arf. I'd forgotten The Course in Miracles. Just as a concept it's worth tapping back into. As your meditation says, we face our illusions squarely here and pare our anxiety down to size day by day. Fear is not real. The traumatic event that brought it one was, but this residue of fear for life afterwards is not. Facing that is healing. Yes. Thank you.

In my personal circle, "prayer" and "miracle" are potent trigger words. There were no church goers in my childhood trauma, but it seems that forced praying for miracles is a common theme in all the religions. Seems. I did not personally live the experience.

I am still ignorant of The Course in Miracles. The quote is from my current daily meditation reader.

Nice.

Hmmmm. Interesting concept that fear is not real, for it has been very real in my experience.

My trigger has been in NOT accepting fear as the warning device it is and then get "the hell out of Dodge" early on. My early brain wires were set up this way: We kids were taught that fear from my dad's cruel demeanor, which was made worse by alcoholism, and my mother's paranoid schizophrenia were "normal" so we kids had to just "get over ourselves." Buck up; serve their needs, like the peons we were in a home that didn't want us.

Because of childhood distress, I sought better solutions and now practice lovingkindess faith with a God who loves me first and foremost, so my fear has a place to go and be replaced/exchanged for new understanding through faith. I don't go to church: I find mainline church culture too political and their God seems different than mine and is one who induces fear and guilt and "conditional" love, which is too much like the so-called love of my core family. Who needs more of that?

Within my adult-found autonomy is all kinds of emotions. I embrace each feeling gladly and process from that point on with 1) a meditative prayer life; and/or 2) a kind therapist. Nothing in my life is motivated through fear and guilt anymore because I know how to exchange negative emotions as a warning and then embrace healthier reasons of motivation based on the mercy and grace of true compassion--for myself first and then as an overflow to others when the inner nudge of grace prompts the natural response to do so.

So I guess what I've learned from this post is that fear is not always real in this moment within time because it is nothing more than a memory. I have found, though, that the reactive memory is often prompted by something in real time of which I no longer fight. I embrace the feeling and exchange it for more feelings, only this time more positive than what was taught to me early on. Meds have made this process manageable and successful for I no longer feel like fighting against my brain as the enemy, but honor my brain as a fantastic organ of survival AND thriving.

I am at ease with what is...because I got the hell out of Dodge!

My dad was a fraudulent faith healer who got caught and got thrown out of his church in disgrace. Huge shame on him and the family. He literally faked miracles for money, was a con man. When he was disgraced he had a huge 8 year mental breakdown and could only work mowing lawns for a living. By then I'd already had by own breakdown, of course.

So the Course in Miracles was not something easy for me to accept, believe me. But it came at it from a whole different angle--facing illusions, like you said. Very healing stuff.

whatsnew
My favorite fear mantra came from a long forgotten Steven Segal movie. "Fear does not exist to make us afraid. It exists to warn us of danger."
My half way is to examine my surroundings for immediate threat. If there is none, I work my program. The illness is activated.

muji
When I did finally test the truths of my father's rabid atheism - or whatever - and braved the inner sanctums of the dread religions, I found "Father" to be my fight or flight word. Mostly flight. Still working on it...

But I have always believed in miracles. I sincerely believe it took a team of angels to get me through it.

Sh-h-h-h. Don't tell my shrink. Don't want my meds tweaked.

Maybe it is the fear that remains once we are physically safe again that your 'reading' was speaking of??

I agree with the whole logic of fear as an early warning system. But gosh, if that were all ...

Like others stated, I have experienced fear for my life when my life was at risk and I could not escape. The fear made me want to, but no exit strategies were available. Fear can be a realistic reaction when in the middle of actual horror.

With PTSD we just want to get out of the endless replay loop.

If a tiger jumps over my fence, I will have good use for that adrenaline rush that accompanies fear.

In the absence of such a threat, it is a pointless and highly unpleasant anxiety or panic attack. PTSD.

Recognizing when it is not real could be critical. No tiger? Work my PTSD program.

what gets us here it was real fear that we experienced, but that part is done cant be changed and can only continue to live in person mind, replying it over and over, healing starts with facing it, and word trauma itself means and covers a lot of painful experiences which includes fear at the time it happened and strrugles to continue to keep on

it is good to learn or be able to see diference between real and unrealistic fear which can become paranoya, anxiety and panic

these that i mentonied arent very pleasant and easier said than done

i like your meditation read, and what i said its me and how i see it or feel it, with respect to others