The Other Side of Fear: A Guided Meditation to Facing Fears in the New Year (87)

We made it to a new year and it's time to face our fears. In today's episode, we're going to explore fear and move through a meditation that helps us dive deeper to the core of fear and learn what's on the other side. Hi everyone, and welcome back to how the Wise One Grows. We made it. 2024 is here, we have entered a new year and often this time of year there's a lot of weight around setting new year's resolutions, going hard, going strong to achieve all of the things in the year ahead, and I don't want to bash that at all and I also want us to lean into some other things and some other energies and ways that we can start the year. So in episode 33, we did an amazing episode with Tara Eschenroder, one of my dear teachers and mentors and friends, about setting intentions for the new year and resolution. So if you're looking for a little inspiration, that's a great episode to go back to and listen to for the start of the year. But today we are going to lean into fear and facing our fears together as we start this new year and we're going to move through a meditation and kind of like a mini workshop to process this together. So today's meditation and kind of mini workshop experience we're going to go on together is inspired by my dear friend and an incredible teacher, olivia Yohei, from a workshop she taught on the winter solstice, and I think that this is a really powerful way to start the new year because the winter solstice is kind of nature's reset of the year. It's kind of the reset of the natural world. It's where we've hit the longest night of the year and we're gradually entering in more light, so we're gradually moving into this transition of seasons. So it's a really powerful time to reflect and to set intentions. So I think weaving this practice that we did together on the solstice is a really great thing to do as we're starting the year and it has us leaning into fear. So there's a timestamp in the show notes of when the meditation begins so that you can download this episode and just come straight back to this meditation anytime you need. So find a space that feels safe and supported for you and we'll get started. So I would recommend being somewhere where you can welcome stillness, so maybe if you're driving right now, you download this one, save it for later so you can practice in a really nurturing space. You can practice seated or you can practice lying down, really whatever is going to make you feel best here. And let's just start to land here together. You can begin by noticing where your body makes contact with the earth, and then you can take note of where your breath flows in and out of the body and know that these two things are your anchors. They are always here to support you. The earth is always here to hold you and, as long as you're living, the breath is here to flow through you. So these are your constants, these are your supports you can turn to if you feel overwhelmed. And I want you to now begin to envision a circle of protection around you. So, to help you feel really safe here, I want you to imagine sometimes for me, I like to imagine like a circle of light surrounding me. Maybe you have an image of like a circle of candles, or maybe it's like a circle of puppy dogs. Whatever would make you feel loved and safe and supported and held. Imagine that encompassing you here, holding you in this space. Then allow yourself to be still here. Maybe just take a bird's eye view of your experience in this moment. See yourself sitting here, envisioning that circle of protection around you. Notice any sounds, any thoughts, any sensations that arise, then allow them to all be here, let them all be a part of this experience and again return to that sensation of support from the earth beneath you. Know that you're held, know that you're safe. And now we're going to take some time to lean into fear. So for the next few moments, I want you to get familiar with fear. Maybe think of like five things in your mind that you're afraid of. If you want to journal this, if you have some pen and paper nearby, you can do that too Just taking some notes, either mentally or physically, about what you fear. Just let it all out. What scares you the most. And we're not trying to get rid of anything, we're not trying to solve any fears here. We just want to give it a name, because often when things are in the dark and they don't have a name, when we don't have a light on them, they're a lot scarier. So the first element of working with our fear is becoming aware of what they are. And now I want you to lean into what fear feels like in your body. So say one of those things on that list of you're afraid of just jumped out at you right now. How does it feel in your body that we're here with you right now? Beware, in the body is it located? What does it feel like? Does it have a temperature, a texture? Notice as many qualities about this sensation as you can, and we're not trying to run away from this, we're not trying to push this sensation away. I actually want you to go deeper into it, really getting to the root of how fear feels here, and I invite you to ask yourself and lean into what helps you be with this fear, what helps you to not run away, not to push it away, but to instead go deeper. Maybe you think of a fear you've overcome in the past. What helped you to be with fear then? And can you offer yourself that here, knowing that together we've called in support from the earth, the breath and our circle of protection around us to be with fear here? What other things help you feel supported? And then take a big breath in and a big breath out, and we're just going to take a step back now, maybe give your body a little wiggle if that's what it needs, and we're going to gently scan the body from head to toe just to help us take a step back and to not be stopped by the fear. So take a moment to notice again where you feel the breath in the body. And as I name various parts of the body now I want you to bring your attention to each point as you hear it named, but refrain from moving any part and just simply try to stay awake and alert by listening to the sound of my voice. Right hand, left hand, right arm, left arm, right side of the chest, left side of the chest, right hip, left hip, right leg, left leg, lower back, all back, upper back, the entire spine, the whole face, the whole head, the whole body, the whole body. Just visualize your body being held by the earth beneath you, surrounded by that circle of protection. Take a big breath in and a big breath out. And now I want you to think about something that makes you feel excited. So maybe it's a new puppy, or going on a big trip, or hiking a mountain, Whatever makes you feel giddy and excited inside. Imagine that thing is here and notice where you feel it in the body. Studies show that fear and excitement have the same sensation in the body, or similar sensation. They're in the same places in the body. The body doesn't know the difference. Our mind creates the different perceptions around them. So maybe you noticed excitement lived in the same space as fear. And now take a few moments to reflect and ask yourself what lives on the other side of fear, maybe repeating these things in your mind, or again you can jot it down what lives on the other side of fear? Let's take a few moments to reflect, breathe and be with that too. Breathe and be with that too, and just notice how you feel here, notice if it's any different from when you began. I don't want you to get over your fears or shut them away. I want you to get curious about them, to go deeper into them so that you can see the ways that they're a part of a whole and so that you can step into what lives on the other side. We don't need to resist fear and it doesn't need to stop us. Return to where your body makes contact with the earth. Know that the earth and your breath are here and that the earth and your breath are here. Know that the earth and your breath are here to hold you always. And let's take one more breath together, in through the nose and out through the mouth, and return to this sensation of grounding and strength as you return to this space, knowing that with every breath you can step into what lives on the other side of fear. Thank you so much for stepping into fear with me today, for being willing to go deep and to be with the whole picture, the full scope of fear and what lives on the other side. If this podcast has been impactful in your life, you can help us share this offering with others by joining the dream team. So the dream team is a group of people who make this podcast possible by financially supporting the podcast for as little as $3 a month and by supporting the operating costs and all the things that go into sharing this offering. You can join the dream team by clicking a link in the show notes and, if you aren't able to financially support it this time, you can also support the podcast by sharing an episode you love with a friend and following, if you don't already.