The Heart Whispers, Fear Shouts
El Corazón Susurra, el Miedo Grita
A discussion about discernment: learning to distinguish between fear that protects and fear that constrains, and how to listen to the quieter voice of the heart.
The Heart Whispers, Fear Shouts
A discussion about discernment: learning to distinguish between fear that protects and fear that constrains, and how to listen to the quieter voice of the heart.
I'm afraid of jumping in front of a moving bus. Discernment says: not "fear toward" in this moment. That's not the right thing. Don't go toward that fear.
Well, one of the special cases is jumping in front of a bus that's stationary.
Right. Then there's another obvious classic example: you like someone, you've liked this person for a long time, and you feel there's a little vibe. Should you approach and maybe say something? There's fear, but it's a fear of rejection. Are you going to die if you say something? No. So in that case, yes, fear toward. Move toward that fear.
The gray zone
Those are two obvious examples, but most of our life is lived in the gray zone, where it's harder to figure out for ourselves what the right thing is. That's where we develop discernment. You could think of discernment as aligning with a kind of universal note, a universal desire, the deep heart, which whispers its truth and guides you in alignment with your deepest self, or the universe, or God. I'm offering a range of frameworks to see which one resonates, because for some people you say "God" and they recoil. So maybe it's "the universe," or maybe it's "your deep self," whatever fits.
Discernment is this open looking: using the information and the mind to consider options, while also maintaining an openness and a listening to something deeper, something that refuses to treat the voice of fear as absolute truth.
Fear's bargain
Fear says, "Don't do this. Do this. And if you do what I say, I will disappear. I will get out and stop bugging you." That's what fear does. And so we comply: "I hate fear, I'll do whatever you say just for you to leave."
There's a saying: the heart whispers, fear shouts. And that's the work: to realize how much we are listening to fear, and to recognize that listening to the heart requires a lot more attention.