Discovering What Fear is Made Of

[@abhisheksharma2138]

"Does the thunderstorm ever overwhelm the sky?" This was one gem of a pointer! I use it a lot to remind myself of the real nature of fear.

[@kpindira9272]

Yes a wonderful pointer for fear or any emotion

[@dorianshaffer7120]

But it is overwhelming just like the feeling of pain can overwhelm the space in which it occupies

[@lunkerjunkie]

@@dorianshaffer7120 yes, the nervous system gets overwhelmed even if the space does not

[@foedeer]

❤

[@zb6rw]

Nice!

[@Misslotusification]

“There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.” William Shakespeare

[@pippipster6767]

The ‘feeling’ of fear and the ‘feeling’ of excitement is often the same. It’s the thoughts around the same feeling that colours that feeling.

[@1108dmv]

Woah 😨.. Thank you for this revelation! Being so wrapped up in the mind, this easily goes unnoticed.

[@12703pp]

I totally agree. Thank you.

[@elsapien503]

Alan Watts said “Running from fear IS fear”. I never understood it until I watched this video. Thanks Rupert!

[@elenol1310]

Its like thought is running away from thought ahah

[@elenol1310]

@NotBuddha i know right, have been feeling fear lately, then this hit me haha. Just keep quiet is the best advice really.

[@claritadeluna6609]

Simply put, running away from something unpleasant is Fear. So, running away from Fear, IS Fear. Alan Watts videos and teachings are wonderful. To me, it seems these concepts can only be absorbed a bit at the time. It’s difficult to wrap your mind around them instantly. I can only watch Rupert in stages, give myself time to digest his teachings. It takes time, but it clicks in when you least expect it. The main thing is not to quit.

[@donaldjones7678]

@@claritadeluna6609 Agree, only a little at a time.

[@lesleymcmillan1893]

Yes, thank you for our amazing teachers❤🙏

[@malabuha]

I had a dream which made a huge change for me. Maybe if i share it, it may speak something to you. I dreamt of fear. Huge deep seated fear. I was going from my work at night on a bycicle. It was a familiar surroundings. At one point i felt fear creeping in. So i looked back and saw three dark ghosts flying across a distance. I tried to run away, peddaling faster and faster. The more my speed increased the closer they were. When i realized there's no way i can escape them my bike was gone and i found myself running. They were on me and i faced the fact that this is it. I'm as good as dead. Gone. I could feel them on my back and i let go of fear accepting my fate. Stopped, turned around and took a sober look at them. But what i saw transformed me. There they were. Three silky dark shadows raging and moaning before me. They were absolutely angry. I tried to see their faces. But underneath their hoods there was nothing. Just dark space. I realized they cant touch me. And the more i would relate to them the more i begun to feel sorry for them. And suddenly bam! I got a genuine feeling of motherly care and love. Of a mother who is helpless in helping her kids in big trouble. My heart ached. All i wanted was to hugg them. They felt like my boys... and i loved them endlessly. I didnt see fear no longer.. i saw helpless beings in great pain. But all i could do for them was just loved them. Ever since i had that dream which was years ago i hadnt have a single nightmare... i just dont experience fear in such depth any longer

[@cedq4957]

Thank you so much for sharing! I could deeply relate to this. Like you did in your dream, I came to realize that we should not run from our fear, be angry at it or wish it away. I came to realize that fear and anxious thoughts are actually the ways the mind/body uses to protect the parts of us that have been deeply hurt and through creating fear tries to prevent us from entering into the same or similar situation again thus spearing us being hurt again. As you correctly stated, to really transform the fear is to face it and love the parts that are creating it, thereby resolving it

[@Ashish-nd3xj]

@@cedq4957 you think this would work for some one with anxiety/ocd

[@cedq4957]

@@Ashish-nd3xj I definitely do! I don't have experience with OCD but as someone who had insane levels of anxiety I can tell you that most of it is gone. For me the key was to stop fighting the anxiety, accepting it and letting myself be anxious without identyfing with the fear. A very transformative practice / insight for me was the following: Every time I was starting to give myself a hard time about being fearful and anxious I would imagine that the anxiety/fear was my little sister who came to me and told me " I am fearful & anxious". And I then asked myself how would I react in that situation. Would I tell her that she should stop feeling that way, give her a hard time about it and tell her to fight with her feelings? NO! I would give her all the love and compassion in the world and tell her that is ok to have such feelings. That's how I treat my own anxiety and fear now. I try to hold it in compassion and loving kindness and just allow it to be (of course sometimes it is very difficult and painful to do that) but that way I was able to release so much pain! I would like to make you aware of two sources of spiritual teachers that have helped tremendously with that: 1- A book called "No Time Like the Present: Finding Freedom and Joy Where You Are" by Jack Kornfield 2. The follwing teaching called "I'm overwhelmed with fear" by my favorite spiritual teacher Adyashanti: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gWmnhZtrn69snLM Please note that I am no professional spiritual teacher or psychologist. I am just sharing my own experiences

[@erukaarivu6404]

u saw them in face and they died

[@erukaarivu6404]

@@Ashish-nd3xj yes it wll

[@sandraekhoff8937]

Your teachings HAVE SAVE MY LIFE, Thank you RUPERT, Thank you UNIVERSE. Infinitely GRATEFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@keziah3386]

I need someone like Rupert in my everyday life.

[@N8teyrve]

Seriously The way Rupert describes reality is just the most amazing thing. I've never had so many revelations as when listening to and experiencing what he is saying. I feel like abiding in awareness is not far off! Thanks Rupert for describing reality so clearly.

[@squamish4244]

Are you there yet?

[@joaodanni]

@@squamish4244 are you?!

[@squamish4244]

@@joaodanni No. I've had massive energetic shifts, especially in the last six months, but no change in my subjective experience. I asked him because the comment is five years old and he felt like abiding awareness was "not far off". In so many comments on so many videos, people say they feel they are "Not far off/Just around the corner/Before long" etc. When I ask them five or six or eight years later, I either get "Almost there", "Only a matter of time", or more frequently no answer. We must not be afraid to discuss success rates. If you were working out for five years and saw no results, would you keep doing the same thing or think maybe there was something wrong with your methods? Yet we often fail to apply the same logic to spiritual practice. We need to rigorously question spiritual practice in order for it to evolve and keep improving. I would never have progressed out of some very serious shit if I didn't keep looking for different ways to improve, including technological, neuroscience-based means.

[@joaodanni]

@@squamish4244 You are missing the point because the point is that there is none. Spiritual practices will never put you nearer enlightenment. And you are trying to figure out a method that can provide better results when in reality any tool is useless for this matter

[@squamish4244]

@@joaodanni Everyone in history who has gotten enlightened except for the very, very rare few has followed a rigorous set of practices, be they Zen, Vajrayana, Shingon, Advaita Vedanta, and others. Why do these paths exist, and why have they survived for centuries and millennia, if they serve no purpose? Rupert Spira himself would disagree with you. Why are you even watching this video? His very advice is a form of path in itself.

[@jaypalnitkar4400]

One of the finest teachers of all

[@lee4171]

The window is never harmed by what takes place in the view. Love it!

[@ashwinikaldate7824]

Lovely

[@claudelebel49]

I applied this to a second degree burn and was amazed. Just being with sensation with zero resistance. Intense? Yes. Painful? It's just a word for whatever you think is unbearable :)

[@No-oneInParticular]

I had this too. I actually started to enjoy the tingling. It healed overnight. Quite incredible.

[@12703pp]

I had this happened when I smashed my finger in a drawer! The pain was so great in that instant, that it blew out my mind, as Rupert says, and no thinking took place. I was totally present with the physical sensations. To my other amazement the pain in my finger vanished. It never came back, and there was no bruising. The pain vanished as I fully experienced it without thought.

[@sunbeam9222]

I was in a meditation retreat with the biggest back pain ever. It lasted days. The teacher told me to go visit the pain ( mind focus) no resistance, just open curiosity. I did just that. What appeared to me as burning then felt hot, then it felt warm, then lukewarm and a thought came that it's actually quite nice, and then baaam, it's like something collapsed and I felt bliss all over. I remained in meditation 10 hours a day for 5 more days feeling so light and free. A couple years later, I dislocated my toe, instantly remembered that technique. And applied. I could feel the sensations but no pain. I just hopped into a taxi, waited patiently at the hospital, people around looked at my foot a bit horrified but all that brothered me at the time was to realize that my nails looked rough and were in need of tlc lol

[@Bnorma11]

Acceptance of fear neutralizes it! Amazing discussion!! ❤️

[@IThinkItsForYou]

Those last words are powerful. We are un harmable, but we live in a body that can be harmed. The mind gets confused

[@lunkerjunkie]

generating thoughts from the feeling is like throwing logs on a fire

[@claudelebel49]

Everything appears in and to Me. I am the awareness in which everything comes and goes. Don't resist

[@dorijoe]

I really appreciate the questioner as well here. He is authentic in his enquiry to understand himself/his experience and honest about not quite recognising himself as space. I relate to him and it is so much more helpful when the questioner not trying to appear more accomplished in their spiritual quest than they actually are. It takes courage to enquire as well as admit where one is truly are. Thank you for your courage.

[@thomasmartin3062]

Thank you!

[@dawnhallier9172]

I've just used the teaching in this video while staning in the road outside my home viewing the quiet beauty of the last light of the day. The thought suddenly arose, "it's so cold and breezy perhaps I'll go in." Then the lesson in your video came to mind and with it the memory of adding nothing to I Am. Then the gentle scene, the sound of seagulls crying overhead and the fresh, cool air on my face, made my eyes fill with tears. Thank you Rupert.

[@davidgraffy2924]

Adyashanti commented that "fear is the feeling of resistance" - interesting perspective

[@ManfredBrea31]

That’s it! Of course he’d say that, wouldn’t expect anything less from him. Namaste David 🙏🏼❤️

[@neppson6702]

Rupert's soft British accent makes me feeling so peaceful 🙏

[@skippy7208]

*English! 😉

[@neppson6702]

@@skippy7208 Oh, didn't even know there was a difference 🥳

[@skippy7208]

@@neppson6702 yes! Great Britain (I.e. being British) also includes Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland each of which have very different accents ☺️

[@neppson6702]

@@skippy7208 Oh, thanks 💛

[@marcusjpotter]

I love the shared insight at the end "What's important to know is what you essentially are and that it (fear) is never stained by experience. It is never harmed or hurt by anything that appears in it. Just like the open space of the window is never hurt by whatever takes place in the view. The great secret what you essentially are is imperturbable, undisturbed, unsustainable, unharmed all the common name for that is peace, contentment, nothing overwhelms that."

[@donaldjones7678]

I think you mean (awareness) not (fear)

[@mariekuijkenhistoricallyaw2598]

or (what you essentially are)

[@mish63pa]

Fear was a biggie for “me” until this video. Open seeing, so much gratitude for Rupert.🙏🏻

[@armarat7419]

9:52 What an amazing realization! Thank you!

[@ephantuskariuki]

The clarity that Rupert has is incredible. What he is talking about I learnt years ago in Vipassana training, he even makes it more evident to see the reactivity of the mind than Buddhist teachings in that meditation training

[@constipatedbowels3473]

Totally agreed....in Buddhism dey call it Vedanupassana,where we r supposed to mindfully investigate the emotion !...same thing z used in Yoga,where dey tell u to be a witness to ur deeper emotions(vrittis) in a detached manner......but nobdy explains it as lucidly as Rupert does....his clarity z mind blowing!..

[@omsharadcs]

You overwhelmed me NO ,IT IS JUST A THOUGHT,IN ME....THANKS.

[@onepathmypath2935]

11:48, really hits you in the face, an eye opener for anyone who is going through suffering from thoughts... Thank you Rupert

[@wattaura7621]

A simple word, 'openness' 💙

[@kwixotic]

Not only is there value in not adding the post fear commentary but there's value in embracing such fear. For instance, in the book "Panic Away", in addressing anxiety attacks, the author prescribes indulging with the seemingly overwhelming feeling of dread. I've done this and just about every time, the energy that goes into the panic gets transmuted into bursts of laughter.

[@marekvandenoever8786]

Thank you for asking on behalf of all of us

[@thomasmartin3062]

You're welcome xx

[@seqkatwinn2766]

I feel like fear would not be present without the thought labeling and/or defining something as bad. You just don't feel fear for no reason. The mind has already gone into a place of reasoning that something is bad, threatening, scary, etc. It may could be a subconscious thought, but the thought is still there, prompting the fear. I do agree that then, when we go into conscious thought, we can amplify the fear ... I just feel like though fear would not be present at all without some thought initially being there about the given situation.

[@richsoar2009]

Thoughts on my comment today...?

[@wilma8326]

I think there's only one thought that is at the basis of all fears: I am a body and I i.e. my body is threatened to be lost.

[@marcusjpotter]

Thank you for sharing and articulating.

[@pedrogonzales9202]

Wilma Yes, this is it. It’s so visceral. So profoundly woven into this flesh.

[@Misslotusification]

Might be the pain-body, waking up as E. Tolle says.

[@Antimatter211]

This is the best video I’ve ever seen in my life

[@claritadeluna6609]

I transform my fear by placing my attention on it, looking at it, trying to find out where it comes from. This somehow makes it dissolve and it flows into something else; say, joy. It was a recent experience of mine during meditation.

[@CaptainOfTheLostWaves]

Rupert is such a calm sense of profound divinity in the most pragmatic of ways. A true gift of this age x

[@9001012]

Listening amidst COVID-19 - referred a friend to Rupert's video because of her overwhelming fear. I am at peace and hope she will be soon

[@rhondaharman8776]

A profound teaching. Thank you very much. Life changing.

[@guersomfalcon7544]

discovering the truth will set us free :)

[@fordhogan]

no, it'll kill you.

[@jonnyplat8117]

+Jackson Hogan but then their is no 'one' to be killed.

[@dinara188]

hahaha...don't worry...the nature of your being won't let you...divine gives us only what we ready for..

[@dianegordon2836]

Guersom Falcon

[@richsoar2009]

?

[@roseruiz313]

its called Peace, you say that so beautiful i love it thank u.

[@thegaspatthegateway]

"I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."

[@angelajanebowes]

Such a revelation!!....💡 Thank you to both Rupert & the lovely northern lad for asking this question 😚🙏❤️😄

[@thomasmartin3062]

Aw thanks I'm the lad xx

[@1elasom]

I am the Openess! This is the key to Self-Realization! Namaste!

[@SamayaKefaliGermain]

Love you, love you, love you 🙏♥️🙏♥️🙏♥️🙏♥️🙏♥️🙏

[@FrankVergara]

Game-changer! So simple and so true! to see what I truly am

[@claudelebel49]

I am reminded of a quote by John DeRuiter: "Let every little annoyance in your life become an invitation for love to slay you."

[@aakku8800]

“What is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil”-Friedrich Nietzsche

[@mustafaabohari3853]

Fear gone forever ! Thanks !

[@bradstephan7886]

Thank you.

[@sandraekhoff8937]

OMG, this is so powerful. Understanding is liberation. Thank you again Dr. Rupert. Powerful. Thank you Divine Purpose!!!!!!!!!!

[@thoughts0utloud]

So unbelievably powerful.

[@lesleymcmillan1893]

Thank you Rupert🙏❤️

[@she-wonders]

It's an absolute treasure when you have a teacher who understands psychological/therapy modules like somatic experiencing and internal family systems like Rupert clearly does.

[@hugomendez5625]

Thank you Rupert, your words have brought me closer to the 'I' that really matters

[@craig6037]

Beautiful. Thank you

[@robertleslie5741]

It's like Rupert and I have met each other on the road of life. I will enjoy our time together.

[@Shunya0101]

Thank you. 🙏🏻

[@leelanjoy]

Ramesh was called the brilliant mind. Rupert the same. Thank You

[@renakmans3521]

Next level!! Thank you for sharing these truths...

[@jeara69]

Namaste, Pure Gold! Thank you!!

[@rosegathoni5394]

Powerful!

[@12703pp]

This teaching brings me to yet a deeper opportunity to appreciate my experience. Thank you! However, it occurs to me that the emotion itself is not actually a spontaneous reaction to something albeit it is certainly prior to the thought as Rupert teaches. I suggest that the emotion itself is an unconscious reaction to an already existing belief. That belief may be instinctual or conditioned, but it does serve as the foundation for the emotional reaction. For one person, seeing a spider generates fear because the experience of spider has been connected with a belief it might be dangerous, for example. To another, the emotion might be curiosity because that conditioning has not been instilled. As we are able to be with the emotion prior to thought, as Rupert suggests, that prior conditioning might also be one of the things which gets revealed/experienced/dropped.

[@Workdove]

Wow, clear rational thought. I wish everyone communicated like this, the world would be a better place.

[@guersomfalcon7544]

this is the source of all addiction

[@ThePlugTurtle]

truth

[@faizeljamaluddin5841]

Simply wow ❤❤

[@sandraellis3878]

Unbelievably helpful on so many levels ❤️

[@lugm1034]

This is so precious.

[@nolliemccain6642]

Wow! I'm blown away yet again .....ha ha....deee- light- full 💡❤️

[@mrd1228]

8:42 if u push it away, that will reinforce it 👏❤️ perfect

[@claudelebel49]

Even sounds appear in me: I had a very strong experience of this during an Ayahuasca ritual. It felt as if I was a cathedral within which the music and the singing were happening. Crystal clear but much less so when the mind is active,

[@barbaragiannotta429]

Dear Rupert, you manage to move me deeply and make me fall in love with what emerges with unconditional love.... the sweetness of the words you communicate are a warm balm for the heart💖🙏

[@stormtraders]

Just beautiful

[@RVEEATOR]

Great clarity

[@galaxysamsung5439]

Great great great explanation!!!

[@aslazaimi5824]

We all talk so much and not get it at all.. But still. I guess it's positive to direct our mind in this direction

[@ranirathi3379]

"if you're pushing it away, it will reinforce the belief that this is unbearable". - to the degree we are identified with the fear, distress, discomfort (which increases the more we push it away), it becomes more and more powerful bcz now we're more identified with what appears as image, rather than the screen that is awareness which knows no distress nor fear. which is why the thing that works best when we're overwhelmed is to go to something else to allow greater tranquility and placidness to establish, whence the solution comes. otherwise staying ruminating over the same thing we're stuck at increases identification and fear so much we push it away more and more. which is why having a hobby for such placid mundane rooting in daily life is essential.

[@antonyliberopoulos933]

Thank you

[@peterbrennan393]

at the moment the man is experiencing this... 'i am the space in which things appear'- as a thought. or a mental construct. this message needs to hit home on a deeper level. it's best not to think about these words...just to let them in enegetically.

[@GM-te8hr]

It’s also the interpretation of the feeling that appears

[@MajorCulturalDivide]

Here it is a feeling of being trapped. Trapped in my head. Trapped in this uncomfortable body.

[@ShadowXg0z]

What people and I included should understand, is that these teachings are about basic human nature and not something new or "occult" or magic or whatever.. It's the nature and the basis of our existence, coming back to it can be scary sometimes, because we are conditioned to be attached to our egos as we need to behave in some specific ways .

[@harrybellingham98]

the feeling is fine, it's the stuff is prevents my body from doing

[@viracocha2021]

You can have so much pain that leaves you unconscious. So yeah, there are feelings that are overwhelming.

[@XxXjuan96carlosXxX]

Fear is mind created. Your comment is out of context because you are speaking about feeling enormous physical pain which can cause someone to go unconscious

[@simka321]

Memories seem to be objects appearing in my essential openness that remain for a much longer time than ordinary, more ephemeral things, states, and events, and so are more liable to become objects with which I mistake as my identity.

[@jamesthomas1244]

Wow.

[@flag81]

08:05 experiencing raw sensations

[@abhig3847]

"Be interested in your fear"

[@teresadeagle3079]

Yes iy does. Try having a Full Blown Panic Attack shaking from head to toe can't think, can't breathe and tell me your going to remember to Watch It ..Sorry Mr. Rupert but the storm does take over the sky at times and is very overwhelming. God Bless you for the suggestion tho.

[@northeastshooter5135]

Thoughts can overwhelm the individual through follow-up actions. Ie. To rid myself of this anxiety or fear, I drink. To rid myself of this anxiety or fear, I gamble etc. Thunder doesn't overwhelm the sky because thunder can't influence the sky. Fear can influence a person's thoughts and then actions and therefore be dangerous.

[@mohamedladhaladha7997]

Fear=feel ,enjoy and be ready.

[@josiharper897]

What about the intense physical feelings !!!!?? Especially if you have health anxiety!!!

[@natashabakaeva8975]

Everything explained

[@kwixotic]

This is why certain therepists(perhaps those in the non dual tradition) request that the one having the fear explore where in the body the fear is experienced.

[@sanekabc]

Even calling it a disturbance before you say it is not welcome is to judge it as negative.

[@atmannityananda-academia]

The fear in itself is suffering. Doesn't matter if you label it or not. And the same happens with anger and all negative emotions.. The negative emotions are suffering in themselves. Thoughts only intensify the emotions and emotions intensify thoughts, is a vicious cyrcle!

[@guersomfalcon7544]

nope emotions itself are just sensations ,what makes us suffer is the thoughts about the sensations

[@atmannityananda-academia]

Guersom Falcon​​​​ what you say is nosense. When anger arises for example there is contraction of energy and the vibration of anger is painful, you like it or not. It is impossible a contraction of energy not to be painful. And a painful contraction of emotional energy we call it suffering. The suffering i It may be very subtle if the anger does't assume a strong expression. Of course thoughts intensify the anger. And it is true that when you are angry you cannot avoid negative thinking. It is not up to you. You are occupied by anger. So, if anger is expressed suffering is there. You may say no but this is a false opinion of the deluded by ego intellect.  Even birth, death, thirst,hunger and living in a body in general is suffering by itself, but tamas and lust make earthlings see the objects of this world delightful! Maya and ignorance reign supreme on earth! 

[@guersomfalcon7544]

+AeonTv take scary movies as an example , you are experiencing fear but you love it ,so there is no problem

[@atmannityananda-academia]

Guersom Falcon​ Only a pervrerted mind can find in terror movies pleasure. You can find more pleasure of terror in hell it is more intense and more real, so you can enjoy it more. 

[@guersomfalcon7544]

+AeonTv jajjaja okay

[@busheybushdawg]

I can see how this could give me a wider perspective on fear, if was like a chronic condition; but if I am being chased by a lion none of this matters. I am not sure how helpful it would it is to be the space that fear arises - in the situation where I am being chased, I embody and am not separate from fear.

[@thomasmartin3062]

He's not saying that in the event of danger you should be the space for the fear.

[@Ravi0195]

I was thinking that only a particular thought gives birth to a particular emotion, but apparently there can be a feeling without any thought in the first place.

[@thebrokenchandelier]

Someone please explain @13:30 “you are everything that appears in it” this is a completely new teaching. He also speaks on “oneness”. ✌️

[@dommccaffry3802]

Well, that is a mindfulness technique

[@_kirbis_2721]

This actualy helped 🤔

[@JorgeRodriguez-nx5eq]

I think that feelings had some survival value when we used to live in caverns, but nowadays most feelings are neutral, Only thoughts catalog them as good or bad.

[@Roohans]

4:02-4:16 wow

[@johnellis414]

What I dont understand is why there is a different set of rules for dealing with physical pain? Surely its the same principles as dealing with fear?

[@human5715]

I'm no expert but yes it should be the same. The painful sensation is just what it is "neutral" (not even that) without any label before a thought arises with it's commentary on it, resisting it. That's only my understanding so far tho.

[@widipermono854]

🙏🙏🙏