The crazy wisdom approach to fear is to not regard it purely as a hang-up, but to realize that fear is intelligent. It has a message of its own. Fear is worth respecting. If we dismiss fear as an obstacle and try to ignore it, then we might end up having accidents. In other words, fear is a very wise message.

You can’t con fear, or frighten fear. You have to respect fear. You might try to tell yourself that it’s not real, that it’s false, but such an approach is questionable. It is better to develop some kind of respect, realizing that neurosis is also a message, rather than garbage that you should just throw away. The whole starting point for working with fear and other emotions is the idea of samsara and nirvana, confusion and enlightenment, being one. Samsara is not regarded as a nuisance alone, but it has its own potent message that is worthy of respect.

Fear contains insight as well as the panicky blind quality we often associate with it. The element of panic has a deaf and dumb quality—you know: doing the best you can, in spite of your fear, hoping everything will be okay. But fear without hope seems to be something very insightful. If you give up your hope of attaining something, then tuning into fear is tuning into its insightful quality. Then, skillful means or action arises spontaneously out of the fear itself. Fear can be extremely resourceful rather than representing hopelessness. It is the opposite of hopelessness, in fact.

-Chögyam Trungpa

Well friends, it’s true…  nothing in this life is promised.  I have had to learn and relearn that in the past few months in many ways.  So I ask myself and I ask you, how do we keep it real for ourselves when we have no idea what’s coming our way?   How do we continue to show up, be present and REPRESENT when our loved ones are sick, our relationships are challenging or the path we have chosen feels shaky or like it needs a shift?  

I am reminded again and again that the way that we show up for ourselves reflects so clearly in how we show up for others.  Keeping it real means we start where we are, we work with ourselves in a way that is both disciplined and gentle, and not just with the parts of ourselves that we like, but also what Abdi Assadi calls the Shadow (thank you, Sangeeta).  We gently stay with ourselves through the greatest inner battles and instead of turning on the TV, grabbing that bottle of wine or reaching for the ice cream to dull the pain, we allow ourselves to witness, to listen, to experience our situation as it is.  

Breakti has taught me to stay, even when it’s hard.  It has taught me to open my heart, even when it hurts.  It has taught me to see my students, my classrooms, my journeys as little gems and nuggets of amazingness waiting to reveal themselves.  All of that requires that I show up first with myself and own my personal experience.  I must keep it real with ME before I make space for anyone or anything else

My recent trip to Virginia opened so many windows for me into the darkness and light that we all share.  As in all my Breakti classes, I challenged the students to step to their edge with playfulness and humor.  I asked that they make enough space to try something new, perhaps acheive something they didn’t know they could do, and be able to laugh and lighten up a little.  They fully stepped to the challenge and owned every part of themselves.  So rad.  

In my Space workshop, we talked about keeping it real.  We discussed the shadow.  As I mentioned in class and I will say many times again, we NEED the darkness in order to see the light.  We need silence in order to hear the beat (and in order to have the beat even exist), and we need every part of ourselves to be honored and owned so that we can witness our relationships and paths clearly and from a place that is whole.  THAT is keeping it real.

Join me for my last class of the year in NYC, and perhaps together we can step a bit closer to keeping it real.  

Click the below image for more info and to register.