Post by caressa on Nov 4, 2004 1:10:03 GMT -5
Don Richard Riso and Russ Hudson have identified 9 BASIC FEARS that they believe shape our personalities. (Source: The Wisdom of the Enneagram)
1. Fear of being bad, corrupt, evil or defective
2. Fear of being unworthy of being loved
3. Fear or being worthless or without inherent value
4. Fear of being without identity or personal significance
5. Fear of being useless, incapable or incompetent
6. Fear of being without support or guidance
7. Fear of being deprived or trapped in pain
8. Fear of being harmed or controlled by others
9. Fear of loss of connection, of fragmentation.
EXERCISE: While we may feel each of these fears at one time or another, one or two of them will influence us more strongly than the others. Which of these 9 fears do you know or suspect to be your basic fear(s)? Write down examples or situations in which you experience these fears.
Once we've identified our basic fear (or a fear of anything), we can begin to move through it. It helps to know that fears always arise from A MISUNDERSTANDING OF WHO WE REALLY ARE. Our soul is fearless because it knows that nothing can threaten our true nature.
And so, when we're fearful, we can use our imagination to invite our soul to be present. When the courage, love and compassion of the soul can sit with our frightened personality, the experience of BRINGING THE HIGHER TO THE LOWER TRANSFORMS THE FEARS.
Both the fear and the love must come together for WHOLENESS. Affirming love while denying the fear will only give the unacknowledged fear more power in our subconscious. To resolve the fear, we must bring it consciously into the presence of a higher, more causal power.
"Every man has a coward and hero in his soul." -- Thomas Carlyle
1. Fear of being bad, corrupt, evil or defective
2. Fear of being unworthy of being loved
3. Fear or being worthless or without inherent value
4. Fear of being without identity or personal significance
5. Fear of being useless, incapable or incompetent
6. Fear of being without support or guidance
7. Fear of being deprived or trapped in pain
8. Fear of being harmed or controlled by others
9. Fear of loss of connection, of fragmentation.
EXERCISE: While we may feel each of these fears at one time or another, one or two of them will influence us more strongly than the others. Which of these 9 fears do you know or suspect to be your basic fear(s)? Write down examples or situations in which you experience these fears.
Once we've identified our basic fear (or a fear of anything), we can begin to move through it. It helps to know that fears always arise from A MISUNDERSTANDING OF WHO WE REALLY ARE. Our soul is fearless because it knows that nothing can threaten our true nature.
And so, when we're fearful, we can use our imagination to invite our soul to be present. When the courage, love and compassion of the soul can sit with our frightened personality, the experience of BRINGING THE HIGHER TO THE LOWER TRANSFORMS THE FEARS.
Both the fear and the love must come together for WHOLENESS. Affirming love while denying the fear will only give the unacknowledged fear more power in our subconscious. To resolve the fear, we must bring it consciously into the presence of a higher, more causal power.
"Every man has a coward and hero in his soul." -- Thomas Carlyle
. I will be back looking for Lin and others.