Is the fear that is holding you back right now, real or imagined?

Often, it’s imagined. Our mind creates worst case scenarios to keep us safe and to keep us from proceeding forward. That can happen even when the threat is real.

On Easter Sunday, I was hiking with my family on Saur Mountain in Washington state. The trail was steep but smooth—no rocks. At the base, there were walking sticks. I took one look and thought, why would I need a walking stick on this? It’s only steep. About a quarter of a mile up, the landscape completely changed. The trail narrowed to two feet wide. In some places, it wasn’t more than eighteen inches wide. The orchards around us disappeared, replaced by thousand plus foot drop-offs. For miles ahead, all I could see was the trail hugging the edge of the mountain. I froze. I couldn’t take another step. I announced I was turning around. I’d wait at the bottom. I hadn’t wanted to quit but I also didn’t want to die. My husband and son somehow convinced me to keep going. They found a stick for me to use as a walking stick.

On the way down, I realized that it was my perception that had caused most of my fear. While parts of the trail were treacherous—most of it had patches of grass or even woods before the deadly drop off. Locked in fear, I hadn’t been able to see the whole picture.

But we do that, right? Our perception goes awry, and we don’t want to make that phone call or send that email. Our minds turn something stressful into a life-or-death situation. In instances like that – the email or the phone call, not the hike on the mountain, it’s helpful to disassociate—to allow our lens to grow wider. Instead of putting the focus on what will happen if we, for example, call a doctor’s office or pitch a new business, put some distance between yourself and that action. Literally, see the activity as woman or man making a phone call or sending out an offer. It takes the focus off the outcome.

Try it. Take a situation that you’re dealing with and distance yourself from it. Man typing on computer. Woman sending a letter. Do you feel the stress starting to dissipate? I wish I could tell you I disassociated on the mountain. I didn’t have the clarity. But I did focus on what was real: I didn’t usually fall off trails. My balance was good. There were no rocks on the path. I got to be with my family on the holiday and our oldest child’s birthday.

The hike down was far more enjoyable than the hike up because I recognized what was real and what was imagined.

Give this a try, let me know how it works out for you.

Jin Shin Jyutsu healing tip: Gently hold your index finger, either one, for a few minutes or longer to help ease fear (false evidence appearing real).  The index finger balances bladder and kidney energy. The emotion related to these organs is fear. When practicing Jin Shin Jyutsu, you might twitch, you might hear rumbling in your belly or you might feel sensations elsewhere in the body. This is your energy pathways beginning to balance.