Imagine a tunnel consisting of only golden light, warmth, harmony, happiness and pure energy that takes you to a higher level to be in the present moment void of any fears or past negative beliefs. This ideology of “The Golden Tunnel” is what we strive for as humans everyday. I believe most of us don’t know how to get out of the dark tunnel of fear because of result of our environment that was programmed by our past experiences and sometimes our core negative thoughts which often times result into limitations that we put on ourselves. Ironically, now that it’s summer, warm weather and tons of sunlight tend to enlighten spirits all around, and bring even those who tend to isolate or are in bad spirits out of their shell. The sun’s golden rays do reflect externally how we all want to feel inside which is pure happiness, warmth, and harmony, although a majority of us live on the border of darkness. This so called border of the dark tunnel is basing decisions and reactions on internal fear, with a deep down struggle of wanting to break through to the “The Golden Tunnel.” I truly believe that everyone in life goes through the dark tunnel at one point or another, and then the choice ultimately is in our hands to break through and dive into “The Golden Tunnel.” This theme of the dark looming tunnel of fear is seen in everything from the media to most recently a blockbuster movie I saw this past weekend, Woman in Gold starring Helen Mirren and Ryan Reynolds.
This move inspired me to explore the concept of fear, and how we can either live our lives as a prisoner in a dark tunnel or emerge and move beyond into “The Golden Tunnel." The director paints a portrait of former holocaust survivor, Maria Altmann’s (Helen Mirren) living a serene life in LA in which she manages a high-end boutique. The movie opens up with her learning that that she may be the rightful owner of several high end paintings, one which was Gustav Klimt, a 1907 gold-spangled rendering of her aunt, Adele Bloch-Bauer. The simple act of reclaiming what was hers from her traumatic past reopens up past wounds of fear. A fear bigger than her soul can handle. A fear of confronting a country that she views with unexplainable terror that no one should live through. The man she convinces to help her , Randy Schoenberg (Ryan Reynolds), a corporate lawyer with a shaky resume but reputable degrees, and a famous family lineage. Notably, the theme of fear is present throughout the whole entire movie from her flashbacks of escaping the Nazi’s, to her fear of leaving a familiar and comfortable life in Austria to the unknown in the USA, and to even her owns fears while growing up as a young women not meeting her parent’s approval. After 60 years of leaving country she use to call home, the wounds that never fully healed have resurfaced to be completely stitched up! Initially going there she was so sick to her stomach at the thought of returning, refusing to even speak the language as they arrived aboard. However, once she settled into her country, flashbacks of the past begin to emerge and she confronted good old “fear” by speaking publicly at an art restoration convention during her visit. Her fear propelled into a positive event garnering more press and momentum for her voice and story to be heard, as well as shedding light on The Holocaust, an account never to be forgotten. As the movie progresses into her story of her famous battle to reclaiming past art that was rightfully hers, she begins to peel layers of her internal fears and is able to come to terms with the past by letting go of all those bad feelings trapped inside all those years which allow her to be finally free, a freedom of present moment and pure happiness. I believe as humans we tend to cover up our fear with a bandage that never fully heals a hundred percent and prevents us from living life in “The Golden Tunnel.” I know I'm always in the process of striving to be in "The Golden Tunnel" and here are tips that have helped me push past the dark tunnel of fear and into a "golden one!"
BELIEVE IN A HIGHER POWER
No matter what religion you practice or what you believe in, it’s so important that you believe in a higher power watching and protecting you. Once you have a higher power your idea of fear diminishes greatly and you can let go to know that you are being protected and to stop worrying about the outcomes and results going certain ways.
BE AWARE
The first part of overcoming anything especially fear is to be aware of your fears, and then identify which fears are causing chaos and preventing you from being happy.
FOCUS ON THE NOW
When you really focus the mind in the present moment and not on past ruminating thoughts, and accept what is rather than dwelling backwards this in turn creates positive thoughts that shape tomorrow.
APPLY EFT TECHNIQUES
Emotional Freedom Techniques help alleviate anxiety and fear inducing feelings. This technique allows you to use your fingertips to tap meridian points on your body while thinking of a fear you have and it alleviates and sometimes gets rid of the fear altogether. Please Google it and there are demonstrations on YouTube.
TRUST WITHIN YOUR GUT AND DON’T OVER ANALYZE
Often times fear paralyzes us so bad that we cannot make a simple decision on our own. Fear reaches out for many opinions and approvals and that’s when fear becomes crippling. For decisions always trust your gut initially, because it will never lie. Fear will disappear when you reach out less for approval and opinions and don’t over analyze your decision once it’s made. I know this is harder than said, because I struggled with this for years, but the more I practice to trust myself the more empowered I feel and the more I chip away at that fear.
ACCEPT CHALLENGE
Accept challenge and difficulty as a part of life, and face it with a positive attitude rather than viewing yourself as a “victim” or feeling self-pity for what has happened.
FACE YOUR EMOTIONS AND FEEL
Observe your emotions when facing fear and don’t resist them, but feel them and reprogram those thoughts with new ones that make you let go of those self defeating thoughts which create fear trapped inside.
WRITING
Writing is such a powerful tool in healing ourselves. Write down your emotions in a journal tied to your deepest fears and have a plan in overcoming these fears whether it’s therapy, hypnosis, entering a support group, or just talking to a life coach you can choose the best route for you!
GET COMFORTABLE WITH UNCOMFORTABLE
No matter how uncomfortable you feel with dealing with pain from your past, sadness, or anger, learn how to sit and feel these emotions without using anything to numb those feelings. Learning how to be uncomfortable with uncomfortable feelings from the past or embracing new changes in the present gets better with practice. It’s literally an art of being able to deal with uncomfortable feelings and then adapt and learn to let go to create a better tomorrow.
CELEBRATE YOURSELF!
Forget that you learned that celebrating your victories is bragging and egotistical because it’s not! You have every right to be proud of who you are and anything you do! Whether it’s a small accomplishment like going to the gym, or stopping smoking for a week, or even starting a blog –lol it’s important that you are your biggest fan and give yourself credit for all of your victories whether it’s small to big!
DIVE IN
Whatever fear you have you need to dive right in and face it. Often times our fears may be bigger than we can handle by ourselves and if this is the case, this calls for professional help like a counselor, therapist, or a 12 step program to help you over overcome this.
DON’T BE ASHAMED OR EMBARASSED
The biggest reason people live in fear is that they feel shame, embarrassment, and care more what people think than getting the proper help to get out of the dark tunnel. Don’t ever be ashamed or embarrassed of who you are or what you have gone through because the more you own up to and embrace it the more freedom you will have from your fears.
VIEW LIFE WITH THE GLASS HALF FULL APPROACH
Learning how to be happy and deal with fear is all in your thoughts and perspective. Being grateful for what you have and focusing on the positive rather than constantly comparing yourself and focusing on what you don’t have is going to rewire your brain automatically. Learning how to view most negative situations with the glass half full approach will lessen your fear and view of negativity, which then creates happiness.
SURRENDER
This is one reason why I am a big believer in yoga and make it part of my weekly routine. Yoga and transcendental meditation is the foundation of the concept of surrendering. When one doesn’t surrender to reality is when one experiences more fear. Being able to surrender to a higher power and let go to what is going is when life really starts. Without having expectations or trying to control others or outcomes is when your fear lessens.
SELF CARE
It’s so important to not forget about yourself and meet your needs first. Make yourself a priority and do self care and that comes down to making your happiness number one. Taking care of yourself through a healthy diet of eating clean, exercising, following your passions, and doing things for you! When your content with yourself is when everything else flows in life.
DISCLAIMER: The nutritional and well-being information on this site is not intended to be a substitute for professional nutritional or medical advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical or health condition.
No comments:
Post a Comment