The root of all Ego FEAR

juanorellana

i have been meditating and have realized that i have many fears. however fears are not always present in your conscious mind. it hides in your subconscious.
i have come realize that we are all full of fear. more then we could ever imagine. it also the main reason we have not achieved enlightenment. fear of the unknown.
As a group i have seen many people typing things that are full of fear. i regret to tell you all that you are not in the path if you cannot let go of your fears.

DhammaDhatu

we are all full of fear

not all are full of fear. apart from that, what you wrote is very relevent & important. however, before you exhort others to free their minds from fear, first it is best to free your mind from fear. then you will understand how easy or difficult it is. for example, if you have not climbed Mt Everest, do you think it is wise to exhort others to climb it?

juanorellana

Let in your fears go are not easy i understand that. since we are all full of fear all the time.
i have come to the conclusion that is part of brain a permanent part that exist.
to let go of your fears you must learn to recognize it first. after you realize what thoughts come from fear.
you have to realize that those thought are lies you are telling your self. to keep you from being free.
i am not saying that i have been able to let go of my fears however, i am well on my way to conquering them.
i have learned to recognize it after that it is a matter of getting in touch with my subconscious and understanding that
what i am feeling is based on a lie that i tell my self base on fear.

NOTaGangsta

I am really scared of moth and butterflies.

juanorellana

really? i am guessing your being sarcastic. any how. you are afraid however you dont know you are.

aMatt

really? i am guessing your being sarcastic. any how. you are afraid however you dont know you are.

I can appreciate your ah ha in regards to fear. Consider spending less time assuming the minds of others, though. Its easier when we stay in our own brains, wiser.

If you look closely at fear, how does it relate to attachment?

juanorellana

attachement is feeling of suffering. you feel attached to someone when you suffer from not being with them.
fear a loosing that person is a subconscious emotion. it just grabs you and consumes you.
since we are not able to just change how our subconscious reacts and effects us we only see the outcome of fear us attachment which is suffering. but our subconscious is in a corner petrified of loosing that person. if we could talk to our subconscious and make it understand that it doesn't have to be afraid we could over come attachement. which opens up a new subject which what is your subconscious and how do you change it.

DhammaDhatu

the buddha taught there are five hindrances to the bliss of deep samadhi (concentration)

the last of the five hindrances is doubt, which includes fear

:hair:

aMatt

Meditation, and otherwise following the eight fold path. It modifies our subconscious by making our brain stable, intentional.

Do you think we can have fear without suffering? Fear remaining only as a state of physiological arousal to dangerous conditions?

Cloud

Fear is indeed a root cause of much suffering. Otherwise we wouldn't have that extra push to motivate us to think, speak and act in ways that are only avoiding the reality of our lives.

juanorellana

Meditation, and otherwise following the eight fold path. It modifies our subconscious by making our brain stable, intentional.

Do you think we can have fear without suffering? Fear remaining only as a state of physiological arousal to dangerous conditions?

fear will always be there recognizing it and understanding it subconsciously is the key. and no you will always have suffering from fear. however, if fear helps you to avoid a dangerous situation can be good however, you shouldnt avoid a dangerous situation either. you should ask for help and confronted and not let your fear consume you and just run away. if you can manage to recognize that you are afraid instead of running away you could just defend your self. grated that would be dangerous. fear will always cause you suffering. if you avoid a dangerous situation thats good but you will still suffer your mind will be scared later because you didnt recognize fear and there fore you will be traumatized by that experience.

Whoknows

"fear will always be there"

Buddhism is a path beyond fear. It is not necessary to always feel fear. For instance in some forms of insight meditation we look into the nature of emotions and feelings. Now you've found this fear try to find out what it is.

Sabre

I don't say it is 100% Buddhist, but it is funny anyway.

juanorellana

i understand that sounds like i am being egotistical, i was trying to emphasize how important fear is. i have not achieve ego death. but i am on the path. i thought it sounded kinda of high and mighty too. but it is hard to put the truth into words.

thank you for pointing that out though

NOTaGangsta

really? i am guessing your being sarcastic. any how. you are afraid however you dont know you are.

I ain't lyin!!! I am petrified of those things! Really scared of those moth's huge eyes!

juanorellana

Notagansta, if you are afraid of moths you have subconciously look into your self and find out what the fear is from and try to understand it. as conclusion of your meditation you should be able to recognize where it comes from and understand it. then you will realize that it is not real that it doesnt exist and that you dont have to be afraid cause fear doesn't really exist.

DhammaDhatu

i was trying to emphasize how important fear is.

indeed. i agree. this is most important

Dazzle

really? i am guessing your being sarcastic. any how. you are afraid however you dont know you are.

I ain't lyin!!! I am petrified of those things! Really scared of those moth's huge eyes!

I have a (non-Buddhist) friend who had been afraid of Crane Flies for years (also called Daddy-long-legs in UK) and then he remembered that it originated from when he was a small child and woke up to find bits of a crane fly in his hair plus the separate long legs on his pillow one morning.

Anyway,he found the solution to getting them out of the house without fear and without them losing their delicate legs was to sweep them gently into a childs fishing net and then put them outside.

Mr_Serenity

There are two types of fear.
-Phobia fear: Meaning an irrational fear. Like fear of clowns.
-Rational fear: Meaning you show caution around a wild rattlesnake.

I have rid myself of all my phobias, all irrational fears I have none. I take those fears by the horns and rid of them. But yet some people say I have too much ego lol. So if you ask me I don't think fear = ego. I've been alone for a while and I am always working to improve myself.

So maybe ego actually = self centered *or fear.
Which I can say I am somewhat self centered, but I'm not selfish. Just for right now in my life there is no one who should come before me in importance. I don't have children or a girlfriend.

TiaP

really? i am guessing your being sarcastic. any how. you are afraid however you dont know you are.

I ain't lyin!!! I am petrified of those things! Really scared of those moth's huge eyes!

LOL too funny! Only because I used to live in mortal terror of moths too! No idea where it came from but was cured one night when on a summer work-related retreat I had to walk into a room one evening that had the lights left on and windows opened. The floor and walls were covered in hundreds maybe thousands of moths. I couldn't back out, I had to go in and lead this discussion. It cured me! NOTaGangsta did I read somewhere you live in New Zealand? If so, how do you deal with those enormous flying huhu bugs?

Yishai

attachement is feeling of suffering. you feel attached to someone when you suffer from not being with them.
fear a loosing that person is a subconscious emotion. it just grabs you and consumes you.
since we are not able to just change how our subconscious reacts and effects us we only see the outcome of fear us attachment which is suffering. but our subconscious is in a corner petrified of loosing that person. if we could talk to our subconscious and make it understand that it doesn't have to be afraid we could over come attachement. which opens up a new subject which what is your subconscious and how do you change it.

Add "me" or "I" where you say "you". Like matt said, not all are the same. By saying that this is your experience with fear, you may get empathy and sympathy which is something everyone can gain/learn from

IronRabbit

The ultimate fear - fear of death - is the basis for all human fear - and the goal of all religion to conquer - plain and simple. Conceptualizing one's endpoint (annica) and all that it entails sends tendrils of fear into every facet of existence (dukkha) - even joy - the fear of losing it. Conquering the fear of death is a mighty feat - one which many lie to themselves about - or, simply misinterpret. This conquest connotes destruction of the fear - but more likely, welcoming fear as an old friend with compassionate hospitality goes farther toward awakening to reality. Perhaps fear of moths is the fear of having lived that existence in a former incarnation and the dread of that subconscious recognition. Maybe not. Anyway, invite your fear for tea - making fear welcome takes some of the power it derives from the aversion it craves as sustenance. Feed your fear spaciousness.

tess

Fear is indeed a root cause of much suffering. At the same time it has very useful aim. If not for a fear – evolution would not stand a chance.


Mr Serenity has made a very important statement.

‘’There are two types of fear.
-Phobia fear: Meaning an irrational fear. Like fear of clowns.
-Rational fear: Meaning you show caution around a wild rattlesnake.’’

Funny enough almost no animal suffers from the first. At the same time, I doubt if animals feel ‘fear of death’. Their ‘ego’ / or whatever you will call this with animals/ take care of avoiding death.
Animals can even be altruistic and sacrifice themselves for ‘sense of ourselves’. Only few humans could do it in our history.

However, we came up with ethics.

Fear, ego is bad but at the same time brought humans to the place we are.

tess

The ultimate fear - fear of death - is the basis for all human fear - and the goal of all religion to conquer .

To conquer or brainwash was people with a ‘hope’?

juanorellana

i would appreciate it if everyone kept their thoughts to the issue at hand and please keep any remarks that dont further the issue of understanding ego and fear.

thank you

IronRabbit

The ultimate fear - fear of death - is the basis for all human fear - and the goal of all religion to conquer .

To conquer or brainwash was people with a ‘hope’?

Please clarify this unintelligible sentence.

If the meaning is that "hope" of an afterlife or rebirth is a form of brainwashing - couldn't agree more.

Conquering the fear of death as a goal for religion can be called anything one likes - if the results are attained what difference? Claiming one way is the only way to allay the fear of death is truly brainwashing.....

Phoenix

...fears are not always present in your conscious mind. it hides in your subconscious.
i have come realize that we are all full of fear. more then we could ever imagine. it also the main reason we have not achieved enlightenment.

I think this is a profound realization for one to have and certainly one that can have a dramatic impact on ones life. If more of us understood our own minds, we would see the path Buddha talked about much more clearly.

But the question, for me anyways, becomes this: if fear is what's holding us back from enlightenment, how do we negate fear from the equation? Is it even possible to live fearless? Maybe there is an even more subtle level we've not yet experienced/understood that we can use toward this purpose. Something that permeates our psyche. Something unshakable; less volatile than fear, as Buddha alluded to. Can there be anything else? If so, is it worth our time to investigate what's operating behind fear? I have my own experience and thoughts on this, but I will leave you with that question to ponder.

With peace,

juanorellana

really? i am guessing your being sarcastic. any how. you are afraid however you dont know you are.

I ain't lyin!!! I am petrified of those things! Really scared of those moth's huge eyes!

I have a (non-Buddhist) friend who had been afraid of Crane Flies for years (also called Daddy-long-legs in UK) and then he remembered that it originated from when he was a small child and woke up to find bits of a crane fly in his hair plus the separate long legs on his pillow one morning.

Anyway,he found the solution to getting them out of the house without fear and without them losing their delicate legs was to sweep them gently into a childs fishing net and then put them outside.

i see i think what you are saying is that your friend used compassion and love toward his fear thereby making them disappear. i was thinking about this today. love and compassion i think is the key. i discussed this with a friend earlier today as well. your mind is full of fear however your also full of compassion and love.

juanorellana

Phoenix
But the question, for me anyways, becomes this: if fear is what's holding us back from enlightenment, how do we negate fear from the equation?
by showing our fear compassion and love.

juanorellana

showing compassion and love in it self seems to be an easy thing to do. however, we are talking about showing compassion towards your own fears in your mind. so it is not going to be simple either. i will meditate on this

federica

More than compassion is to realise they are Mind-wrought. They are not from 'somewhere else'. They all begin in your mind.
So compassion is for yourself, not the fears in your own mind. That's where they are generated.

You have compassion for you, but realise the fears are empty.
Insubstantial.
imaginary.

Cloud

You face the fears, keeping firmly in mind that everything created is subject to destruction. There is an end, somewhere, so face death and all the fears it evokes and get over it. "The world does not know that we must all come to an end here;—but those who know it, their quarrels cease at once." (Dhammapada)

juanorellana

i realized this as well that you have to show your self compassion. showing your self compassion is easier said then done. also, fear does have an end. however ultimately it is yours. showing your self compassion, when you are full of fear is almost impossible. Federica, you are right that it is your self you have to show compassion to. however, if you are afraid of something in your mind that your subconscious cannot let go of. how do you show compassion to your self. i mean you cant exactly give your self a hug. fear is a deep complicated thing it is everywhere in your minds subconscious. i have been trying to understand how to eliminate fear by using compassion as well. i know that if mercy is compassion but are there other acts of compassion in your mind that we could use to show ourselves compassion? i believe showing people you love them can heal you fear.