Ram Dass on Fear
"What does the voice of fear whisper to you? Fear speaks to you in logic and reason. It assumes the language of love itself. Fear says 'I want to make you safe.' Love says, 'You are safe.' Fear says, 'Give me symbols. Give me frozen images. Give me something I can rely on.' Loving truth says, 'Only give me this moment.' Fear would walk with you on a narrow path promising to take you where you want to go. Love says, 'Open your arms and fly with me.' Every moment of your life you are offered the opportunity to choose - love or fear, to tread the earth or to soar the heavens."
Ram Dass on Death
For many of us, the thought of death, thinking of when we or someone we love is going to die, keeps us from being here now. When will we die? How will we die? What will happen after we die? What will happen to our loved ones? What about all the things we hoped to accomplish? These deep fears and anxieties about our survival keep us from living fully in the present moment. Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation. It dies with the body, which is why we are so afraid of death. Death scares the hell out of who you think you are, especially if you think you are this body. Being around death forces you to open to a deeper part of yourself. The shadow, especially the shadow of death, is the greatest teacher for how to come to the light. When you are fully present in the moment, there is no anticipatory fear, no anxiety, because you are living here and now, not in the future.
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