According to one definition, fear is defined as "a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid."

The element in the definition that I want to highlight and work with is the part of the definition that states "whether the threat is real or imagined". There is a good clue in that statement.

What it tells us is that our physical, mental and emotional response is exactly the same whether the threat is real or imagined. What this means is that we cause ourselves a huge amount of grief by imagining events and scenarios which are completely imaginary and have no basis in reality.

How often do we waste hours and days imagining possibly dangerous and/or damaging outcomes only to have everything work out and nothing bad happen? While it is wonderful that we managed to escape the manifestation of our fears in a real-world environment, what toll have we taken on ourselves in terms of the impact we've caused on a physical, mental and emotional level?

By understanding that our body chemistry reacts in exactly the same way whether the threat is real or imagined, and now that it's been scientifically proven that under stress our body chemistry literally changes and negatively impacts our immune response, it means that we need to minimize the amount of fear to which we expose ourselves. It means that we have to become fully present and aware of what thoughts we allow to run through our minds.

We all know that it's so much easier said than done. The concept of being fully present and monitoring one's thoughts is an easy one to understand, and can be extremely difficult to execute. However, there is no other answer. NOW is all we have, and all we need. We will never have yesterday, the minute that just passed or the minute that's still to come. All we have is NOW, and if we hope to have a next "now" that is to our liking, then we need to make sure that we've taken care of the current "now" to the best of our ability.

Only by being fully present in THIS moment now, and giving whatever it is that we're doing in this moment our full attention, can we assure a good outcome in the "future".

We can take a lesson from the animals in the wild. They have no worries or cares from one moment to the next while they wander around to find their food and water, and just generally enjoy the day. They don't wander around wondering about whether they will be attacked by a predator sometime that day, or the next day or in three weeks time.

Until there is actually a predator that is around them, they are calm, content and at peace with themselves and the world. As soon as a predator comes into their environment, they react appropriately in that moment. As soon as the danger has passed, they are back to being calm, content and at peace, and don't worry about when the predator may come back.

Being present in each moment takes a lot of discipline, but in the long run the benefits far outweigh the effort required. Energy Medicine is particularly effective in helping to shift old patterns and help us overcome being stuck in a fearful state.