Welcome and Understanding Fear

Sarah Hope 0:13

Welcome to Roots of the Rise with me , sarah . This week we're talking about issues related to the first chakra , which means talking about safety , security and what we feel when we don't have or perceive we don't have those things Fear . The Oxford Dictionary defines fear as an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous , likely to cause pain or a threat . It's important to note the word belief here . So often we are afraid of things that are not actually an imminent threat , have not yet and will never become one . So how often do you find yourself feeling afraid and how valid are those fears ? First and foremost , you must acknowledge that your fears are real . Don't try to use the mind to deny this . Fear itself is not a problem . You can rationalize away . There's so much confusion in the spiritual world when we have teachers who say your fears are just made up in your mind , they aren't real . Well , to you they are real . Those teachers are speaking from a different level of consciousness where they have integrated the truth of their own invincibility . If you're not there yet , it's okay , and what you feel is real . Another thing to remember is that fear is in the present . As Brene Brown says in Atlas of the Heart . It is a quote negative , short-lasting , high-alert emotion in response to a perceived threat . End quote . It can come out of nowhere and sometimes we feel the physiological effects before we cognitively realize that fear is what we're feeling .

Sarah Hope 1:51

So when we are dealing with fear , first of all the fear must be understood . Where did it come from ? Why are we feeling it ? We need to be able to step back and have some discernment to see okay , is this actually a problem ? So often the fear might be real to us , but it might be highly unlikely or completely unfounded . In the beginning I was petrified that my husband was going to leave me , that he was going to break up with me because of how deeply unworthy I felt of his love . Was this reality ? Was I actually undeserving of his love ? Was he actually going to leave me ? Absolutely not . If you want to talk chakra connection , it was my faulty programming in the third chakra , you know , home of self-worth that led to this irrational fear in the first , the home of safety and stability . Fear in the first , the home of safety and stability . So what we have to do is first of all address , you know , all of our programming as a whole . So therefore I had to work on my self-esteem stuff but we also have to develop the strength and resources and , really importantly , the discernment needed in order to more effectively understand , meet and move past similar perceived future threats . When we live in constant fear , we are unstable , we lose our center , we lose our ability to contain , to have to hold . It tends to make us feel powerless

Example of Counterproductive Fear

Sarah Hope 3:20

, and sometimes that fear moves us to act in ways that are incredibly counterproductive .

Sarah Hope 3:26

Let's give the example of a wife who is afraid her husband is going to cheat on her during all of his various business trips and she becomes more and more afraid that this is going to happen , that she becomes more and more obsessive about checking in with him . She wants him to call her the moment he gets to his hotel , the moment he goes out to dinner . Tell her where he's going , who he's going with , tell her the moment that he gets back . She calls obsessively at night . She calls while he's in the middle of these meetings because she's so afraid that he's going to cheat on her . Well , what do you think is going to happen to that man ? He's going to feel smothered . He's going to cheat on her . Well , what do you think is going to happen to that man . He's going to feel smothered . He's going to feel , you know , that she doesn't trust him because she doesn't . Now , if he experiences this for long enough , there is every chance that he is eventually going to just get fed up get fed up to the point where he might cheat . He might start looking for an emotional connection to someone who is more stable , who is more trusting , who doesn't obsessively check in on him . So that's just one way that fear can actually propel us into actions that then create , you know , the situation that we're actually really worried is going to happen . I'm not saying that's the right way for him to handle it , by the way , but I think we can all appreciate the likelihood of the scenario playing out that way .

Sarah Hope 4:54

You know , many people who can't figure out what they're actually here to do are so busy looking up . They're so busy trying to transcend out of their lower chakras to , you know , open their third eye to see more deeply , that they forget to look down where they're actually walking , where the rubber meets the road . When we rest on the ground , when we have this sense of being safe and secure , it enables consciousness to manifest . We need to meet the needs of the lower chakras first . It's unlikely you can get someone to care deeply about philosophy or about all of these kind of moral and mental and higher concepts when they are worried about simply putting food on the table for their family .

Sarah Hope 5:47

We have to feel safe before we can transcend safely , and today not many people feel safe . Not many people are grounded . The world is too fast , things are changing very quickly , there's a lot of chaos , and all of that chaos , all of that turmoil can leave us feeling very unstable , with a sense of being ungrounded , and when we're ungrounded we tend to feel fear , anxiety , discomfort , and , ironically , we become more resistant to getting in touch with what we're feeling , because it would mean feeling more of it , feeling that discomfort , that fear more deeply . Once we get a handle on fear , though , I mean , then the whole world opens up for us . That helps us cope with stress . The physical world feels safe and stable , and that stability is what makes it easier for us to work with , you know , the bigger , scary things in life . It also helps with chakral stability in general . I mean , think about it . We're talking about kind of this foundational sense of being safe . If that isn't there , how easy , how stable do you think any of our other programming is related to how we handle emotions or our confidence in ourselves and our ability to handle what life is throwing at us ? How likely is it ? Do you think that maybe you start putting up walls to protect yourself for fear of what somebody else may do to you , how they might hurt you ?

Sarah Hope 7:18

One of the things that can really help stabilize the root chakra , stabilize us and take us out of fear , is routine , whether it is in regards to everything in our life . So you know , kind of having a structure to how we move through our days , making sure that we get good sleep , that we eat nutritious foods , that we exercise , that we're taking care of our financial health . You know setting aside money for savings so that we don't get completely knocked down if something unexpected comes up . Planning for retirement , making sure that we prioritize time with friends and family being in community you know that kind of thing . You know , if we are able to kind of provide ourselves with this stable ground through routine , through setting up routines that give us the sense of order in our lives , that can be very fulfilling . It can actually encourage gravitation , meaning the movement towards something , whether we're talking about mass or money , or safety or structure or stability . The more we have it , the easier it is to attract more of the same . This can ground us , giving us security . That said , we can get obsessive . We can always go too far , and if we become too rigid and our structure too controlling , well , that can trap us , keeping our consciousness bound and limited , and that's something we'll talk about when we talk about control later this week .

Fear isn't bad

Sarah Hope 8:52

The other thing I want you to think about when it comes to fear is that , as with any emotion that we typically deem negative , like anger , fear has a positive purpose . It's not all bad . There's , of course , the obvious it's our protector . It tells us when we need to move . It prompts us to take action . It helps us seek safety when it's necessary . It can bring excitement and motivation . It can even help us develop courage . That's actually one of my favorite Mark Twain quotes Courage is resistance to fear , mastery of fear , not absence of fear . So fear can be very useful .

Sarah Hope 9:31

The experience of fear is designed to wake us up , and it's really important to remember that . You are not your fear . The fear is something you are experiencing . It is not who you are . The fear is here to tell you something your job is to learn how to listen and then learn how to make a choice as to how you want that fear to operate in your life . In essence , to make friends with your fear . All well and good , you say , but how do you do that ? Well , first you need to acknowledge it . You need to be able to identify when you're feeling fear and be able to say to yourself oh , I'm experiencing fear , not I am afraid , but I am having the experience of fear . This is important because what we're trying to do is disidentify with the emotion to help make it more easy for us to deal with it . The second thing you need to do is anchor into your physical body and identify where the fear is located .

Sarah Hope 10:33

Where does the fear live ? There is an energetic body . That is the interface between the emotional and the physical , the point of this being that the emotions don't just live in the mind . If you've ever experienced butterflies in your stomach or your throat tightening up when you're mad , you've experienced this interface . This is what we were talking about in episode 43 , the root chakra introduction , this first chakra our relationship with fear is formed at a time when we are purely energetic beings , not yet capable of intellectually diagnosing what we're feeling or why . So if we want to treat fear , we need to treat it on an energetic level .

Sarah Hope 11:13

So where does the fear live within you ? It could be anywhere , and it could be different locations depending on which fear you're addressing . And what does it feel like ? Describe the subtle qualities to yourself . Is the fear big or small ? Does it feel cold or hot ? Does it feel like it's in just one place or that it kind of jumps all over the place ? Is there a color associated with it ? Is there a texture ? Does it feel spiky or smooth ? If you were going to draw the fear , what would it look like ?

Sarah Hope 11:46

The third thing we need to do is be really solid and approaching the fear with love and gratitude . This fear is trying to tell you something . It is doing sorry , that's my dog it is doing the best it can to help you . It is something you are experiencing , not who you are . You are love . If you don't identify with your true self , your identification with the fear will consume you . So remember , you are a divine being experiencing fear , not fear inhabiting a bodysuit .

Practical Steps and Questions to Ask Yourself

Sarah Hope 12:21

So here's what I want you to think about today what is your relationship with fear . Do you feel it often ? Do you have one fear that pops up more than others ? The first step is simply to acknowledge it . To simply acknowledge that you are experiencing that fear and then look to see where does this fear live in my body and then finally , from a place of love , ask that fear what it is trying to do for you . How is it trying to help you ? Just try to send it some gratitude for doing the best it can to serve you .

Sarah Hope 12:57

If this feels impossible , you're not alone . It's really hard to do when you first try , but it does get easier the more you do it . Also , meditation can help because it helps bring us to our highest self . Check out the episode on heart-based meditation that I've linked below . And , lastly , be easy with this . If you get stumped , you get stumped . Call a phone a friend you know . Talk to your support system . Talk to your uh , your partner or your friends . Talk to a professional . Talk to your therapist . Talk to your spiritual mentor . Get help . Don't feel like you need to figure this all out by yourself .

Sarah Hope 13:39

Tomorrow , we'll be talking about one of the ways we deal with fear and instability control . If that sounds interesting to you , make sure you follow or subscribe so you don't miss it . Also , please email me at rootsoftherise at gmailcom or if you're listening on Spotify , there's a little text me link If you have any first chakra questions you'd like me to answer this week . Any questions you have about fear , please . I love hearing from you . I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day and remember , know who you are , love who you've been and be willing to do the work to become who you want to be .