Taming the Tiger- Ending Suffering by Transforming Fear
Part 1 of 3 in the Embracing Fear series
by Jack Blackburn, MTS-SD, LMP
What happens when we start changing our relationship to fear? What happens when we start regarding fear as a noble companion? What happens when we learn the signs of fear (Like the black horse in Plato's Phaedrus). Fear can be a very useful companion when we use the energy of fear - like nuclear energy fear has bad side effects if it is used improperly.
What happens when we go into our fear? It is revealed to me that it may seem like chaos, like discordant energy but that is because we have not learned how to work with our fear - we need to saddle our fear and learn to ride it! It is very important for our health and sense of well being that we learn to use the sympathetic nervous system consciously. We need to claim authorship for our experiences and our fear (like Victor Frankl's Logotherapy). We need to stop using our fearful edges (procrastinating until the fear becomes intolerable) as motivators for our actions - "When the going gets tough the tough get going."
When God summoned Moses he felt unworthy. When God summoned Noah, he did not feel good enough. Both men did not feel qualified to carry out their destiny. When we stop seeking thrills in the ego's pursuit of permanence; when we settle down into our won identity; when we humble/surrender ourselves to our calling, fear becomes our colleague. Of course we will feel fear; of course we will balk at first, until we pass from "Oh, oh" surprise to "Ah, ha" fervor. We will transform from "fear and trembling" to a steady hand at the tiller. Recently there was a best seller called The Gift of Fear that was about protecting ourselves in a world of violence - "Thank God my fear is keeping us safe - a small-minded ego-version that sums up our life here on Earth as a struggle for survival, constantly on guard, anticipating the next possible onslaught." Even the mountain climber can be a thrill seeker, proving his/her immortality by walking the edge of fear.
I would write a book called Go Where You Fear to Go! Listen to your inner drummer; you will not be disappointed. Like the entrepreneur, you will risk failure because you have aligned your self with your destiny. Everything flows and everything is revealed as a result.
I would write another book: Do Not Fear the Symptoms. The Buddha was right to ascribe our suffering to clinging (clinging to life). Fear is a type of aggregate, but because of his own background he did not realize how much suffering is tied to fear. I cling to life, image, reputation, things, relationships, and love. Each is transformed into an object (Buber). But the reason I turn them into objects is because "I fear what I'd be without them." So the Buddha did not see the fundamental quality of unharnessed fear.
I would write another book called The Fear Body. Eckhart Tolle is right about pain, but the main problem we face is that fear that is unharnessed, avoided, or fought against becomes pernicious - becomes the "enemy at the gates." Like those who tread on the tiger's tail in the I Ching, we have to learn that the glow of the tiger's eyes is not fearful, judgmental, harsh (or dangerous?). In fact the glow of the tiger's eyes (tyger, tyger burning bright) are the markers on our path. We learn to tread lightly/gently but with calm assurance in the presence of the tiger until we tame ourselves to the tiger's power and single-mindedness. We can then ride the tiger; we can then use the energy and acumen of the tiger to accomplish our mission
