Carolyn Gimian and Pema Chodron
Smile at Fear: Awakening the True Heart of Bravery by Chögyam Trungpa begins with this quote:
“When you are frightened by something, you have to relate with fear,
explore why you are frightened, and develop
some sense of conviction. You can actually look at fear. Then
fear ceases to be the dominant situation that is going to defeat
you. Fear can be conquered. You can be free from fear, if you realize
that fear is not the ogre. You can step on fear, and therefore
you can attain what is known as fearlessness. But that requires
that, when you see fear, you smile.”
Last year, Smile at Fear was published by Shambhala, and it has resonated with a great number of readers. The idea that we could disarm our fear by smiling at it is a rather outrageous proposal, yet one that seems intriguing. Fear seems to be a topic for our time. Each of us is afraid of something: Afraid of losing our job, afraid our relationships won't last, afraid of dying, afraid of living—afraid of ourselves altogether. What can we do about it? That's the thing!
Chögyam Trungpa spoke and wrote a great deal about fear and fearlessness as well as about working with hope and fear. Pema Chödrön, the popular teacher, author, and Buddhist nun who studied closely with Trungpa Rinpoche, has also given great consideration to these topics. When the book was in the final stages of editing, she concurred with me (I was the book's editor) that Smile at Fear would be a great title for this collection of teachings. She also volunteered to incorporate the material in the book into several forthcoming public programs, mixing it with her own understanding of this topic. She invited me to join her as the meditation teacher for these programs, and this collaboration has been great for the book and for both of us, I think.
Pema's second and final program is scheduled to take place October 15-17 in the Bay Area. The weekend will be held at the Craneway Pavilion overlooking San Francisco Bay in the Marina District of Richmond. With its beautiful waterfront views, the pavilion will provide a great environment for this urban retreat.
You can read more about the program and register for it at SmileatFear.com.
The weekend is almost sold out, but Shambhala Publications and the Northern California Shambhala Center want you to have a chance to be there. They’re giving away one ticket for all 3 days to one lucky reader of this blog. You have to get yourself there—they aren't covering travel expenses—but this is still a great opportunity to immerse yourself in the teachings from this book.
How do you enter? Simply share your answer to this question with us: What do you think it means to smile at fear? Leave a comment below telling us and be entered to win a free ticket to this rare weekend retreat with Pema Chödrön’s. Travel expenses, again, are not included.
The winner will be selected by random draw on Monday August, 9.
Congratulations to entrant #501!
I hope to see many of you there. Pema has so much to offer us, and this dynamic combination of her radiant and incisive teachings with those of the grand master of fear and fearlessness, Chögyam Trungpa, promises to be a powerful experience for all. When you bring a community of people together who share the willingness to open deeply to themselves and one another, the atmosphere and the effect are unpredictable but undoubtedly worthwhile. I look forward to smiling with you.
Note: If your comment does not appear right away, please do not re-post. Your entry will appear shortly.
To see the fear as a thought and use it for finding the truth.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 11:55 am
To smile at fear means to be able to see through the fear for what it is, something within that needs recognition and acceptance as part of the range of emotions; it grows to demand submission only when it is denied and avoided.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 12:04 pm
When I recognize that fear has come into my awareness again, I notice the familiar feeling. With familiarity is the memory of how I have worked with fear in the past, and my capability to engage with the dynamics of life. I then smile, at recognizing all that is, and how I can let go of some more of my expectations, and enjoy what is.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 12:05 pm
Looking into the eyes of someone who is suffering and accepting them fully. Not trying to change where they are to feel more comfortable with myself. Doing this for myself as well. Experiencing the fear, the insecurity, the discomfort-with open curiosity. With total acceptance.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 12:05 pm
To smile at fear means to know and recognize it's emptiness.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 12:06 pm
What does it mean to smile at fear? To me, it means to have worked with my mind sufficiently to recognize fear as an old friend (or at least a tolerable acquaintance). Its about accepting fear and whatever arises in my mind as just more thoughts. My fear or my sadness or my whatever is OK, maybe even wonderful. I can most definitely work with it, sometimes I can even dance with it.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 12:07 pm
I am responding to the : What do you think it means to smile at fear? Leave a comment below telling us and be entered to win a free ticket to this rare weekend retreat with Pema Chödrön’s.
To be cliché, I think it is, to feel the fear and do it anyway, but with awareness. It is not bracing, forcing, or avoiding, it is moving forward with grace, trust, and opening to the lessons hidden within the fear. I am currently working on getting up in a hand stand in yoga mostly because being upside down terrifies me! The minute my legs get up in the air, my heart starts the race, my body goes rigid, and the strength I know is there, crumbles. A yoga teacher assisting me said, I can’t compete with that amount of rigidity (fear). On my cushion, I reflect on the fear – what is underneath and being gently with myself I keep trying. I don't force my attempts with harsh words such as, you a must. I keep trying, and bracing, but with each attempt the panic begins to shift. I am not there yet, but can say the fear is dissipating. I am smiling at fear!
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 12:07 pm
Smiling at fear is recognizing it as a friend.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 12:07 pm
To smile at fear is to realize the truth of emptiness.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 12:09 pm
dealing with our fears we normally tend to think and be instructed that there is a need to conquer our fear. but this is really a much gentler approach. for me, it means cultivating an open heart.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 12:10 pm
Smiling at Fear means acknowledging fear's presence but allowing it spaciousness to dissipate. With that acknowledgement and space, fear becomes a positive part of your experience as a human being which, in turn, prompts a smile.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 12:12 pm
Smiling, for me, is an expression of joy and gratitude.
And fear comes up in relation to something or someone that I care deeply about. Smiling at fear, then, is a way to acknowledge the gratitude that I feel. It's like saying to the fear, 'Thanks for reminding me that this matters deeply and that I have great capacity to care. I hear what you're here to tell me, now move along, I gotta get on with my life."
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 12:12 pm
If I am smiling at fear, I am in full recognition of it—its call, how it feels in my body, and what it may be pulling me towards. I can recognize it, name it, and let it go. Or, allow it to take me deeper into my own process of detangling what this fear is all about. Smiling, to me, says that I can see it for what it is, and that I am no longer fooled by whatever guise it is wearing in that moment.
Blessings upon us all!
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 12:13 pm
To smile at fear means, to me, to recognize it, love it for its opportunity for growth, and release it with gratitude.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 12:14 pm
Aah! quakey feeling in my belly, liquid legs.
There you are again, old familiar feeling,
sending me signals of fear and threat.
What is it this time, old friend ?
What do I need to pay attention to ?
What needs compassion and care ?
My wobbley smile reminds me to hold steady.
This is the feeling of being human.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 12:14 pm
For me smiling at fear suggests that I have the power to turn my normal thought process upside down and inside out. So many fears are deeply ingrained and finding a way to rid myself of them would truly be a form of en-lighten-ment, a way of lightening my mental "load".
Who would consider smiling at fear? Only the person who understands - even on a superficial level - that fear is merely a mentally constructed "paper tiger".
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 12:17 pm
Smiling at a fear marks the victory that follows getting acquainted with it 'nose to nose', then realizing that it is fabricated, projected. It disregards reality. With the realization, "This fear is an illusion conjured by my worries' trying to protect me," I can dissolve it. Then comes the smile and with it the ability to create a positive vision rather than a nightmare.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 12:19 pm
To smile at fear softens the fear that you think you are going to face. Smiling helps you going beyond your self-created boundary. Reminds you that everything will be okay and that what you experience is all apart of the journey you are on in life.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 12:19 pm
Being able to smile at fear involves the wisdom that is emptiness, that is non duality. With wisdom and compassion together one can smile with bodhicitta.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 12:19 pm
To smile at fear is to acknowledge your basic humanity and send love out regardless of the emotional state. It's staying and wrapping your arm around the thing that usually makes you run away.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 12:23 pm
Turn my frown upside down
I just have to remember to do it...
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 12:25 pm
To welcome the fear with a sense of hospitality, acceptance, compassion. In doing so, the fear reveals it truth.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 12:27 pm
To smile at fear is to validate its no-thingness, as a child would challenge a feared apparition under his/her bed; to have the courage of surrender to accept the moment as part of the free-fall of life: Nothing more, nothing less.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 12:32 pm
Lean into the unpleasant sensations associated with the fear, and look. What's there?
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 12:39 pm
Leaning in to the unpleasant sensations associated with the fear. Looking to see what's behind them. Hmmmm, perhaps nothing but the inventions of my mind.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 12:44 pm
To smile at fear means to use a soft hand when dealing with problems, instead of using a fighting hand. Do not directly oppose the things that are troubling you, but invite them into your life and get to know them better. Fighting sustains the fear and anger, while smiling helps them melt away.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 12:45 pm
Smile at fear.... = accept it as a houseguest, enjoy it's company. Don't leave just because it arrived. Sit down for a cup of tea together.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 12:47 pm
To smile at fear is to know nothing.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 12:58 pm
Whatever the situation, don't take it personally. Honor, respect and appreciate the energy of fear that animates our being.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 1:01 pm
Fear----another door to open, to embrace and learn from, as we travel our humble road to enlightenment. Welcome it as you would welcome a friend---because indeed that is what it is-- the secret is what shall we choose to do with it/
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 1:06 pm
Someone said that fear is excitement without breathing. Smile, take a breath, and the fear transmutes.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 1:18 pm
to smile at fear is to take back your power and not let fear dominate your thoughts and actions
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 1:29 pm
Smiling at fear means to gently make a relationship with fear and create an opportunity to work with it.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 1:30 pm
to accept fear when it comes as my fear. it is part of me and wants my attention. it it trying to tell me something and is using that form because i'm so good @ ignoring & distracting myself. it is not separate, not other, not bad. it is me.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 1:48 pm
My smiling at fear arises from being aware of my reptilian brain wanting to run the show. I am smiling at being present in the moment and fully alive!
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 1:54 pm
Smile at Fear perfectly reflects fearlessness. For me, Smiling at Fear relates with the process of becoming friends with ourselves, which includes relating with the fear that we may experience, and doing so in a friendly and healthy way. Smiling at Fear is in many ways contrary to the popular Western saying, "The only thing to fear is fear itself." That is, fearing fear implies perceiving and relating with fear as if it were an enemy, someone with whom we happen to stumble upon within "our" territory, and an unfamiliar intruder who needs to be expelled. Smiling at Fear, rather, is a warm greeting, an expression of a relationship with someone with whom we have become thoroughly familiar with, ourselves and our fear, and so we walk toward it and fully embrace it. Once that happens, we can begin experiencing fearlessness.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 2:03 pm
To understand it's inherent nature ( of which I
haven't a clue ).
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 2:06 pm
My smile is the same one I give to an old friend, fear is so recognizable, and a good teacher.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 2:10 pm
... welcoming whoever/whatever shows up at the door regardless (loosely from one of Rumi's poem)
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 2:15 pm
To smile at fear is to face whatever arises with a sense of "what's next?" I think there might actually be some delight involved. "Both pain and pleasure alike have become ornaments which it is pleasant to wear"
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 2:18 pm
Hmmmm. What does it mean to smile at fear? Some years ago,
I had the opportunity to live in the rainforest of West Papua, New Guinea with tribal hunter-gatherers steeped in a history of head-hunting. I decided I would carry a trade item with me, in case any menacing situations came about. So, I carried an x-ray of my skull.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 2:32 pm
I understand the phrase "to smile at fear" to mean one can recognize the feeling of fear and welcome the experience -- not be aversive to it. Experiencing fear without judgment or opposition allows one to be present enough to see how to act with wisdom.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 2:37 pm
Cut the thought, feel the shiver, the ice,the heat, stare at the demon fear until it makes you smile.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 2:43 pm
Paraphrased, perhaps...whatever comes first, smile at it.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 3:31 pm
To smile at fear is to remain open to your life and to people around you.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 3:44 pm
To smile at fear means to be gentle and curious about it-having compassion for oneself in a time of crisis takes the sting out of it.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 3:47 pm
[...] Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche (1939-1987), whom I first quoted and wrote a little bio for here. This is it: When you are frightened by something, you have to relate with fear, explore why you are [...]
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 3:50 pm
When we smile, we are making a choice. We are chosing something beautiful rather than follow our habits, ways.
We have been given the gift of smile as a physical representation of the real smile in our heart - the smile is trigger for our spiritual heart to become stronger, for our heart consciousness to become more dominant. When we do that we choose unconditional love, peace, joy and wisdom; we let bodhicitta flow. That flow is our connection with the Love in the existence and dissolves our separation, and along with it the symptoms of that separation: fears, burdens, negative thoughts, physical illness, etc (we're very clever we have lots of ideas how to separate ourselves!). And when our heart is dominant, radiating love and light, then our smile radiates that too, then we can share the love without effort or limitation, and help others hearts to become stronger too. Love light to all beings.
Very grateful to our Source for the wonderful gift of Pema Chodron. Very grateful for you too Carolyn for your beautiful practice of sharing.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 3:51 pm
Feel the fear, don't run from it. Work with and thru the fear. Feel the fear, and unless you can't work thru it at all.Try doing what you are afraid of.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 4:06 pm
Billie Holiday may have said it best:
Good Morning, Heart-ache, sit down.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 4:08 pm
Smiling at fear is acknowledging that you are scared, but can sit with the shaky,terrifying,annoying,or breathless feeling of fear. Can I sit with this fearful energy?
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 4:10 pm
[...] buddhist texts) have recently published a collection of teaching from Chögyam Trungpa called … Smiling at Fear [...]
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 4:14 pm
Smiling at fear suggests softening and opening to fear, rather than hardening and resisting. When we are willing to approach our fear, with compassion, our fearfulness and vulnerability can, rather than being an obstacle, become a part of our path to bravery.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 4:56 pm
What does it mean to smile at fear?
First recognize it and hold it gently with respect. Enjoy the fact that nothing is permanent. As painful as it is, the feeling of fear will eventually become less and less toxic to the mind-set. You can smile knowing that fear does not have to be a fixed condition.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 5:11 pm
to smile at fear is to have no fear; and it's the same as to have no hope. it's to be imperturbable, immovable, unshakeable when faced with buddhas or demons, because one is full of love and empty of self at the same time
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 5:30 pm
To smile at fear is that moment when I recognize that I am putting on my armor to protect my tender heart from pain I think I can't handle. Instead, I can relax and smile.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 5:51 pm
Fear comes at me with punches and to destroy me. But, I remember to 1) laugh at it 2) take some breaths and then 3 ( the hardest part - just walk away. How hard is this I ask myself??? Really, really hard,because in the midst of all the eruption and upheaval - it is always difficult to do the above three steps. I am human, but I stumble along and keep working on it and trying to find joy and doing it differently, so that I don't fall down the same hole of nothingness.
Respectfully submitted,
Donna
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 6:04 pm
Smiling at fear
the river collapses
a wagon of debt overturns
another hailstorm takes the crop.
Changing ones face
from rigor mortis
to calendula blossom.
The earth quivers & shakes
undone again
this too is part of it.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 6:24 pm
Smiling at fear is the paralyzing of paralysis. It's the settling of the ice in your blood ablaze, which magically warms and dries the cold sweat on your skin. It means reacknowledging basic goodness. And letting love lead, though you don't know where to. Smiling at fear is inviting the best people into your life. Smiling at fear means loving fear into love. It means you're getting stronger. Smiling at fear means you're human.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 7:54 pm
What is it to smile at fear?
To smile at fear is to meet it, greet it, make friends with it. Embracing it and getting to know it intimately and joining with the way things actually are in a particular inner or outer situation of life showing up in all its fierceness. Beyond all of the what if’s and awfulizing, letting go into the totally not knowing, joining with that not knowing, saying, yes, I don’t know and coming into union with that. And joining with that not knowing is the grace, the truth that sets you free. Opening intimately to fear in this way is like dying before you die. And you discover a great freedom in that, in the very midst of life’s fierceness, that is very profound.
So rather than pushing fear away, opening to it and joining with it in this way, fear is my doorway to freedom, to liberation. So I smile at fear and welcome her, my unexpected guest and friend, my long-awaited liberatrice.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 9:12 pm
To smile at fear is to
not taking it for granted
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 10:53 pm
To smile at fear is to take it by the hand as you would your beloved.
Posted on August 4, 2010 at 11:08 pm
To smile at fear is to smile at myself.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:16 am
Fear is a great teacher, and so one smiles at it in welcome. Fear is a projection on that great big movie screen in our mind: "I am the great and powerful Oz!" We smile at the little man behind the curtain.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:18 am
Be with it.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:18 am
to smile at fear is to choose wide open space
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:23 am
Sourire à la peur...!
C'est lui permettre de se dissoudre.
C'est l'embrasser pour la surmonter.
C'est placer une marque d'affection entre la source de cette peur et ce qui a peur...!
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:23 am
Smiling at fear, to mean, means to first recognize that it is fear and to not turn away. To step forward into it, and in the stepping, smile in deepest gratitude for the vision to see the fear, for the courage to enter the fear, for the discerning wisdom to take action, and for the gift of the unknown which is beyond, through, beneath the fear. Many Blessings.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:25 am
Smiling at fear means to look at your own shortcomings
(in this case fear) with the same compassion and curiosity as we require to survive with joy in all situations. We must face our fear, look it in the eye and say: hello fear, you are my friend and I am learning again today from your existence. What will the subject be today?
Thank you fear, a good idea for discussion today.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:25 am
to be the experience 'fear'
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:26 am
When fear begins to arise I catch it, I study it with curiosity. Why am I afraid? What deep truth about myself can this fear teach me? How can I make this fear my friend and teacher. Once I see this fear as a potential guide on the path, I can smile at it and be at peace...
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:26 am
Smiling at fear ?
Is like filling a space between it's source and what is affected by it. It might be tHe best weapon ever...!
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:27 am
Saying no to ego & yes to love!
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:27 am
Smiling at fear is showing your original face.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:28 am
Fear is just a thought, no different than my excuse for why I'm late. See it clearly and say, "I know you."
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:29 am
:)
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:30 am
Rumi expressed it better than I when he wrote This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they're a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture, still, treat each guest honorably. He may be clearing you out for some new delight. The dark thought, the shame, the malice, meet them at the door laughing, and invite them in. Be grateful for whoever comes because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.
This is fear...an unexpected, even unwelcome guest, but one who will (i want to believe) open my heart to some deeper understanding. So, I welcome and smiling and laughing invite fear in.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:30 am
Smile and nod, smile and nod...
Smiling at fear is giving it a wee "nod", allowing it to come and go. Without getting captured by fear, smiling allows me to observe and learn from it.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:31 am
Smiling at fear my feet keep walking through it all, my heart stays open and my mind remains spacious and free.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:31 am
Smiling at fear is to befriend it. To be with it not in opposition to it. To acknowledge it, not to hide it in shame.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:32 am
A smile is an embrace. To embrace your fear is to accept it and nurture it.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:33 am
It is the center of my spiritual practice. It is the hardest thing for me to do but the most meaningful when i am able to do so
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:33 am
I think that to smile at fear is to recognize it as part of the human condition - and as a connecting point with others, something we all share and have in common. Even the physical act of smiling can help bring a sense of peace and connection. Courage, or having heart, flows from this.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:33 am
to smile at fear is to have the wisdom to know that it is as transient as everything else in the phenomenal world
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:34 am
Smiling at fear would be a totally conscious effort. In order to smile when you are afraid is not a natural response, therefore you would have to step back from the fear to be able to order the muscles of your face to make a smile. This in itself would soften your response to the fear and bring you into a better position to deal with it.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:34 am
I don't know. But I want to find out.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:34 am
to smile at fear is to recognize it as an old companion who doesn't need to be overwhelming.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:34 am
Smiling at fear means to chuckle with the gods. A smile dispenses simple contentment and joy to the smiler and those around him/her.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:34 am
in my life smiling at fear is recognizing something more
important, something valuable can be had right after that smile...
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:36 am
To smile at fear is not so easy. The first step is to go inside and find your smiling peace. Then you can open your eyes - and discover the external source of your fear has disappeared. Easy to say, not so easy to do.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:36 am
To smile means to let your guard down, accept the fear for what it is, and learn from it.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:36 am
If you know horses, or have spent any time around them, you know what it means to "smile at fear." That is precisely what we ask of our domestic steeds all the time when we ask them to work for us and become vulnerable to all of those demands we have of them that frighten them at their core being prey animals. We ask them to do what we must do: to trust, to let go of the unknown and what "might" happen, to become familiar with the unfamiliar, and to turn around...face and walk through the scary rock gardens and caves of life anyway...knowing that who we really are is ultimately safe...that is to smile at fear.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:37 am
Fear is our call to recognize the hidden or shadow parts of ourselves. Fear is a great teacher. When we drop resistance to fear - we are then free to recognize that which needs to have 'light' brought to it.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:40 am
To smile at fear suggests that you've seen through the illusion.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:40 am
Opening to fear,
Sitting with what arises,
Being present now!
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:41 am
To smile at fear is to be brave enough to look at our neurosis and discover that fear is not outside of us, but that it depends on our own misunderstandings, it is about our own clinging to things, our own clinging to people, our own clinging to situations, our own clinging to ways of thinking.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:42 am
it is to embrace it. it is a feeling to be felt nothing more. allow it to pass and rest within its' outcome.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:43 am
Welcome. I have been expecting you.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:43 am
To smile at fear means to make friends with it,to acknowledge it and even to see it as an opportunity or at least as a worthy challenge to go forward through it. The smile is the vanguard of fearlessness. When we smile at fear, we are not denying it, but instead we are bringing it into the realm of meditation and post-meditation. And interestingly enough, when we smile at fear, that friendly mindfulness-awareness of it wakes us up further.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:43 am
To smile at fear is to take heart and realize fear is just an emotion, not something controlling your being.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:43 am
Smiling at fear is taking refuge in the buddhadharma.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:44 am
To smile at fear is to to be curious about the fear, to look it over in wonder and befriend it. Fear to me is a friendly teacher.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:44 am
To smile at fear is to willingly accept a dark side of our existence.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:45 am
To smile at fear is to embrace the essence of humanity in yourself and others.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:49 am
To smile at fear is to allow it to be. It is, for one moment, to drop the story of the fear and to feel the sensation in your body. It is to give it so much space and invite it in. When we do this, we accept it, even embrace it. It no longer becomes the enemy. We transcend and include all, even fear. Our heart--the One Heart is so big it includes everything.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:50 am
Smiling at fear, wow! To be albe to do that would mean. I truly Love and Get who I am.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:52 am
I think that smiling at fear means that we have stepped out from behind our defenses and are solidly in our truth. When we are in our truth, we are grounded in our inner power----fear can not cause us to shrink, wind can not blow us over. I hope to experience more smiling at fear and relax gently into this way of being.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:52 am
To me personally; ‘to smile at fear’ means acknowledging and welcoming the energy ~ embracing it with an open heart. A true opportunity to develop a deeper understanding and compassion towards the ebb and flow my emotional attachments. Be Well
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:53 am
To smile at Fear is to know that Fear is always with us at any given point in time. Running from it doesn't work as Fear will always cut you off at the pass anyway. Turn and walk towards Fear and It will retreat against your fearlessness of it. Tell Fear where to go and that while you may feel afraid, it is not going to win out over you.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:53 am
to smile at fear means to make contact, acknowledge it with a bow, allow it to either envelope you or brush you gently (whichever occurs), to allow it entrance as you breathe it in, and then offering it a sweet smile and soft welcome. this will bring freedom.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:54 am
To be.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:55 am
To smile at fear is to allow ourselves to connect with faith, compassion, and love.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:56 am
Smiling at fear means we recognize fear as a part of us - a part of our delusional view of who we are. Then we can begin to move past "it," connecting with infinity.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:58 am
To smile at fear is to welcome it into your life; accept it as another part of yourself. It's all good.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:58 am
To "Smile at Fear" is to welcome an old friend. Everyone experiences fear along the path of life. If there is no fear, there is no life. Never to experience fear is to lead a protected, heartless and challenge-free life. I think of fear as a "guest" to The Guest House, a beautiful poem by Rumi. The words to tha poem are appended below:
The Guest House
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.
Be grateful for whatever comes.
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
Rumi - 13th century Persian poet and theologian
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 4:58 am
To smile at fear is to overcome the clinging of ego centered reaiity and to embrace all manifestations as Mind.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 5:00 am
To Smile at fear takes the power of fear away...I feel fear when I am concerned about tomorrow or thinking of yesterday...I am learning that the present moment is all there is and when I am in the present moment fear can not take me...I am more powerful than my fears as I have refuge in the budda.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 5:00 am
To smile at fear is an acknowledgement that fear is present, but not "real". Like all things experienced in this life, fear is transient. We cannot pretend that it does not exist; for that will only give it strength. We feel fear, just like we feel distractions during meditation, then move on from it...back to the present moment. By smiling at fear, we appreciate it as another opportunity to be present in the here and now. Fear is not an enemy. It is a teacher and guide along the path.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 5:03 am
By smiling at fear we accept the situation provided to us by the universe to learn whatever lessons we may need to for some spiritual growth. Smiling at fear may help us to gain some levity and strength in dealing with what is facing us. Smiling at fear is not a usual response and I would imagine take some practice for it to become a meaningful tool in our lives. I am definitely game in giving it a try. Thank you
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 5:04 am
Smiling at fear is having the courage to be with your fear and let it touch your heart. It is then when you can realize what it means to be human and reach fearlessness.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 5:04 am
To smile at fear is to surrender to God and trust that there is truly a reason and a lesson in all paths set before us - it is very difficult to look beyond the fear and wonder at it as an opportunity for growth. Part of the trust is a realization that we have within ourselves what it takes to overcome the hurdle before us. As our emotions come full circle we can hopefully find a sense of reassurance that we are stronger than we think and find a way to include some focus on appreciation for a that we do have within us to deal with getting over the hurdle of fear - gratitude is the mother of all virtues.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 5:04 am
When I encounter fear, I try to remember to smile and ask, "What do you have to teach me?" And then I listen.
Posted on August 5, 2010 at 5:08 am