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Loving
Mindfulness
by Laura Grace |
It may be that each individual
consciousness is a brain cell in a universal mind. ~Sir
James Jeans
Recently, an artistic friend, blessed
with the gift of sculpting, contacted me for help in
moving beyond his fears. He felt ready to take the next
step toward fulfilling his heart’s destiny and wanted
advice on how to get there. I remember sharing the Nike
philosophy of "Just Do It!" and the
empowerment this motto has given me. He questioned,
however, "Is there more? How do you "just do
it" when you have fear?"
Everyone experiences fear at one point
or another, especially during times of change and
transformation such as our world is now experiencing.
Fear seems to raise its head at the most inopportune
times: during times of change, while cultivating
deepened intimacy, before taking a risk, just prior to
seizing a new opportunity and basically anytime we are
ready to move forward and become the magnificent beings
we were born to be. The roads of fear are numerous and
if there were "frequent flyer miles" awarded
each time we’ve traveled with fear, most of would be
able to fly anywhere, anytime.
One thing I’ve learned in my life is
that fear in itself is nothing. It only has power to the
extent I dwell on it. The phrase "There is nothing
to fear but fear itself" is true—to an extent.
However, because the power of our minds is staggering, a
more accurate way to describe fear is, "There is
nothing to fear except our willingness to believe
in it." A participant in one of my workshops once
shared an interesting and rectified acronym of fear:
False
Evidence
Appearing
Real
A Course in
Miracles teaches us that fear
has become so familiar and such a common, everyday
feeling, that love—our core essence—is now the
stranger. Having fallen asleep to the love inside, we
have become alien to what’s in our hearts. "There
is a stranger in our midst [fear], who comes from an
idea so foreign to the truth he speaks a different
language, looks upon a world truth does not know, and
understands what truth regards as senseless. Stranger
yet, he does not recognize to whom he comes [love]…And
yet, how easy it would be to say, ‘This is my home.
Here I belong, and will not leave because a madman says
I must.’" Like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, we
have forgotten we need only ask that we be returned
"home" to love, which like Heaven, is a state
of mindfulness, something that I call loving
mindfulness.
Fear, as love, is a
choice. It’s not something that will exist whether we
like it or not; it’s something we give birth to
whenever we choose to focus on it. This lesson has been
one of the hardest for me to learn. Intellectually, it
has always made sense. But emotionally, when fear has
surfaced, I have sometimes felt paralyzed. Recognizing
that everything is either love or fear, I’ve
discovered in my own life that fear is everywhere and
thus I cannot afford to wait for it to disappear,
because it won’t. I must feel it, ask for guidance in
connecting with the love inside me, then mindfully
extend it to others through my thoughts, words and
actions.
Only love is real; fear is an
illusion. There is not room in
our hearts and minds for both fear and love. When
we allow fear to dictate, love is hidden. Thus focusing
on the fear only enables it to remain in place. Like the
crucifixion, we must recognize fear is present within
our thoughts. However the way to heal it is to practice
resting our gaze on the love within so we may be
resurrected above the fear to a state of mind that
transcends its illusion.
Today, experience loving mindfulness
by bringing forth love’s presence. Choose a situation
in your life that has been causing you to feel afraid.
Face your fear, then ask Spirit to bring forth the love
residing inside of you. It’s much more healing and
expedient to move through the fear by affirming that
only love exists and fear is simply an illusion. As
darkness is a lack of light, fear is a lack of love.
Remembering the love you have received from others while
sinking into the love you have given will invoke the
process. As you continue to do so, you will notice that
the fear is dissipating.
A wonderful lesson that demonstrates
this practice was passed on to me from a web site titled
"Effortless Prosperity":
"This lesson is about letting go
of my fear of anything and trusting God to take the fear
away. The way that I let go is to know that fear does
not exist. My fear is only my ego’s deluded perception
that it is possible to experience a lack of love in my
life. To release this deluded perception, I must
understand that I am always filled with and surrounded
by unconditional love. Therefore, whenever I feel fear,
I can bring forth this unconditional love and
immediately the fear disappears. Today, I release all
fear."
If you lived a life of loving
mindfulness, what would your life be like? What are some
of the things you would do if love, instead of fear,
filled each day? In this moment, ask yourself "If I
loved myself more, I would __________." This year,
allow love to be your guide and you’ll be amazed at
how natural it feels to be unafraid and for love’s
courage to fill your heart. As author Betty Smith once
stated, "Look at everything as though you were
seeing it either for the first or last time. Then your
time on earth will be filled with glory."
© Copyright 2001 Laura Grace. All Rights Reserved.
Laura Grace is Co-founder of Infinite Wisdom, an organization dedicated to the highest human capacity, and a national author and speaker. As a regular contributor for publications across the US and Canada, Laura writes about human awareness and spiritual growth. Laura is the author of the widely acclaimed book Gifts of the Soul and is the creator and teacher of various programs, including the transforming and popular Self-Mastery Program, Claim Your Inner Power!, The Art of Compassionate Forgiveness, Wonderful Women: Reclaiming Our Power, Passion and Purpose!, Creating Soul in Relationships, Living the Intimate Life and several others. Please visit Laura's web site at:
www.LauraGrace.net.
From performing dream analysis for more than 20 years, Laura is an experienced dream counselor and
is currently available for dream analysis. She provides assistance in three ways: 1)
In-person, 2) By phone, 3) and via e-mail. You may contact her by calling
(888) PEACE-93.
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