Natural Life Processes in the Place Beyond Fear

It seems that there is a deeper rhythm to our own being and to life, if we can step away from fear and relax into the organic pace of the authentic Self as it opens up its presence to the world around us.

At this deeper level, we begin to connect naturally with others who have also risked stepping away from fear. I feel the human family knows and resonates with a more natural state of being. That is evident when we speak and express ourselves from the heart, because it is clear that others hear it and naturally respond to it. The more those others respond, the less we and they feel alone in the world.

At the times in my life when I have stepped beyond fear, it seems that I have also trusted that I am of enough “value” to know that if I say something with heart and with honest intent, it will have a resonance and meaning that can be a strong source of nourishment for others.

These days, I also anticipate and often receive an equal measure of nourishment from others in return as they respond to me from a similarly open-hearted level.

On the occasions when I have been called to step beyond my “comfort zone” and risk becoming visible in new arenas, I have found ultimate rewards are plentiful. This was certainly the case in relation to an evening sessions I was asked to run for a group at a Probation Service Residential in Lancashire, on the topic of ”personal development and trans-personal moments”. I had to get beyond my anxieties about the way I may have been viewed by others, but once I did that there was very little anxiety or fear around, despite the fact that I really had little clue of what I was going to say, or how things might turn out at that evening training session I ran for the group.

I also feel God has a definite sense of humour, because invariably the times I have stepped beyond fear into authentic Self-expression, I have done it with a light heart and a sense of fun which has been almost instantly reciprocated. It was there in powerful measure at the Probation Service group training event.

I tend to think that when I speak with sincerity and from the heart, that before long, as I get into my “rhythm”, I will soon be doing so with humour – and as the humour begins to show itself, I often reflect that when laughter is around then God is never very far away.

In the place without fear, even death has less power – of course we are human to feel deep grief and sadness in the midst of a sense of loss, and yet we can also do this without fear, if in the moment of saying goodbye to a loved one we also take time to remember and celebrate that person’s life with gratitude and a sense of respect. As my brother Glyn said about my Mum when she died, “It was a life very well lived”.

As I have done the above things, or reflected on the life of a loved one no longer living, I have often felt the presence of “unseen hands” helping me to stay grounded and true to myself, in the various ways that are appropriate to a particular moment or combination of circumstances.

It may not be easy, but all I have to do is to choose wherever I can not to be afraid.

[Extract taken from John's forthcoming Book:-

"Fields of Freedom: Breaking through fear in personal and professional life"