this is for shannon. the way to get rid of your fears and panic attacks, are to face the fears no matter what. even if your heart beats fast and you have bad symtoms otherwise you can develope agoraphobia and lock yourself away . it is better to face the very thing that you're afraid of. instead of hiding. sometimes the fear is warranted, but no matter what .face it. i overcame my childhood fears. now if i can only do the same w the adult ones. i have a a fear of ppl and what they think of me. that fear is ridiculous. i've had numerous car accidents. but i still drive a lot. i am homeless, that's the worst. it's better not to give away your power. as a child i was afraid of dogs, and later my father forced my hand into a big dogs mouth to give him a treat. i am no longer afraid of dogs. even though i was bitten as a child. i was afraid to swim. but i kept taking lessons, and it went slow, but i'm a good swimmer now.i had a fear of vomiting. until i got food posoning, and well, lets just say i would be dead if i didn't let go of that fear. so i face my fears the best i can and it is hard. i feel very insecure, and vulnerable. i was just molested the other day at a walmart in santee ca. and i had been a rape victim, so i was angry as all hell. however, i have to pick my battles. it's better not to be alone. you have less bad things happen. however, i feel sorry for those wierd criminals that do that to women. they will get back what they give. do not be afraid. other ppl and p

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as someone who has been working to overcome anxiety/panic attacks for years, this post truly resonates. thank you.

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i love Deepak. but there is a heirarchy of importance. i have no place to live and have been living in motels for over 2 and a half years and am constantly in harms way. this happened through no fault of my own though i keep blaming myself. there are a lot of bad ppl out there that can wreck your life and then it's too late, your'e left alone holding the bag. i am in constant fear with no one and no where to go in hostile enviroments/ i was too trusting before. now i trust no one.

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It's my opinion that removing *all* fear from one's life is not possible or even healthy. There are fear reactions that protect us from or warn us of very real dangers. But I think the type of fear Deepak is writing about here is the irrational fears we sometimes have, the ones that make us sit and worry about possible outcomes, when in fact, there is no real immediate danger. It is the same fear that keeps us from stepping out of our comfort zone, only because we fear the unknown.

This type of fear tends to be a self-fufilling prophesy. We are constantly creating what we focus on. If our focus is on fear, we will manifest that which we are afraid of in our lives. This is the kind of fear that can be eliminated by following a spiritual path.

Thanks, Deepak. I always enjoy reading your posts here.

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Deepak says:
"Potential dangers are illusions. Only what lies at hand is real."
-this doesn't mean to live in fairy land and pretend all is ok and stand in front of a snake...or cross the road w/out looking. It is merely saying "don't have fear of what is to come, don't hesitate to try something new cause your afraid of the outcome.

I also agree that although it seems unrealistic, but even the perception of death really is an illusion (in my point of view), because even if we DO die - our soul doesn't, so we humans do live with that daily fear.

I personally don't think he says anything irrational - it is just the interpretation we are giving to his words, metaphorically or literally - and in both I find there is something in common. Finally, illusion of our world also has to do w/your acceptance or what reality really is - so we think so we shall create, so then in fact - it is all an illusion ...

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While I agree with Deepak's statements that much danger is overblown and created and exaggerated in this world, I certainly don't agree that 'potential dangers are illusions'. There definity are real dangers, such as a rattlesnake 3 ft. from you rattling it's tail. It's not an illusion. It CAN harm your body. A car careening down the street right at you is definitely a potential danger. It can harm or kill your body. So if you have a body and want it to continue, that is what the emotion of fear is for. It means potential loss, something occurring without your permission. It's all very well to talk about some ethereal idea that all is illusion and nothing can actually harm you. Well, that's true spiritually but not very workable if you're going to walk through life blindly depending on this and you want to keep a body going.
I would say fearlessness would be stupidity in certain circumstances. Fear which causes you to act correctly per the circumstance (as examples above) can allow you to survive. It would be stupidity to NOT act on your emotion of fear and thus get out of the way or area of the snake or car.
There is nothing wrong whatsoever with having the correct emotion regaing some circumstance. That is rationality. Misemotion, or the wrong emotion regarding some circumstance of course is irrational.

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thank you for this. It was really nice to begin my day with these thoughts.

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