Fear

I always think that whatever season I am in, that is my favorite season. However, not only is it summer, but it’s also berry season! This has to my favorite. I love spending my mornings harvesting wild berries for my family’s breakfast. We get delicious berries and I learn a lot from the berry bushes. Regardless of what life is serving up for you, you can always return to Nature to be reminded of Beauty and the pleasures of life. I hope that you are able to find some berries (or other edibles) and taste the Wild. Eating wild food nourishes our bodies AND our souls. Wild foods remind us of our innate connection to Nature, which as a society we have cut or ignored, but that is only a facade, for we can never really sever this connection.

I tend to think of events in my life as having themes. My most current theme is overcoming fear. I thought it was serendipitous that my family and I recently watched Defending Your Life (which I highly recommend). The basic plot is that after we die, our lives are reviewed. If we have overcome fear (the purpose of life according to the movie), then we are allowed to move on. If not, then we are sent back to Earth to try again.

When we allow fear to dictate our lives, we limit ourselves from truly experiencing life and from being our whole selves. Sure there are people who are so filled with fear that they can’t leave the house. It’s easy to see how their fears limit them. It’s not as easy to see it when we have a fear of heights or success or Love or people who are different than us, etc. Well, maybe when you know someone else has these fears, you can see how their fear cripples them. Can we see how our own fears keep us from living our full lives?

Every time that I have faced one of my fears, I discovered that it was not actually true. It was just an illusion to keep me in some small box. When I released it, I was suddenly able to enjoy more of life and breathe freer. I wrote last month about facing my fear of heights and being rewarded by an amazing, breathtaking view. Facing our fears does not always have such immediate rewards. Sometimes, it can be really scary and difficult; but, (and this is a big BUT) anytime we face our demons, we automatically win. When we face our fears, we are standing up for ourselves, we are fighting for a richer and more fulfilling life.

Don’t get me wrong, I do think that fear has a place. For instance, if I’m in the woods, and the hair on the back of my neck stands up, I want to pay attention to this. But, most of us live our lives in fear and it is this fear that prevents us from living our true lives and being our whole selves. Besides limiting ourselves, our fears can make us sick. Plus, we unconsciously project these fears, so often we begin to attract that which we fear the most. What to change this?

With the amount of fear in our society (have you watched the evening news lately?), it is no wonder that there is a long list of Flower Essences to help with fear. Overcoming fear was a focus of Dr. Bach. Now, there are many, many essences that help to overcome specific fears, non-specific fears, and to strengthen and build confidence.

I find it interesting to note that the organ most associated with fear is the liver. Anyone who pays attention to all the chemicals that we are inundated with can understand that our livers our taxed and need much healing and support. So it really isn’t a surprise that there is such rampant fear in our society.

As we have just celebrated Summer Solstice, this is the time of year to absorb the Light and to release what no longer serves you. What do you fear? What are your fears keeping you from experiencing? Are you ready to release any fears? I hope so! Live life to your fullest potential!

Here is a small list of Flower Essences that help with fear:
Bach’s Rescue Remedy- great for support during the moment of fear or anxiety
Quaking Aspen- fearful and unsure why, courage
Mimulus- known fears (ie spiders, dogs, losing job, etc.)
Jewelweed- fear of intimacy, fear of being touched
Rusty Sunflower- Fear of change
Lobelia- Ability to speak truth without fear
Borage- Courage
Red Cedar- Courage, strength, wisdom, great support

Again, this is just a small sampling of the many different Flower Essences that can help with fear. Their description is a brief snippet, it does not even come close to describing their depth or the many ways in which each Essence works.

The point is that we do not need to allow our fears to limit us nor do we need to face our fears alone, the Plants are ready to support us.

Of Dandelion and Fear

I went for a walk in the field one morning. I stopped and looked around me, the field was filled with Dandelions. As I admired their beauty, I was flooded with memories. Some were as a child and how my friends and I adored Dandelions. We would delight in them and play games with them. Yes, we would say, “Momma had a baby and her head popped off” and pop the heads off of the Dandelions. But, I really don’t think they cared. I think they were happy that we children loved them and played with them. We would make Dandelion crowns and rub our bodies with the blossoms to turn our skin yellow. Of course, our favorite was blowing the seed heads. Then, another memory came, this was as an adult. My sons and I were going on a walk with our neighbor and her son. Right away, she commented that my yard was full of Dandelions. My immediate reaction was to respond by saying, “I know, isn’t it beautiful?” Then I realized that this was not meant as a compliment, but a complaint. I was surprised because her garden beds and walkway were filled with “weeds” and her very large yard contained materials from the many unfinished projects that her husband started: piles of sand, bags of cement, wood scraps, slate tiles, etc. As I looked back on this day, I again was surprised and was curious why she had such a strong reaction to the Dandelions.

This then led to all the other conversations that I’ve had with people who wanted to spray their lawns with poisons to eradicate the Dandelion. I again got curious. I find it so interesting that this incredibly healing Plant brings so much fear and hatred out in people. Don’t get me wrong, I know that many people love Dandelion. That is why she grows in the US. The story that I have been told is that the Italians brought her here with them because they couldn’t imagine living without her. She has sustained many during the late winter/early spring starvation time before grocery stores.

So why, is our culture anti-Dandelion? Why is it that we need to eradicate something that brings beauty to the monotony of the green lawn? I realize that part of this is the fear that if you let one Dandelion, there will be many, for her seeds are prolific. This thought brings me to another question, when we have fear, why is our response to wipe out, eradicate, do harm, fight back? Why not simply step away from the fear and really look at the issue? Is the Dandelion truly something to be fearful about? What is the worst that will happen if Dandelion is allowed to grow in our yards? What can be gained or what gifts are there by allowing Dandelion to grow?

Of course, this extends beyond Dandelion. Maybe this is a personal issue. I have been overcoming many fears this spring. I realized that we put too much energy into fear and potential worst case scenarios. So now, I am trying to look at the heart of fear. I encourage you to do this too. What are you afraid of? What keeps you from living the life that you want? What is your gut reaction when faced with fear? Mine tends to be to hide. Though, culturally I believe we tend to eradicate, bring down the enemy. Just imagine what things could be like if we could react with the Heart and Love instead. Would we have so many lives lost and forever changed by war? Would we be poisoning ourselves and the earth because of those pesky Dandelions?

Here’s a bit of a carrot on a string. I developed an enormous, paralyzing fear of heights when my oldest was about a year old. I have allowed this fear to dictate a good portion of my life and avoided many situations where I would have to face it. This winter, while we were planning our trip to Switzerland, we discovered Mt. Titlis (I know, horrible name! I turn into a teenage boy every time.) The mountain is over 10,000 feet high and you can see the Alps and valleys from there. It seemed like an unbelievably gorgeous place. The catch? I would have to ride on 3 gondolas for a total of 40 minutes. I rode on my first ski lift just last year, which was not very high off the ground. Simply looking at the pictures of the gondolas was turning my stomach. However, I decided that I would do this. For months, I worked with Flower Essences and journeying to overcome this fear. Finally, in May, I did it! We went up with dear friends of ours. The first part was a little frightening because I was facing the valley that was quickly becoming farther away. Rescue Remedy was a huge help. After that, I was able to enjoy it. What was even better was the view that I was rewarded with at the top.

I encourage you to face your fears and let go of what is holding you back! If you get frightened, (first of all, know that there is always help) remember the gentle, brave Dandelion poking her head through the overwhelming void of the macadam to bring Beauty, Light, Love and healing to our world.