The Fear of Belief

In my meditation class we have recently been given two “homework” assignments.  They are exercises in self-discovery, but their purpose is also to help with the removal of outward obstacles.

The first one was to take a fear you may have and really take it out of the box to examine it. The issue with fears is that they are often unconscious. Many times, they have no rhyme nor reason. They seem to arise unbidden or they have always been there, such as a fear of heights or bugs. Other fears we might be able to justify due to some event that occurred that caused us to experience fear in that moment. For most of us we just catalogue it as “fear” and move on, thus allowing the fear to take on a life of its own. Perhaps we keep them to allow us not to have to do certain things such as climb a mountain or kill a spider.

The assignment was to pick a fear and sit with it. Look at it from all sides. Take it out and toss it around for a bit to see if you really are afraid or if it is simply a story you keep retelling. Being afraid allows us to remain victims. “We can’t because of……” Also, it does give us an excuse for avoiding certain tasks in life.  The actual reason does not matter. What does matter is knowing why you are fearful and then consciously deciding whether or not you want to continue to be so.

The second assignment was to take out a belief you hold dear. One could say a belief you actually believe. Again, walk around all sides of it. Really look at it. Question why you believe it. Dig down to why you believe it. Analyze your evidence that it is true and you should continue to believe it. Why did you believe it in the first place? Where did it come from? How did it morph over the time you have believed it?

Once your analysis is complete ask yourself if you really want to keep the belief. Do you want to modify it in some way or simply get rid of it? How does holding on to that belief make you feel? Happy? Empowered? Righteous? Sad? Entitled?

The good part of the assignment is there is no right or wrong. There is simply the act of doing the exercise. It may sound a bit daunting or ridiculous or perhaps you have a story about being fear and belief free. No one is, so give it a whirl and see where it takes you. The best part is nobody has to know you even tried.