While I was running a sailing charter in Keywest Florida ( Capt'n Bob's Island Adventures ), had a lot of Navy personnel who would charter my sloop for SCUBA diving. Since Keywest was also a SEAL training base for Dolphins, I had a lot of Navy SEALS on some of my charters.

Many people get uncomfortbale when a sailboat leans. Most sailboats always lean because of thier design. When I saw some of the Navy SEALS on some of my charters get a little uncomfortable when the boat would lean, I teased some of them about it.

I think it is due from some past life recalls of a bad or death experience. It's something that will just not go away for some people, even if you are a Navy Seal. Some of them even said that it was a weird feeling that they did not understand.

Were complex creatures for sure !! A long time ago, I was with a group of people talking about fear. What was your greatest fear ? When it came my turn, gave it a lot of thought....

My greatest fear is what I do not know about myself because there are so many aspects of myself that I do not have a handle on. I never know how a certain aspect will react to a situation. It's an ongoing learning experience. I feel that there are some weak aspects hidden somewhere in my make-up. Have not found them yet. The strong aspects have pulled me out of some very bad situations, some of them bordering on terror. In some cases, it's a fear of losing control and giving in to panic in a life or death situation. The difference between a coward and a hero can be as little as five seconds in some events :-)

Of course we have our common fears, snakes, spiders, heights, etc.

My two pet ones have always been snakes and stuffed toy animals.

You can learn a lot about your baser self and some of your past lives by smoking out your fears and trying to trace them back to their source.

Love Bob
_________________
"THE SPIRITUAL ADVENTURE CONTINUES ! "  

This just came in from one of the lab techs that I worked with in Saipan

Oh Bob,
You have just touched on the tip of the iceberg of stuff.

While the SEALS have the inner feeling of trepidation, they still can function because they've been taught how to work through their deepest  anxieties. I see their uncomfortableness as being an inner strength that alerts them that while all may appear good, there may be trouble. Chance favors the prepared.

I believe fear comes from a belief that you have no control.
Even the SEALS, they recognize that some things are beyond their control, but they have learned to embrace it and just deal with it. Do they just shut down and deal with one thing at a time? Or do they process everything and finding no solution they just take care of immediate needs? With your sailboat example, it appears they process everything and have found solutions for problems that don't even exist. Maybe the uncomfortableness comes from solutions they don't want to think about.

I believe fear is just that. The 'unknown'. Whatever it is. It is irrational. It defies logic. But the solution to any fear is learning to recognize it and deal with it accordingly.

Look at 9/11. The people who fought for their plane probably wouldn't have done so if they didn't know about the twin towers. Knowledge is important. They faced their fear because they had nothing else to loose.

Unfortunately we aren't always given enough time to logically deal with situations. Some people can process the information faster and deal with the consequences later. Some people take a bit longer to get up to speed, but can deal with the long term b/c they have come to terms with the situation.

I am fascinated now after 9/11 +5 years,  when you look back at what actually happened and the conspiracy theories, well it's easy to second guess what went on. Unfortunately most will try to use this to their political gains.

Enuf preaching from me.

PjS

I first learned my biggest lesson about fear back when I used to parachute out of not-so-perfectly-good airplanes, back when I was attempting the Army's Special Forces Qualification Course ("Green Berets").

I learned that controlled fear is your best friend. It gives you that edge that keep you from being sloppy and getting yourself or someone else killed. When you stop feeling that edge, it's time to stop until you get it back, if you have a choice. This understanding has served me well in a lot of situations, including a tour in Iraq and a neg ("poltergeist") trying to scare me to get me to move out of *his* apartment (he failed).

I'm not braver than most people, I just know how to handle my fear. And I do have the same fears as you mentioned about Self.

Think of snakes as opportunities to love unconditionally :-) Yeah, sure, right! I can get a machete for you, Bob...so you can have a snake snack before dinner :P (tastes like chicken).

Love,
Rob

Hi Rob,
Your experience reminded me of one I had on a large Ferris wheel  in Montgomery Alabama back in my early Air Force Days.

I climbed on the double Ferris wheel, took my seat when some parents saw me sitting by myself and asked me to let their 6 year old daughter ride with me because they were terrified of them. Their daughter wanted to ride on one more than anything else.   Fine. We boarded OK.  My wheel came to a complete stop while they boarded passengers on the 2nd wheel. We were at the top most position. I remember looking at the skyline and stars when I was overwhelmed with pure terror and wanted to jump off the wheel no matter what.  

The little girl was very excited and pointing out the sites.  The sound of her voice had a calming effect on me.  I silently begged her to keep talking because I broke out into a cold sweat. Wanted to jump off in a bad way. Knew that was not right.   Had no idea what was going on.

The wheel started to move again. As long as I stayed focused on listening to her, I would be OK.    The ride finally ended. Her parents thanked me for escorting her.  Little did they know that their daughter saved my life.

Love Bob

Hi Bob My greatest fears are being inside a lift,as i have a fear of confined places and also my other fear is that i cannot look up at high buildings as i feel so much fear if i do.
My other greatest fears are snakes,spiders and especially moths.
My other fear,is the hours from 5pm to 7pm,i feel so much fear between these hours and i have never understood why,perhaps it was something in a past life i had,but this happens everyday between these hours,but i have learned to live with it.
Love and God bless you Juditha

My greatest fear, Bob? Pshaw!!!!!!!! I eat fear for breakfast!

Just kidding....

mmmhhhh....I guess, that people won't like me....but I know they do....  :)

well, okay, maybe that I won't get up early enough in the morning....

no,,,,well, maybe heights? a little? okay, I'm a sucker in an airplane, but only for a few minutes

mmmmhh...I guess, maybe if my jokes might fall a little flat? That REALLY bothers me. Because I don't have a whole lot of them. And that bothers me even more....

No worries. You know, you read a lot of Cr@#p and hear a lot of Cr@#p (okay, two a's there, don't bother me about it), but it's all Cr@#p.

We have no worries when we are truly alive, because there is only this moment, and it's all so beautiful.  Wherever you are, you have someone to love, even yourself.

What could be better than that? (in the words of one wise sage I know)

love, blink

Hi Bob. I like this thread. I read it all and tried to think of what my worst fears might be now. I think I have a fear that I will trust the wrong person. so I try to be enlightened or smell coffee a lot. ::)
some pleasant memories entail remembering conquering fears. example: at 14 there was a boy I liked. we were hanging at the river one hot summer swinging out into its depths from an old rope. a small bunch of us. everyone was doing flips in the air showing off. I had done this before and knew I could somersault at least 3 loops to everyone's two. memories of another life of killing myself by diving into a rock surfaced briefly. well, I had to get his attention so I conquered the fear. the rope swing to the water was a very long ways at the tip of the bank it did seem. quite exhilerating; then when u reach the apex to let go, u think, ahh, what I did for love. u just know u might die for love. when I climbed upon shore strutting a bit, I got my reward. he positively praised me on the flip. :D but he liked another girl better :(

when I get afraid of things are not in my control I sit down and think what I would do if what I'm afraid of does happen. this seems to calm me down as now I know what I would do in general. I like what PJS said..chance favors the prepared. wise words.

love, alysia

We all know that fear and love cannot coexist. Can love, therefore, overcome the fear situations as mentioned above? I`m not quite sure that relates very well and how would you apply it to a specific fear to conquer it?

Hmmm... fear of being buried alive in a coffin and knowing that you will die slowly. An unlikely scenario for us I think.
Personally, my greatest fear is being trapped in a car crash, where the car catches fire and I am burnt to death. The pain must be unimaginable!

roger  :)

My biggest fear is that I do not understand how reality works. I think that underneath that there is another fear but it is still buried deeply at this point.

Maybe fear is not such a bad thing. That guy who just went on the shooting spree in Montreal had purportedly posted in a blog that he feared nothing (among other strange posts). Not much self-understanding maybe. So maybe if you know some of your fears you at least possess some insight into your self. (Is there really an on-line computer game that simulates the Columbine shootings??? oh...check it out at Wikipedia. Talk about unfaced fears...)

When I was in high achool I was afraid of rejection. This manifest as being afraid of not being popular. When I finally got out of high school and went on to bigger and better things, I looked back at high school and saw how silly the popularity contests were. So I quit being afraid of losing at those games. But I still underneath feared rejection so it manifest in a different way.

Capt'n Bob, is it fun if the boat leans over too far and uh gets on its side the way it is fun in a little, what do you call them, sunfish?

Lucy:

I believe the below is a key key ;). The more we know how reality works, the less reason we have to be afraid.

[quote author=Lucy link=1158165346/0#8 date=1158245834]My biggest fear is that I do not understand how reality works.

Thinking about it i would say my concern would be .. forgetting that i want to be a nurse in my next life in Earth  :)

Fear of uncertainty. I learn about all this stuff about the afterlife but I still do not know my life path. Also I have not been able to achieve what I really wanted to achieve in my working life so far. I want to be a newspaper reporter or radio announcer but its really hard to get a paid gig, so I've been god forbid, working in my parents business consultancy or doing sales and marketing work. Not exactly what I wanted out of that side of life. That's why its so important to search for my spiritual side but hey I'm only 25 so hopefully I've got a lot of time left.

I want to discover all the answers I can about life's mysteries. I don't want to just live in ignorance about these things. That's why I seek to gain as much knowledge as I can about the afterlife!

I have many other fears, too many to name. I try to overcome my fears and this conversation board helps me do that.

Quote:

My biggest fear is that I do not understand how reality works.

Hi Lucy,

Have you seen "What The Bleep Do We Know"?  It's a great movie and shows how we each create our own reality every second of every day. I believe that seeing this will be a good start on understanding reality.

Love, Mairlyn ;-)

Hi to Never Say Die!  you said: Fear of uncertainty.
it struck me that uncertainty, (my opinion) is the same as fear, but we live with it or learn to handle it as Rob said.

you also said coming to this board helps you deal with fears. I liked that. it is a great place to just sit and think about things. is why I like coming here too. yes, at 25 you still have a life out in front of you to find out why you came to earth...it should be fun as you're living in some extraordinary times and I'm glad even though you're so young you came here and waved at all of us. I like to study the young people as I think they can show us older ones a thing or two in the days ahead.

I was like you when I was 25. worked with the family business, but don't feel bad, as in the past, well, in Europe for instance, this was the normal fashion..to carry on the family business. although I hated it too. I'm even embarrassed about my mother's business..she sold produce on street corners off a truck. however I learned its not what you do for a buck, it's the way you do it thats important, whether you do it well or not. no, I didn't do it well. I was grouchy because I wasn't trained for anything else. but hey, food is a great business to be in as everyone has to eat right? :) until you find your niche in life I like the serenity prayer the best to help me get through whatever job I'm in...that I don't like. it was in the prayer something about respecting your livlihood and having a cheerful heart. too bad I didn't read the prayer until I was around 30, then it hit home that maybe I was supposed to be a jack of all trades until I could find my niche..but with a cheerful heart. I know that sounds hokey to you, but all jobs build character if done in the right spirit then you are led to the next job until you find where you want to stay.  thanks for the read. I'm rooting for you as I've walked in your shoes..hugs, alysia

I have a lot of fears, but the greatest would be if someone would take my child. That would do me in. Kathleen.

Kathleen that was my biggest fear is getting the kids old enough so they weren't so vulnerable in case any predators were about. I became a stay at home mom just for that reason. its built in to the mom system :)  I'm happy to report my fears did not come true. love, alysia

LaffingRain wrote on Sep 15^th, 2006 at 2:38pm:

Hi to Never Say Die!  you said: Fear of uncertainty. it struck me that uncertainty, (my opinion) is the same as fear, but we live with it or learn to handle it as Rob said. you also said coming to this board helps you deal with fears. I liked that. it is a great place to just sit and think about things. is why I like coming here too. yes, at 25 you still have a life out in front of you to find out why you came to earth...it should be fun as you're living in some extraordinary times and I'm glad even though you're so young you came here and waved at all of us. I like to study the young people as I think they can show us older ones a thing or two in the days ahead. I was like you when I was 25. worked with the family business, but don't feel bad, as in the past, well, in Europe for instance, this was the normal fashion..to carry on the family business. although I hated it too. I'm even embarrassed about my mother's business..she sold produce on street corners off a truck. however I learned its not what you do for a buck, it's the way you do it thats important, whether you do it well or not. no, I didn't do it well. I was grouchy because I wasn't trained for anything else. but hey, food is a great business to be in as everyone has to eat right? :) until you find your niche in life I like the serenity prayer the best to help me get through whatever job I'm in...that I don't like. it was in the prayer something about respecting your livlihood and having a cheerful heart. too bad I didn't read the prayer until I was around 30, then it hit home that maybe I was supposed to be a jack of all trades until I could find my niche..but with a cheerful heart. I know that sounds hokey to you, but all jobs build character if done in the right spirit then you are led to the next job until you find where you want to stay.  thanks for the read. I'm rooting for you as I've walked in your shoes..hugs, alysia

Thanks for sharing alysia you've opened my mind. I sometimes forget older people who seem to have it so together were probably a little more confused in youth.

Well our family business means alot of time spent in front of laptops and shuffling through paper but I get what your saying, it comes down to your attitude and whether you want to be positive or whether you want to grumpy.

Sometimes I think to myself is a bit unusual being so interested in the afterlife at just 25. But then I realise to myself there is the now life, the afterlife and who knows how many other lives or other places in spirit we can journey to in our soul's existence. Afterall we have eternity as there is no real death or time. Now is as good a time as any to search for one's own spiritual meaning, especially with the spiritual awakening that is happening right now and will be a lot obvious in the future.

Never say die

Your comment that you think it is unusual to be interested in the afterlife at just 25 struck me as odd, but is probably a consequence of the way culture works. After all, no one is ever really too young to die, and it might be better to have a concept of an afterlife in place as a roadmap before you set out on the journey. Besides, I always thought whether or not there is an afterlife had an effect on what I thought I should do with my time here (right or wrong, that is just what I thought). An overview might have an effect on the local plan. Besides, 25 isn't that young in some ways.

I was thinking Bob Monroe started "young" but he was actually an old past-40 when he started going obe. Did you know he was in radio at one time?
http://www.monroeinstitute.com/content.php?content_id=42