Selfcraft - Meeting our Fears Inside Outside.

Wilderness quests, at times, bring up many fears. There is an inherent risk of changing weather, terrain, flora and fauna, injury, thirst, hunger, and getting lost in the wilderness. 

The nature of human fear is such that one starts worrying about all the things that could go wrong even before they happen. Statistically, humans face more everyday danger and threats in urban places than in the wilderness. The strange thing about fear is that it travels along, and wherever humans go, they take their fears along. 

In the selfcraft expeditions that I design and facilitate, I have always noticed that participants have initial anxiety and uncertainty as they step into the unknown wilderness. Some of their fears come from the need for certainty and the discomfort of the outdoor environment. 

However, life is not designed to be certain and comfortable; it always has an element of uncertainty weaved in. Safety is still a priority in the outdoors and can be taken care of with proper planning, preparation, and skills. Facing uncertainty and discomfort is a different mind game itself as it has more to do with the person's internal temperament than what he/she perceives in the external. 

Fears limits and filters the reality of life and creates a perception of life based on one's inner core beliefs. As participants get to spend more time in the wilderness, their initial fears and discomfort turn into occasional apprehensions with exposure. They come to face the inherent nature of an uncertain world, and their concerns taper off as they face their inner reality for what it is. Openness, acceptance, and wonder leads them to engage with life in the present with deep curiosity and enthusiastic engagement. 

I have always considered the wilderness to be an excellent place to experiment with various human behaviors. Participants get to discover experientially that their worries and fears are illusions that cannot be changed but can be released if they can get know the nature of the illusion's non-existence upclose within.  

The vastness and silence of the wilderness teach a big lesson that letting go cannot happen outside, whether one is afraid of people, things, or situations. These fears are all non-existent in reality and are a figment of the imagination. On the journey, it gradually becomes clearer that the only place to let go of fear is by going deep inside one;s own self. 

If we let our fears control us, then we let the fear win over us. Instead, we can use fear to teach us something about ourselves. It is precisely in the wilderness that such a profound transition takes place through contemplation and deep inner work. I can imagine no better place to do that kind of inner work than on a wilderness quest such as selfcraft.  

The nature of fear is such that it mostly lives in mind and is associated with either the past or the future. The wilderness with all its mesmerizing natural elements creates a Here and Now residing place. The participants are constantly being pulled back into the Now moment from their mind-based projections. The awareness of the present moment gives them the insight that their fears are just aspects of their mind that disappears with mindful awareness. They get to discover that there are no fears, anxieties, and there are no problems to solve in the Here and Now. 

Participants get to experientially dwell on the evolutionary origins and ecological contexts of the many fears they hold. They get to understand that fears came from a need for survival when humans lived in nature. They relate the evolutionary connection of fear with the many threats they perceive in the urban life. This adventure of learning from nature helps dispel fear that is no longer useful and brings insight to be more realistic towards taking risks in life without panic, overwhelm, or delusion. 

One of the many benefits of the selfcraft quest is the expanding circle of courage and acceptance. Participants turn towards their inner fears with acceptance; instead of constantly brooding about them, they get to engage with them closely and let go of them by releasing the illusion for what it is, a mirage that is non-existent and out of time and place.

Fear and courage can feel the same on a bodily-emotional sensing level. The only difference is that courage is the choice that comes in the right action that one takes which leads to greater freedom in any situation. 

What fears are you ready to let go of?

Diyanat Ali

Self Transformation Coach and Selfcraft Guide.

For details on next selfcraft check - https://www.diyanat.in/p/selfcraft-quest-in-wilderness.html