“It’s okay to have emotions. Just make sure they don’t have you.” ~ Sarah Platt-Finger, ISHTA Yoga Senior Teacher
So, it happened. Over the past month since I gave notice at my corporate job and took the leap into working for myself, I have been amazed by how little fear has risen to the surface. Actually, it hasn’t risen up at all. Yesterday while in my meditation in my training class, it surprised me as it rose up and expressed itself with a sound akin to “Ah!”And then it passed away just as quickly, and as surprisingly, as it rose up.
The moment and its lessons were not lost on me. In that one second, I learned a lot about fear and perseverance:
1.) Fear is like an air bubble. It wants to be recognized and have a chance to express itself. The more we resist it and deny it, the larger that bubble becomes. If we can get ourselves into a neutral state (I recommend meditation to help with this), then the bubble can rise up to the surface and dissipate. Let fear come, but then let it go.
2.) Fear is like quicksand. If we begin to flail around in quicksand, it will swallow us whole. Remain still and we float to shore. The same is true for fear. When it comes upon us, we may feel the need “to do.” And by that I mean we may feel the need to do anything because we feel that doing anything is much better than doing nothing. It’s hard to be afraid and stay still, but that’s exactly what is needed if we want to find our way to the other side of fear, which is freedom.
3.) We have all the tools we need to banish fear. This is the most amazing insight that came from my panic moment. My meditation allowed the fear to surface and ask me, “Hey, are you sure you know what you’re doing?” In the stillness that the meditation induced in my mind and body, the answer clearly and quickly rose up – “Yes.” And in an instant the fear faded. It got the answer it needed.
This is the brilliance of meditation: it lets us face our fears but also gives us the tools to effectively and efficiently release them. We let go of fear (and every other thing that no longer serves us) because we ourselves let go. For a few moments every day, we stop doing and in those moments we feel the deep strength and wisdom that we always carry within us. Tap into that, and we find that we already have every answer to every challenge we will ever face. Go in and we find that it is this inner strength that allows us to rise.
The short of it:
Writer. Health, education, and art advocate. Theater and film producer. Visual artist. Product geek. Proud alumnae of the University of Pennsylvania (BA) and the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA). Inspired by ancient wisdom & modern tech. Proliferator of goodness. Opener of doors. Friend to animals. Fan of creative work in all its wondrous forms. I use my business skills to create passion projects that build a better world. I’ve been called the happiest New Yorker, and I try hard to live up to that title every day.
The long of it:
My career has stretched across Capitol Hill, Broadway theatre, education, nonprofit fundraising, health and wellness, and Fortune 500 companies in retail, media, entertainment, technology, and financial services. I’ve been a product developer and product manager, theater manager, strategic consultant, marketer, voice over artist, , teacher, and fundraiser. I use my business and storytelling to support and sustain passion projects that build a better world. In every experience, I’ve used my sense of and respect for elegant design to develop meaningful products, services, programs, and events.
While building a business career, I also built a strong portfolio as a journalist, novelist, freelance writer, interviewer, presenter, and public speaker. My writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, PBS.org, Boston.com, Royal Media Partners publications, and The Motley Fool on a wide range of topics including business, technology, science, health, education, culture, and lifestyle. I have also been an invited speaker at SXSW, Teach for America, Avon headquarters, Games for Change, NYU, Columbia University, Hunter College, and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. The first book in my young adult book series, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, was acquired by a publisher and launched in November 2017. I’m currently working on the second book in the series.
A recovering multi-tasker, I’m equally at home in front of my Mac, on my yoga mat, walking my rescue dog, Phineas, traveling with a purpose, or practicing the high-art of people watching. I also cut up small bits of paper and put them back together as a collage artist.
My company:
I’m bringing together all of my business and creative career paths as the Founder of Double or Nothing Media:
• I craft products, programs, and projects that make a difference;
• I build the business plans that make what I craft financially sustainable;
• I tell the stories that matter about the people, places, and products that inspire me.
Follow my adventures on Twitter at https://twitter.com/christanyc and Instagram at https://instagram.com/christarosenyc.
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3 thoughts on “Leap: Meditation Teaches Us About Fear and Perseverance”
Most of us have been on airline flights during a rainstorm or perhaps even thunderstorms. I remember taking off in one and feeling somewhat nervous! Even though it was mid-day it appeared very dark outside due to all the thick, dark clouds. Our pilot took us higher and higher and then, amazingly, we arose OVER ALL the dark clouds!! We could see them below us but here above them was only sunshine!! Bright sunshine and blue, blue skies!! It was there all along – we just hadn’t
seen it through all those dark clouds. I have reminded myself of this experience at times when I’ve been mired down in dark fears …. And I just keep on reaching for that sunshine that I know has to be there.
Christa Avampato 
Most of us have been on airline flights during a rainstorm or perhaps even thunderstorms. I remember taking off in one and feeling somewhat nervous! Even though it was mid-day it appeared very dark outside due to all the thick, dark clouds. Our pilot took us higher and higher and then, amazingly, we arose OVER ALL the dark clouds!! We could see them below us but here above them was only sunshine!! Bright sunshine and blue, blue skies!! It was there all along – we just hadn’t
seen it through all those dark clouds. I have reminded myself of this experience at times when I’ve been mired down in dark fears …. And I just keep on reaching for that sunshine that I know has to be there.
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Jacquie, I love that story! Such a wonderful analogy for life!
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