Week of

Making Friends with Fear

Fear is not necessarily problematic. It is like an attack of sneezing. It comes and goes. However, you have to study your fear. That is very important. You should have no problem discovering your fear. It is too obvious and visible. When you have a problem appreciating a chrysanthemum or the sunshine, that is a sign of fear. Because of your fear, you may lose your sense of humor, your sense of appreciation, and you may be blocking the vividness of your perceptions. You should see the vividness of the phenomenal world. When you are unable to do so, you need to develop mindfulness and awareness so that you can work with your fear. Study how fear arises, how it manifests, and how it is actualized. When you begin to understand your fear, then you find that it is almost a big joke rather than a big problem.

At that point, you shouldn’t try to cast fear out. Instead, fear should be regarded as the kindling to build a big fire of fearlessness. You have to realize fear as the starting point of fearlessness. Fear is not regarded as black, and fearlessness is not regarded as white. You have to make friends with fear.

From Smile at Fear: Awakening the True Heart of Bravery, page 85.

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The CTR Quote of the Week is coming to you from the Chogyam Trungpa Institute at Naropa University. The compiler of the quotes and the moderator of the list is Carolyn Gimian.

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