For many people, the current economic crisis has hit home with job losses, reductions in salaries, loss of retirement accounts.  In many arenas, we hear about the experiences of others – or have our own – that feed into fears for the future.  One of the most powerful things about fear is how magnetic it is.  In times like these, we swim in an ocean of collective consciousness permeated by fear.

For this week’s experiment, I’d like to invite you to explore your relationship to fear, in whatever ways touch your life most powerfully today.  You may have fears of losing your job.  Perhaps you have fears about whether you will have enough money available if an unexpected expense arises.  Maybe you fear that you won’t be able to retire and don’t know how you’ll support yourself down the road.  You may have fears for your health, for the safety of loved ones.  Fear wears many hats and can grip us at any time.

As part of this week’s experiment, notice what happens when you find a sentence, or even a word, that calms you.  For example, one of the ways I speak to myself is to say, “In this moment, here and now, I’m okay.”  Most of the time that’s true, even when something uncomfortable or challenging is happening.  Another statement I’ve used over the years, when I find myself mired in fear that threatens to carry me away with it, is the statement, “Everything will be all right.”  It may not be all right in this moment, but it will be at some point down the road.  Whether that’s literally true or not, the words themselves have a calming effect on me in the present moment.  The key isn’t to lie to yourself.  It’s to find something that offers a breath of fresh air when you’re in the grip of fear, or when fear nibbles around the edges of your consciousness. 

When we shift away from fear into some kind of reassuring internal dialogue, we literally change our resonance.  It’s like changing radio stations.  The fear station is playing music that jangles you.  When you shift to a reassuring mantra and repeat it to yourself, it’s like tuning into a station playing music you really enjoy and that supports your feeling better.  For example, let’s say you shift from fear to a sense that, in the present moment, you’re okay.  This sets up a different resonance, and brings into your experience the impact of all the other people in the world who believe they are okay.  Wherever we focus our awareness – whether on positive or negative states – collective consciousness amplifies our experience.

There are other ways to shift away from fear.  If you are someone who prays, notice what happens when you create a prayer of gratitude for what you do have, or for increased comfort and ease.  If you’re someone who has an appreciation of fragrances, you might find an essential oil or some other fragrance that calms you.  Someone once experimented with the smell of apple pie cooking and found that it had a noticeable effect on shifting people from discomfort to comfort.  If you are someone who appreciates beautiful images, perhaps there is a photograph or an internal image that conveys optimism, safety, awe, comfort, or some other experience that shifts you away from fear.

When we feed our fears by adding in more “what if’s”, we become increasingly resonant with the collective fears cooking all around us.  When we do this, it’s harder to shift away from the grip of this destabilizing feeling.  I encourage you to discover what happens when you immediately focus on something soothing or comforting when you find yourself going along a track of fear-filled thinking or imagining.

As with all the experiments, there’s no right or wrong way to do this one.  The invitation this time is to become aware of your relationship to fear and to explore ways to move into a different state of consciousness – one that supports a greater sense of ease in the presence of challenging life circumstances.

Remember to bring along curiosity as your constant companion and to give yourself permission to try different approaches in order to find what works best for you.