  Spiritual
This week: Fear Not Edited by: KimChi  
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"He who fears to suffer, suffers from fear". ~French Proverb
"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." ~Isaiah 41:10
"The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you freed." ~Buddha
Hello, I'm KimChi . This month we'll explore things that go bump in the night from a spiritual perspective. Which fears are reall? Do they hurt or harm us?
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Fear is a primal emotion-as such it can grab us by the pounding heart and expose the hairy monsters lurking in the shadows. Problem is, in real life, hairy monsters are notoriously difficult to come by. Many, if not most, fears we experience in a normal day are unfounded.
As an example-I'm not afraid of spiders, snakes, or other creepy-crawlies. But put me in a dark basement and my imagination runs wild. I just know that creak in the corner is something unworldly-I can feel his ghostly, beady little eyes staring into my back. My brain knows my trepidation is completely illogical and downright silly, but my mammalian instincts say, "Run up the stairs; his claws are inches from your neck!"
That's the power of fear. In an actual emergency, adrenaline would rush through my body and all you'd see would be a blur. But it's a false alarm, as usual-I get my system all revved up for no reason. In completely unscientific terms-that's hard on the engine. Such stresses can add up over time to cause real health problems-anxiety, depression, heart failure, strokes, etc.
There was a time when a hair-trigger response to perceived danger was appropriate, but as we've "civilized" ourselves, once rational fears become irrational. We no longer need to sleep with one eye on the fire and an ear out for wolves, in a constant state of fear that our few possessions may be stripped away. It's more likely we fall into a warm bed with nothing more than a lazy old dog to watch guard.
Cushioned we may be, but we are still programmed to fear, and to "fight" or "flight" when we think danger is present. Unfortunately not all of our fears are rational, and not all of us can control them. Sometimes our fears control us, like when I race up the basement stairs. We each have our useless fears, from a mild fear of clowns to the sheer terror of leaving the house. One of the biggest for writers seems to be fear of failure
There are ways to calm the fears--from prayer to yoga to writing a story that scares the pants off readers. However, when fear interferes in daily life or relationships that may be a clue that it's irrational.
In future newsletters, I'd like to discuss fear in more detail-including the fear of failure as well as using fear for spiritual growth. (If you have items relating to these topics, please send them in! ) 
Ideas to Ponder
What are you afraid of? How does your spiritual tradition view fear in general or your fear specifically? Ask yourself if each one is rational or irrational. Will it matter in five years? (or ten minutes!) Most importantly, is the fear holding you back from what you want or who you want to be? If so, it may be time to look the hairy monster in the eye and laugh right in his face. 
Until next time, keep the faith!
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Overcoming Fear:
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#1700509 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: For eighteen years of my life I watched my father come home from the same job, with the same complaints, eat the same meals, and sit in that same chair in the middle of our living room.
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#1712322 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: To Brynn, the children became like a litter of identical puppies, barking the same, tumbling alike, running about aimlessly, completely unaware of danger lurking around them--one could wander into the road or some predator could come take one away. They were small, speedy, screeching kids, in and out of Brynn's narrow field of vision. Without the sound of the bells, Brynn couldn't tell which child was her own.
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#1665434 by Not Available. |
Excerpt:I was born into a life of pain. A life mired deeply in shame. My life was not wanted from the very first day.
Excerpt:
If I weren't afraid I would stand up for the earth
and the underdog
Always;
instead of just sometimes.
Excerpt: The writer sits, staring at the screen. "No," she mutters, looking at the words she has spent the last many months creating. "No, not good enough. No one will like it. I doubt there's even a market. Even if there is, somebody's done it better than me."
Submitted Items:
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#1678516 by Not Available. |
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Responses to Blanket of Strength
From embe : Praying in a poem that saved my life.
Thank you dear Kimchi,
your inspiring newsletter.
embe, in appreciation.
Thank you, dear Embe, for the kind words. Your item is linkled above.
From gautam.gigoo: thank you god bless you and light your wisdom
Let me return the sentiment and wish blessings upon you.
From rachie : great new letter full of inspiration
Thank you very much!
From sarahreed: I've tried writing down the bad stuff that has happened to me, but it was so overwhelming that I broke down in the middle of it and had to stay home from work for a day. I just wasn't ready to see what had happened to me on paper. While I've faced a lot of it mentally on my own and spiritually with my husband, I learned that I haven't completely made peace with my past and I'm not ready to see it in writing. My entry to the "What was I doing in 2000" official contest is the closest I've come so far to writing a portion of it down. I do know that a lot of good resulted from it and that I do think I needed to go through it to get to where I am now. So yeah, sometimes bad things have to happen to good people so that they can become even better people.
I absolutely understand not wanting to re-hash the painful stuff that makes us "better people". I tend to disguise my past in my stories, still fearing people will judge me, but hoping the hurt is palpable, and that it stays on the page. Thanks so much for the discussion and the link to your story.
From shepherd46: I just wanted to write and say that I have been enjoying your newsletter and especially the story at the beginning. So true about adversity and mending...
Morningstar
Most appreciative of your feedback, Morningstar.
From: alock1: Sometimes writing is a Spiritual event in and of itself. Something just makes you write the story or poem, or whatever.
Amen to that! I describe it as "downloading". Good idea for a newsletter. Thanks for your comments.
From GRAMPA ED :
Kimchi,
God gave me an angel, and that angel gave me three children, then God took her home with him. She only saw one of those children get married and never saw the wonderful six grandchildren that I have been blessed with. It has been twenty years now that she has been gone, yet it seems like yesterday she was here. I have had my ups and my downs, but yet I get through all of it. There are times that I can cry when I think of her but I think of this saying (author unknown):
An angel doesn"t have to be speak to be heard,
be visible to be seen, or be present to be felt.
Believe in angels, and they always will be near.
For some reason this keeps me going and now I am writting, with the book I am doing now telling about all the angels above.
I do believe God has not let me down, but has made me grow even though he took my angel with him. I am stronger than ever and I keep going and will not say "I can't" and I work for the Lord in whatever way I can.
You are so much stronger than you know. Thanks for blessing us with the inspiring story of your angel! 
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Spiritual: October 06, 2010 Issue [#4009]
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