Is there anyway I can battle fear of unknown/uncertainty? Anything I should think of? Any sort of meditation/book for this?

Different fears have different solutions. What in particular are you scared of?

Different fears have different solutions. What in particular are you scared of?

uncertainty of future

Is there anyway I can battle fear of unknown/uncertainty? Anything I should think of? Any sort of meditation/book for this?

Confront your darkest thoughts. Think of the most horrible things imaginable - happening to you and remember the worst things that actually happened to you think about what was going on exactly at the moments of sheer horror. Now apply those moments in the imagined situations.

As for a meditation or book. I found Nietzsche's "Greatest Weight"(Gay Science) most helpfull in this area...

The greatest weight -- What, if some day or night a demon were to steal after you into your loneliest loneliness and say to you: 'This Life as you now live it and have lived it, you will have to live once more and innumerable time more; and there will be nothing new in it, but every pain and every joy and every thought and sigh and everthing unutterable small or great in your life will have to return to you, all in the same succession and sequence--even this spider and this moonlight between the trees, and even this moment and I myself. The eternal hourglass of existence is turned upside down again and again, and you with it, speck of dust!' Would you not throw yourself down and gnash your teeth and curse the demon who spoke thus? Or have you once experienced a tremendous moment when you would have answered him: 'You are a god and never have I heard anything more divine.' If this thought gained possession of you, it would change you as you are or perhaps crush you. The question in each and every thing, 'Do you desire this once more and inumberable times more?' would lie upon your actions as the greatest weight. Or how well disposed would you have to become to yourself and to life to crave nothing more fervently than this ultimate eternal confirmation and seal?

uncertainty of future

Misery loves company. If you're worried about the future, just realize that you're not alone. Nobody on Earth knows the future, so everyone is on the same boat as you on this one. Work hard, have some faith, and things will be just fine, I'm sure (or at least, I hope).

thanks Kadark and Nietzch

Be humble, no matter what kind of person you are in context to others on this earth, you're still so very small and so very young compared to everything all around us. But just relax, as such small creatures, our obligations to the universe are small, so relax and enjoy. No sense fearing what we can't control, might as well daydream about it instead.

wow, that was alot of posts in a short time, lol

After my divorce, I opened up a map, closed my eyes and pointed. I rented a huge U-haul (never driven anything that size before), loaded up my stuff, strapped in my 2 yr old and drove from Nebraska to Michigan. Got a hotel room, next day found an apartment, next day found daycare, next day found a job.
If I failed, I failed and would have had to move in with Mom. But at least I tried. Oh, and I succeeded.
Nothing ventured,nothing gained.

Do not fear anything. There is nothing in this world to fear. You are invincible, like every other Human being. Death is your friend should it need to come, that's my advice.

Death is your friend

yeah, thanks, thats exciting

yeah, thanks, thats exciting

I am only trying to show you that fear is nothing more than the current state of things, but you can always escape it.:;)

Take nine minutes of vigorous exercise a day, then when that's done . . .

Relax bodily. Become more loose limbed. Think yourself an inch taller.
Move like you hadn't a care in the world, and it's summertime and the livin' is easy.
Move slow. Never hurry. Never let anyone else hurry you.
Speak slow -- like you were from the Deep South (or stupid!)
Think slow, but careful. Give your brain an easy ride.
Sit on the dock of the bay and watch the tide roll away.
Where the body leads, the mind will follow.

This is seriously good advice from a retired psychologist!

Is there anyway I can battle fear of unknown/uncertainty? Anything I should think of? Any sort of meditation/book for this?


To battle something like that is a losing proposition. To overcome a weakness one must first examine what fear really means to them. Your example of fearing the future is a fear that can be overcome in many ways. The first way is to prepare yourself for the future by planning what you want to do and what your goals are. Tjis step helps you in seeing that you can control your future and that is the only thing that you have any control over, yourself.

Once that you learn that everything as well as everyone else has to figure out their paths you will understand that it isn't fear at all but realizing that we all control ourselves and cannot control what is happening around us. Be certain to include a few paths to take where you are going for sometimes we all will have to go off the beaten path towards a new direction and also remember that you always should expect the unexpected, that way you'll never be in fear of whatever may happen.

uncertainty of future
propose to your girlfriend or get a girlfriend.
Try to save some money
consider evening classes for a better job

Is there anyway I can battle fear of unknown/uncertainty? Anything I should think of? Any sort of meditation/book for this?Try the Emotional Freedom Technique. It's not meditation but it's a modern American offshoot of a couple of equally well respected ancient practices and it's pretty much devoid of woo-woo.

Of course it's presented with overtones of woo-woo because woo-woo sells these days, but it's just for marketing. You can download instructions from the website, or you can hire a practitioner to work with you if you find that your problems resist solving or that you just can't quite do the procedures right. It's straightforward enough that if you need consultation the phone is usually satisfactory.

It's had great success in relieving everything from stuttering to ashthma to fear of cats to inability to remember a forsaken native language to inability to trust someone of the opposite sex. It's basically a way of examining yourself and figuring out what is the root of your problem, then using conscious techniques to communicate with your unconscious, a principle that is hardly controversial. It has almost no down side. If you're not a psychopath, or raped by your father at age 6, or something like that, the worst that is likely to happen is that it simply won't work. And unlike conventional psychotherapy, you won't have to wait more than a couple of weeks to figure that out.

Check out the EFT Website (http://emofree.com/).

If you dwell in fear, and I mean the maximum, it will become the norm for you and you will be able to absorb more of it. It's technically considered self-conditioning. However, due to the fact that fear itself is unknown, you can never understand it as a "whole". Instead, you can condition your self to norm a specific sub-categories of fear (like a phobia of spiders etc). I don't think anyone can master fear as a whole.

I don't think meditation will help other than keeping you relaxed (depends), maybe a book would foresee what was to come?

When you find yourself fearing, think of the worst thing that could happen: you die. If you are capable of rational thought dieing isn't something that needs to be feared. It'll make any fear your having seem ridiculous.

Is there any of you here have no fear at all?

Having no fear would get you killed pretty quickly in this world. Think about someone with no fear walking out into traffic because they thought that cars can't hurt them for they don't fear death.

I mean fear from like losing job, becoming old, being left by your love one, from
scary scientific prophecy, etc......

I mean fear from like losing job, becoming old, being left by your love one, from
scary scientific prophecy, etc......


Well you did state fear from anything didn't you? Now you are changing what you asked which is fine but list all of the fears then I will answer them. You see by putting that "ETC." thing means there are more fears you want answers about as well so list them all.

Having no fear would get you killed pretty quickly in this world. Think about someone with no fear walking out into traffic because they thought that cars can't hurt them for they don't fear death.


thats not true, you can survive better without fear, you can know to avoid something without fear of it. understanding of the danger alone is enough. i dont fear a car or it hitting me, but i understand the danger at hand.


without fear you can judge a situation better, fear can cause irrational actions that cost you. have you ever lived without fear before in a deadly situation? you act without hesitation and are better equiped to deal with danger, how good do you think a firefighter or cop would be on the job, if they lived in fear of fire or danger?. they are good at what they do because they have respect for the danger, and can stay calm under pressure, not because they fear it.


peace.

Without some small amount of fear in us we can't function as well for without some fear we could not be cautious about the unknown things that happen in life without some form of caution.

Without some small amount of fear in us we can't function as well for without some fear we could not be cautious about the unknown things that happen in life without some form of caution.

you dont need fear to be cautious, you need understanding and respect of the danger. if i stay on gaurd from an unseen danger then i dont actualy need fear inside me for my state of readiness to take place.

say a tiger was infront of me, i know that it will defeat me in hand 2 hand combat. i respect that i will lose and i wish to live still. so i will retreat to safety, fear will not be included in the situation with me personaly. i would fall back due to my desire to live, i do not fear death but just because i want to live it doesent mean i actualy fear dying. like if a dog was trying to bite me, i dont fear the pain or the dog itself, i just dont want to be bitten, i dont actualy fear the situation and it wont help me, i cans till run without fear.


fear is not needed for somebody who is in total control of his emotions, but it was needed when we were less evolved and had to act from basic fear alone. it is a useful tool for the average person, but if you go beyond fear and condition yourself you will find its not needed anymore.

like i said before with the cop or firefighter or even a soldier, they act better and perform the roles without fear, only respect and caution, a soldier does not fear battle, a firefighter does not fear fire, and a cop does not fear armed criminals, if they did they would not be suited for that role. without fear they can react better to danger. yet they still have respect for the danger at hand, but it does not go as deep as fear.


peace.

Well you did state fear from anything didn't you? Now you are changing what you asked which is fine but list all of the fears then I will answer them. You see by putting that "ETC." thing means there are more fears you want answers about as well so list them all.


Well, I do have lots of fear, if courage could be bought I probably will
try hard to buy some. Do you have any specific fear? How do you control
your fear, do you ignore it, try not to think of it, or else?

you dont need fear to be cautious, you need understanding and respect of the danger. if i stay on gaurd from an unseen danger then i dont actualy need fear inside me for my state of readiness to take place.

say a tiger was infront of me, i know that it will defeat me in hand 2 hand combat. i respect that i will lose and i wish to live still. so i will retreat to safety, fear will not be included in the situation with me personaly. i would fall back due to my desire to live, i do not fear death but just because i want to live it doesent mean i actualy fear dying. like if a dog was trying to bite me, i dont fear the pain or the dog itself, i just dont want to be bitten, i dont actualy fear the situation and it wont help me, i cans till run without fear.


fear is not needed for somebody who is in total control of his emotions, but it was needed when we were less evolved and had to act from basic fear alone. it is a useful tool for the average person, but if you go beyond fear and condition yourself you will find its not needed anymore.

like i said before with the cop or firefighter or even a soldier, they act better and perform the roles without fear, only respect and caution, a soldier does not fear battle, a firefighter does not fear fire, and a cop does not fear armed criminals, if they did they would not be suited for that role. without fear they can react better to danger. yet they still have respect for the danger at hand, but it does not go as deep as fear.


peace.


Chi, I know or read already that you have some martial art skills. Did your
courage come from this, or did you learn that to gain courage in the first place?
Just curious :)

Chi, I know or read already that you have some martial art skills. Did your
courage come from this, or did you learn that to gain courage in the first place?
Just curious :)

well i have been learning martial arts since i was 4 years old, i cant remember much events from before that age. part of my various training sessions are to combat fear and change certain emotions, i do as much mental training as physical. my martial arts training has alot to do with my courage, but i also come from a very rough area. i have had to fight for my life many times, with bare hands/knives/swords/guns, i have seen my friends die infront of my face. i have had to save peoples lives and also watch people die.

i also go out by myself to live in the wild every year, soemtimes in a different country sometimes my own. i hunt my own food when living out, i fend for myself and have to brave harsh conditions and situations. many factors of my life have contributed to the philosophy and conditioning i have with fear. i dont think i can pin it down directly to martial arts, or directly to things i have seen, i think its a combination of everything that lead to the way i am.


bottom line is that i believe on more than 1 occasion if i let fear rule me i would have died. and i owe being fearless for my survival. but this does not mean i am not cautious because i am, and i am not reckless or quick to anger, i am reserved and calm when in danger, and it enables me to react with swift and direct action.




peace.

I've read through some of the posts here, and I can't help but wonder if there's a misunderstanding of the word "fear"?

I take "fear" to mean more, much more, than simply caution or knowledge of consequences. To me, "Fear" is a state of panic and/or paranoia ...not a good thing in any situation. Chi seems to be thinking along the same lines. One doesn't have to "fear" something to have a healthy respect for possibilities, and take necessary precautions.

Baron Max

well i have been learning martial arts since i was 4 years old, i cant remember much events from before that age. part of my various training sessions are to combat fear and change certain emotions, i do as much mental training as physical. my martial arts training has alot to do with my courage, but i also come from a very rough area. i have had to fight for my life many times, with bare hands/knives/swords/guns, i have seen my friends die infront of my face. i have had to save peoples lives and also watch people die.

i also go out by myself to live in the wild every year, soemtimes in a different country sometimes my own. i hunt my own food when living out, i fend for myself and have to brave harsh conditions and situations. many factors of my life have contributed to the philosophy and conditioning i have with fear. i dont think i can pin it down directly to martial arts, or directly to things i have seen, i think its a combination of everything that lead to the way i am.


bottom line is that i believe on more than 1 occasion if i let fear rule me i would have died. and i owe being fearless for my survival. but this does not mean i am not cautious because i am, and i am not reckless or quick to anger, i am reserved and calm when in danger, and it enables me to react with swift and direct action.




peace.


Oh wow.. you must be very strong, then! :) I guess its too late for me to learn
anythings like martial arts. If I have kids one day, I will asked him/her to learn
martial art.

Btw, once a stranger knocked on my door (I live in a shared flat with 2 other
students). And I forgot to check who knock, I just opened the door. The guy
looked handicap, I cant see his finger, his jacket jeans hanging freely on his
shoulder. He asked me whether there is Chinese guy living in my flat, and I
replied no. Then he asked, whether he may come in to have some drink
because he said he is thirsty, and I said, sure (I could be more stupid than
that). I allowed him to sit in the kitchen, and I gave him juice. Then he
talked blabla, but because I didnt understand much what he said while he
also could not speak English, we did not talk long, so he left.

When I told my neighbour later on, she was so freaking out. She asked me,
didnt I read announcement downstair, that polizei looking for raper? :eek: At that
time there were already some rape incidents around my area, many strangers
came because of worldcup event. I had no idea because I dont read local
paper or even downstair announcement :p And I just let stranger come into
kitchen! I argue that the guy looked handicap and need help, but my
neighbour argue that he could prentend handicap and maybe hiding some
weapon behind his jacket. I have lots of fear, but I dont have sense to
detect it..

Well, I do have lots of fear, if courage could be bought I probably will
try hard to buy some. Do you have any specific fear? How do you control
your fear, do you ignore it, try not to think of it, or else?

I understand my fears and control them by learning what they are and remembering. how to overcome them when they come up. It just takes time and confidance in yourself. As you age you learn and educate yourself so that you can control your fears better.

I guess you are right, thanks :)

Well, I do have lots of fear, if courage could be bought I probably will
try hard to buy some. Do you have any specific fear? How do you control
your fear, do you ignore it, try not to think of it, or else?


You have courage already, you are asking others to help you find out how to be helped. ;)

Think yourself invincible, untouchable, and you will have no fear. That's why nothing scares me except hights

Is there any of you here have no fear at all?

Everyone fears something, whether they would like to admit it or not. You may know someone who apparently fears nothing, but that doesn't mean he or she is immune to fear - it means they are courageous. As the saying goes...

Courage is not the absence of fear; it is the presence of fear, yet the will to move on.

Understand your fear.
If you understand it, truly and completely, you will not fear it anymore.
It's really that simple.

Everyone fears something, whether they would like to admit it or not. You may know someone who apparently fears nothing, but that doesn't mean he or she is immune to fear - it means they are courageous. As the saying goes...

Courage is not the absence of fear; it is the presence of fear, yet the will to move on.

Wrong

Wrong

In what way?

Not everyone fears something.
Courage may well be daring or strength in the face of fear, but some people, I know for a fact, have no fear what so ever.

Not everyone fears something.
Courage may well be daring or strength in the face of fear, but some people, I know for a fact, have no fear what so ever.

Well, perhaps we differentiate between the meaning of the word "fear". Would you consider "scared" and "fear" to be compatible by definition? If so, I can guarantee that whoever you know is most certainly scared of something. Say, covering them with succulent honey from head to toe, tying their limbs, and leaving them in a bear cage at the local zoo. I am sure they would be terrorized half to death from being scared.

Can we agree on that? Or is this example a little extreme and not applicable to casual encounters of what someone may fear?

fear is a boundary layer which borders with death, eliminating the layer would mean death is the ultimate test of this fear...and if one was to be truly fearless he/she would have to go through death, which means no more of this fearless individual...which means fearless people do not exist alive...they truly are fearless when they are dead.

fear is a boundary layer which borders with death, eliminating the layer would mean death is the ultimate test of this fear...and if one was to be truly fearless he/she would have to go through death, which means no more of this fearless individual...which means fearless people do not exist alive...they truly are fearless when they are dead.

You don't have to die to be free from the fear of death.

But if that's what you want to believe to make you feel better, that's fine.

You don't have to die to be free from the fear of death.

But if that's what you want to believe to make you feel better, that's fine.

I see fear as a warning. This warning exists because it protects one from possible scenarios leading to death. If one who is fearless breaches this warning, he increase probability of death. And whats worse is that since one will be fearless, he/she will look for new ways to test this fearless state...thus increasing probability of death. At the end death is inevitable.

And humans cannot be truly fearless...otherwise they are not humans but Gods.

Well, perhaps we differentiate between the meaning of the word "fear". Would you consider "scared" and "fear" to be compatible by definition? If so, I can guarantee that whoever you know is most certainly scared of something. Say, covering them with succulent honey from head to toe, tying their limbs, and leaving them in a bear cage at the local zoo. I am sure they would be terrorized half to death from being scared.

Can we agree on that? Or is this example a little extreme and not applicable to casual encounters of what someone may fear?

The state or condition we generally refer to as "fear" is really a state of heightened sensual awareness.
Your heart pumps faster racing blood to your extremeties.
Your hair stands on end, making your skin more sensitive to touch.
Smells and sounds are more distinct.
Your vision is sharper and more vivid.
Your mind is moving faster.
Your reflexes are keener.
Adrenaline production ramps up.

When we sense danger, our bodies go into this heightened state of awareness, so we can better cope with the situation at hand - whether we choose fight or flight, we will perform better.

People have conditioned responses to this reaction. They understand, on some visceral, instinctive level, that this is a reaction to danger and the state of heightened awareness sets them into panic mode.
The fear comes from lack of self-confidence, past failures, insecurities, wariness of the unknown and other weaknesses that have been ingrained in the psyche over the years.
A heightened state of awareness is a normal, healthy thing.
Fear is a man-made weakness.

When in a dangerous situation, you can take advantage of your natural defense (this heightened state of awareness and clarity) or you can give into fear and panic.
If you give into fear and panic, you are much more likely to become a victim of that which you fear - it makes no sense - your fear becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
If you find yourself in a situation where you are certain that death is the only outcome, the only reason to have fear is if you are afraid of death. Besides, what help would panic be in a situation which there is no outcome but death? It's rather silly, actually.

I see fear as a warning. This warning exists because it protects one from possible scenarios leading to death. If one who is fearless breaches this warning, he increase probability of death. And whats worse is that since one will be fearless, he/she will look for new ways to test this fearless state...thus increasing probability of death. At the end death is inevitable.
See my post just above this one.

And humans cannot be truly fearless...otherwise they are not humans but Gods.
I think that's silly, but I guess I am a God in your eyes.

Is there anyway I can battle fear of unknown/uncertainty? Anything I should think of? Any sort of meditation/book for this?

I'll give a method I sometimes use...it's great to walk fearless and carefree...

When you feel fear, first monitor your bodily feelings, and you will feel the impulse from where the fear comes from...like maybe everytime you have the fear you feel some panic feeling in your top left back region and nervousness or something like that, then you simply tell yourself it's ok to remember when this feeling was present over and over again, then a memory will pop into your mind, probably something not expected but clearly associated with fear, after that reframe the memory into something you desire...

fear is a boundary layer which borders with death, ...they truly are fearless when they are dead.


But what if they believe in reincarnation and when they died they found out they were coming back as an animal that was easy prey for other animals to eat, that would put fear into them wouldn't it?

The state or condition we generally refer to as "fear" is really a state of heightened sensual awareness.
Your heart pumps faster racing blood to your extremeties.
Your hair stands on end, making your skin more sensitive to touch.
Smells and sounds are more distinct.
Your vision is sharper and more vivid.
Your mind is moving faster.
Your reflexes are keener.
Adrenaline production ramps up.

When we sense danger, our bodies go into this heightened state of awareness, so we can better cope with the situation at hand - whether we choose fight or flight, we will perform better.

People have conditioned responses to this reaction. They understand, on some visceral, instinctive level, that this is a reaction to danger and the state of heightened awareness sets them into panic mode.
The fear comes from lack of self-confidence, past failures, insecurities, wariness of the unknown and other weaknesses that have been ingrained in the psyche over the years.
A heightened state of awareness is a normal, healthy thing.
Fear is a man-made weakness.

When in a dangerous situation, you can take advantage of your natural defense (this heightened state of awareness and clarity) or you can give into fear and panic.
If you give into fear and panic, you are much more likely to become a victim of that which you fear - it makes no sense - your fear becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
If you find yourself in a situation where you are certain that death is the only outcome, the only reason to have fear is if you are afraid of death. Besides, what help would panic be in a situation which there is no outcome but death? It's rather silly, actually.

I have several problems with this:

1) Fears can be about present dangers that are not easy to see or quantify and a look around at society we can see a lot of problems caused by going past fear and caution. It would be great, for example, if Bush felt his fear, rather than knee jerk reacting to it by being more assertive and taking more action.

2) Some of our fear is about past life experiences and childhood experiences. These fears need to be processed. In fact, when I look around the world, I see so much built on the denial of fear (present and past) and it is causin us all sorts of problems.

Back-up up caution and not paying attention to little warning bells can be the make up of fear. Once you accept fear or as you called it this heighted (but perhaps not so action oriented awareness) you can move through it very rapidly and use it as a resource. In the beginning it can seem like giving in to fear, but in fact fear has much to teach us about now, the past and the possible future.

I fear nothing

Not Death
Not our physical world
Not a person alive

Because, why should you fear anything?

I fear nothing

Not Death
Not our physical world
Not a person alive

Because, why should you fear anything?

Because not knowing about something that may or may not hurt you should give rise to caution about whatever it was. That caution is part of fear.

Because not knowing about something that may or may not hurt you should give rise to caution about whatever it was. That caution is part of fear.

But pretend nothing can hurt you, that you alone are a God and are invincible and you have no fear! I am afraid of nothing, because nothing can harm me;)

Of course, that's not true but I believe it therefore I am scared of nothing

Then your an ass! :D:shrug:

Obviously you don't believe it, because you just said:

Of course, that's not true

Oh wow.. you must be very strong, then! :) I guess its too late for me to learn
anythings like martial arts. If I have kids one day, I will asked him/her to learn
martial art.

Btw, once a stranger knocked on my door (I live in a shared flat with 2 other
students). And I forgot to check who knock, I just opened the door. The guy
looked handicap, I cant see his finger, his jacket jeans hanging freely on his
shoulder. He asked me whether there is Chinese guy living in my flat, and I
replied no. Then he asked, whether he may come in to have some drink
because he said he is thirsty, and I said, sure (I could be more stupid than
that). I allowed him to sit in the kitchen, and I gave him juice. Then he
talked blabla, but because I didnt understand much what he said while he
also could not speak English, we did not talk long, so he left.

When I told my neighbour later on, she was so freaking out. She asked me,
didnt I read announcement downstair, that polizei looking for raper? :eek: At that
time there were already some rape incidents around my area, many strangers
came because of worldcup event. I had no idea because I dont read local
paper or even downstair announcement :p And I just let stranger come into
kitchen! I argue that the guy looked handicap and need help, but my
neighbour argue that he could prentend handicap and maybe hiding some
weapon behind his jacket. I have lots of fear, but I dont have sense to
detect it..


im not that strong, it depends what you compare me too. im a better fighter than the average person ofcourse, but compared to say my uncle who is an ex SAS commander and long time martial artist then no, he would most likely kick my ass, although i have defeated him in training a few times. but thats most likely because he held back. but he has been training longer than i have been alive, so ofcourse he is better than me.


its not too late for you to learn martial arts, ofcourse you have missed out on the prime training years though. if you want to be a natural fighter and martial artist you need to start as young as possible, i started at 4 years old, wich is the suggested age to start in the east. but you can still be a good fighter if you learn now and be dedicated. you wont be on the level of alot of people, but you can certainly be better than average.


and that thing you did was stupid, but you have learned from your mistake it seems, and thats what matters. condition your fears by facing them its as simple as that, ofcourse this has its limits though, if you are scared of heights then step by step go higher and higher until your fear goes away, if you are scared of spiders step by step get closer and closer to one, until it is on your hand. the systematic desensitization method works very well when dealing with fears and phobias, its a step by step method wich forces you to confront your fears head on. i prefer a more direct path personaly, and instead of going near the spider i will just put it straight on my face instead. but ofcourse not everyone wants to do that.


peace.