of myself in the world. Through the immersion in my celest! ial Parents’ embrace, I can truly experience what it means to feel lovingly cared for and accepted for who I am.
I would encourage each of you to continue your practice of experiencing your interaction with your celestial Parents each day, for this practice will make it easier to turn to them in times such as these. I would now like to discuss this idea of immediately seizing the control away from the feelings of fear and recognizing that this experience is not a reality based in truth. Let me hear your current thoughts on this topic. Where do you currently see your understanding of this fact?
Simon: Well, on some subjects I feel very confident and some subjects I do not, so my fear will rise in some of these and in some not, but all are non-realities. I try to treat most fears as non-realities, but I guess I am examining certain segments of my life where I might learn to treat it as more of a non-reality, and in doing so the fears pass over quicker, but then I would like to see how I can grow too. Is it a nudge? I just treat them that way, to being more in line with Father’s will or more skilled in one way or another, being guided or centered.
TONSAH: Thank you. Next, please.
Ryan: I feel very comfortable with the lessons and am getting a lot out of them. Sometimes I do not quite get them at first, but will often get them later, or the next day, and sometimes I have to read them over. I feel that these lessons are very helpful and help me to see more truth and other things I may not realize. I am open and want to take in as much as I can.
TONSAH: Wonderful. I am happy to hear that you are experiencing such an appreciation for all that we try to teach you during these lessons, however I was speaking merely of the moment when you experience fear feelings. In my example I was able to immediately recognize that feelings of fear are not valid. They are merely abstractions of the animal mind as you put it. I am interested in whether or not you are able to determine that fearful feelings are indeed misunderstandings of the truth, or whether you are able to possibly perceive this in future incidents. Does this need more clarification for you?
Ryan: Sure. Yes.
TONSAH: When humans first begin to feel feelings of fear, they tend to put up walls to protect themselves. Is this true?
Ryan: Yes.
TONSAH: They also tend to bring themselves into a fervor of uncontrolled emotions due to the amount of energy generated by these fear feelings, into such an amount that they cannot even think straight. Is this not true?
Ryan: Yes, it is true.
TONSAH: So, what I have indicated in my example is to stop at the beginning, once you are able to detect that you are experiencing fearful feelings, then immediately tell yourself that this energy does not come from Father. Do you see this possibility?
Ryan: Yes.
TONSAH: I am not certain that it is indeed possible for many humans to achieve this ability to stop themselves from proceeding into a fearful state, however I am certain that each of you are determined enough that in time this can become your reality as well. Let me go back a moment to the discussion of whether or not feelings of fear are actually valid or not. I am certain, just as you are, that these feelings are strong and can easily overtake your sensibilities when unchecked. How is it then that I can make the statement that these feelings are not valid in Father’s plan? How is it that I can make this assertion? Your thoughts?
Anthony. I have something to say. Intellectually, I remind myself of what I have memorized from ACIM, in the preface, and it makes sense to me that fear is the opposite of love, but what is all encompassing can have no opposite, therefore nothing real can be threatened, and nothing unreal exists, and with Father’s love being all encompassing, fear has no reality. Now, the thing is, what I need to look forward to, is being able to express that with my being so that it would be evident without me having to recite it. But intellectually, I can conceive of it, so I do like to share that with people.
TONSAH: How wonderfully said, my friend. There is no better way I know of than to express myself with a similar description. Indeed, what you have touched on is correct. There is no ability for fear to exist when our world is wholly existent from love. There is no other expression of reality. Fear is merely a misunderstanding of your reality. If you are not able to perceive the depth and breadth of the universe, this is quite understandable
Closing
I will close this evening’s meeting with this week’s homework. Each time you are able to witness your fearful state, pause and bring yourself to a moment of peace with your universe Parents, and let them show you a different reality. Take this moment to also remind yourself that only love exists, and fear is merely an aberration of the truth. Let me conclude by thanking each and every one of you for your participation this evening. I hope that these sessions will, in time, improve your ability to stay peaceful and calm in any situation. Good day, my friends.
