I rarely read books from start to finish. I tend to open them up at a section, read a few pages, get what I need and then move on. When my eagerly anticipated delivery of May Cause Miracles by Gabrielle Bernstein arrived I initially jumped in to doing the same thing. I flipped through it, read some parts here and there and then temporarily put it aside.
In several of the coaching sessions I have had with my clients recently, this book seems to keep coming up in conversation. Many of my clients are completing the daily work in this book alongside the work we are doing in our sessions, with really positive results.
Seeing my clients are making such a powerful commitment to their own inner work, I thought – well why shouldn’t I? So, I will be committing to working through this book from start to finish. It is a 40 day workbook with exercises and meditations with the intention of releasing fear and creating subtle yet miraculous shifts.
So, today is day 1: Witnessing Fear. As I previously mentioned I have recently changed my morning routine, and I will now be bringing this work in to my precious morning time. For the next 40 days it will be me and Gabby, hanging out at 6am, by candlelight. Meditating. Doing the work. Creating miracles.
Witnessing Fear
Fear plays out in our lives in so many different ways. And I am learning that any time you are on the journey of really stepping up, playing big and moving beyond what you ‘know’ fear is going to come up. It is a beautiful indicator that you are growing – if you are aware of it. And this is why witnessing fear is so powerful. If it is playing out unconsciously and totally sabotaging you then it will stop you dead in your tracks when you attempt to move forward.
But once you are aware of them, these fears become perfect opportunities to learn and grow.
We all have the same underlying fears – fear of not being good enough, fear of not being loved, fear of not being accepted etc. Just because you have these fears does not mean there is anything wrong with you. Do not use these fears as a reason to beat up on yourself.
But for each of us, these fears will play out differently depending on our lives circumstances. They may cause us to be over-critical of ourselves or others. We may mentally tear people down or make them wrong. We will compete and work hard to become better than someone else. We will place judgements on people, events or ourselves. We will look to the external world for our comfort, security and sense of self. We will hold resentments against people who we feel have hurt us. We will become arrogant and aloof to appear superior to others. We will self-protect, attack, manipulate and control.
In Gabby’s book, the starting point is simply to witness these fears. Awareness is such a large part of the journey and without it you cannot create any change.
I have done a lot of work in the past around clearing my fears. But I am finding that as I step more and more in to my truth, the fearful ego voice has been even sneakier at pulling me back. Fear is playing out in subtle ways and I know I need to become very aware of what is going on so that I can re-set my mindset and reconnect with love.
If you are wanting to step on to the path of transforming your fear, dig deep and do the work darlings. Buy the book.
Powerful Questions To Begin Witnessing Fear
1. What experiences trigger my fear?
2. What thoughts trigger my fear?
3. What are the feelings that come over me when I am in fear?
4. How does fear affect my behaviour?
Take some time today to sit down and work through these questions and then sit few a minutes afterwards to really process and feel what it is that has come up for you.
Are you reading May Cause Miracles at the moment? How did you find the chapter on witnessing fear? I would love for you to share your thoughts and experiences below.
With love,
Connie x
I just got the book a few weeks ago. Looks like a promising + life changing + powerful one.
I really feel that FEAR is inverted faith. When you have faith that everything is as it is and works out for the best, there really isn’t a point worrying or being afraid. 🙂
Of course, the ego (as you say) puts up a bigger fight when we are nearing the light – and boy, I’ve been feeling that A LOT. Holding the faith, marching on.
P/S: LOVE the new site. Can’t believe I just only discovered it today. I feel like I’ve been living under a turtle shell. Can’t wait to see ya soon!! x
Yay Jia Ni, isn’t the book wonderful! I love what you shared about faith, as I too agree that it is the key to being able to move beyond fear. It is about having faith in love, faith in ourselves and faith in the the truth of who we are.
Can’t wait to see you soon too! x
Connie, thank you so much for sharing! I’ve worked through the questions at the bottom of this post and found out something about myself! I’m ready for this journey. Thanks for helping me.
Hi Holland, those 4 questions are powerful aren’t they! I am so happy to hear that they were able to help you. I definitely recommend you read the whole book – it is amazing x
Hi Connie, Awesome new website! Love it! It’s crazy that when you get clear about what you want books fall off the shelf, articles pop out at you, you notice courses and posters you usually wouldn’t! This book has been on my ‘to buy’ list for a while and yesterday I final bought it and now you’ve written about it! Just fabulous! The Universe is def. telling me to witness my fears + conquer them. And even more exciting I am going to be seeing Gabby in just over a weeks time 🙂 Yay!!!!
Hi Nicola, aaah how amazing that you will be seeing Gabby live!! I am so excited for you. You are most definitely being guided to read that book x
Hey Connie! I’m so exited to see that you are reading this book. It’s sitting on my shelf but I just haven’t felt ready to start it up quite yet. I might have to join in on your party! It’s most likely resistance on my part since I know I desperately have to work at witnessing fear. Isn’t strange that I fear witnessing fear? Haha! Awesome post and can’t wait to see more to come xo
Hi Jacqueline, yes join the party!! You feel fear when you witness your fear, because you are unveiling the ego and starting to break it down. The ego doesn’t like that so it will throw a whole heaps of resistance at you to stop you doing it. You gotta push past that and just get started! Im telling you it will be worth it 🙂 xx