Fear is a natural response to a threat to our well-being. Yet most of us very rarely experience a life-threatening event. Instead, the identified ego takes on the self role. Then we equate perceived threats to our psychological self or sense of identity with a true life-threatening event. Even something simple, like an idea that threatens an identified concept, can be taken as life-threatening. For example, some people can react to ideas of aliens or angels as a threat and respond accordingly. This is why siloing is so dangerous.
Anxiety is defined as a state of uneasiness and apprehension. It is caused by unresolved fear that has created a state of anxiety in the physiology.
I’ve written before about how sustained unresolved emotions create states in the physiology. Those sustained states then often become part of our identity, as in “I’m an anxious person.”
However, this is false. Anxiety is an energetic state. It has nothing to do with your nature, even if you may seem prone to it. Often, this “proneness” is awareness. We’re more conscious of our state than some other unconsciously anxious people.
I’m observing that there’s 3 types of anxiety, depending on how the state expresses through us.
Mind: some of us will be more mentally anxious, with overthinking, monkey mind, and mental insecurity, such as an uncertain sense of purpose or meaning. Or seeing the world’s problems as unsolvable.
Heart: emotional anxiety expresses more as emotional agitation and uncertainty that can make us over-reactive.
Gut: is about not feeling in control of our life or circumstances, perhaps even a foreboding.
(And yes, this correlates to the gunas.)
We may even have combinations of these. In fact, they tend to blend and interact. For example, feeling out of control can cause the mind to endlessly seek answers. But because the source is not mental, the search will be fruitless.
All of it remains a side effect of unresolved fear.
Sadly, the media prays on our fears as triggering them draws in our attention. The focus on problems also makes the world seem unsafe and our fear feels validated.
But that fear is the doorway into it’s resolution.
As readers know, I recommend an effortless meditation, as touching into our true nature can do wonders for soothing fear and relaxing anxiety.
However, our physiology can work to protect us from childhood and older trauma. That can require more direct somatic approaches to surface and resolve them.
Davidya
Great article and observations David. I’m drawn to this statement. “Instead, the identified ego takes on the self role. Then we equate perceived threats to our psychological self or sense of identity with a true life-threatening event”. In essence is this identified ego/self role referred to as ‘the mistake of the intellect’. And enlightenment I guess is the process/event whereby this identification is removed ? Maybe you can’t answer this, but why has nature organised our evolution in such a way that we have to take on this identification and role play. Thanks as always !!
Thanks, Neville
“The mistake of the intellect” is partly about this. “Confusing the non-self with self, confusing the unreal with the real,” etc.
What happens is the Self wakes up within, then recognizes itself. That breaks the identification with the ego self. (sometimes the identification breaks first though) This is when enlightenment begins. The mistake of the intellect is corrected, and things get put into their proper places. The intellect shifts from associating with the mind to associating with the Self and becomes much more reliable or “resolute.”
Human development naturally goes through a stage of separation as we distinguish self from mother and develop as an individual. This then naturally falls away as we mature into adulthood and our higher Self is established. However, in the cycles of time, we’ve been in a darker age where we got stuck in our small self. Human development often stops only part way through even personal development. But the relatively brief darker age has ended and we’re rising back to our normal status. It really helps if we’re cooperating with the process and not trying to stay identified as that will make the process rougher.
Great article. For my anxiety and fear, it started to resolve when I became a student of ACIM. ACIM helped me to forgive myself, then TM helped to deepen my understanding of the Self. I no longer have anxiety. It is really tough to be in constant anxiety. So glad you wrote this article.
Hi Lynette
Yes, TM is a wonderful salve for anxiety.