Fear is not a problem

Sadhana

Fear is one of the basic instincts everybody has. The young ones are innocent enough to show it and the elders try to hide it. That is the only difference. Fear is basically the survival instinct given by nature, there is nothing cowardly or shameful about it. But human civilization condemns cowardice and teaches people to be brave and courageous. Right from the childhood kids are told to suppress their fear and try to be courageous. But courage cannot be cultivated by suppressing fear, you have to go the roots of fear. Look at it, find out the reason-- is it real or just an imagination? More often than not fear is enlarged imagination or blowing up of some idea which then becomes a phobia.
According to the American Psychiatric Association, a phobia is an irrational and excessive fear of an object or situation.
Osho has given some valuable tips on how to be free of fear. His methods are straight and simple but non-traditional ones.

Accept fear
If you have fear, you have fear- why make a problem out of it? You know that you have fear, just as you have two hands. Fear is there: accept it, note it. What will happen? Suddenly you will feel it has disappeared. And this is the inner alchemy -- a problem disappears if you accept it, and a problem grows more and more complex if you create any conflict with it. It is there and nothing can be done about it. And when I say nothing can be done about it, don't think that I am talking about pessimism to you, in fact I am giving you the key to solve it.

It is good to tremble in darkness
If a child is afraid in the dark, we say, "Don't be afraid, be brave." Why? The child is innocent- naturally he feels fear in the dark. You force him: "Be brave." So he also forces, then he becomes tense. Then he endures the darkness but now tense; now, his whole being is ready to tremble and he suppresses it. This suppressed trembling will follow him his whole life. It was good to tremble in the darkness, nothing was wrong. It was good to cry and run, nothing was wrong. The child would have come out of darkness more experienced, more knowing. And he would have realized, if he passed through darkness trembling and crying and weeping, that there was nothing to fear. Suppressed, you never experience the thing in its totality, you never gain anything out of it. Wisdom comes through suffering and wisdom comes through acceptance. Whatsoever the case, be at ease with it.
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