Words written by Kathryn Dawe…

There can be only one, for only one is real…you choose…

Let’s talk about FEAR…

You know, I’m pretty sure we’ve all heard the expression describing fear as the acronym False Evidence Appearing Real…right? You’ve heard this, or read it somewhere, and if not, well welcome to one of the only acronyms that I can bring myself to use…on occasion…ok, once, maybe twice…

Anyway, I am going to pair it down…or is that pare it down…the second one I believe…so, let us take a look at this shall we? Rhetorical there…

False: what does false mean? Well, that’s easy, right? We know from elementary school that false is the opposite of true, right? We know that we had a 50/50 chance of picking the right answer on a True/False test when we weren’t sure of the answer…Thus, through this very complicated method of analytical deduction, something is either true or it is false…that true and not true (false, in other word) cannot exist in the same space….not to mention, that if we just didn’t know, and didn’t want to guess, the space remained blank…ahhh the anxiety that came with the blank space…this, my friends is where we get stuck…not wanting to choose, for fear of choosing wrong…though in doing that, we have inadvertently chosen fear as we waver about which one is correct…fear will always keep us stuck…and the truth is, we cannot make something that is false, be true or vise versa…no matter how hard we try…no matter how many ways we twist it around and try to make it fit…and no matter how badly we want to prove it to ourselves or others…it isn’t…false is still false, and true is still true…

Evidence: ok, what comes to mind when you see or hear this word? For me, it’s like, “ok, let me prepare my case”…right?! I will list everything that I can come up with as proof that something is true or not true, right or wrong etc…notice, that there is only one or the other…interesting…so, what can this evidence be? Oh, we could list any number of things…experiences, someone else’s experiences, something you read somewhere, or heard somewhere, or heard that someone else heard from someone else that heard someone read it somewhere…yea, I know…that’s fairly close to the reality of it there…the one thing I’d like to add is beliefs…this is an important part of this…it is so often that we use our beliefs to prove that something is true, as evidence in our “case”… For example, my Ex is not a good person…which one, you may ask…ha! well, they really could be used interchangeably, however, let’s just use the last one…now I could present you will all kinds of “evidence” to prove this to you…he was secretive, emotionally disconnected, manipulative, had bad breath…you know what I’m saying here…making a case for my determination that he was not such a great person…and yes, these things may have been true, however, I’m sure there is someone else out there that thinks he is Mr. wonderful, his mother for sure…so, which one is true if they can’t both be…I may believe that he is not so great, but this does not make it true…but damn did I do my best to prove it to myself and then extrapolate that all men like him are rotten…now, this particular belief about all men like him is definitely not based on any evidence, only my belief that is based in my previous experience…and no matter how long the list of “evidence” is, it doesn’t make it true…realizing that my evidence is all based in my experience and need to prove it is so…

Appearing: now when we say that something “appears” to be a certain way, inherent in this is the question “well, is it, or isn’t it?”…I may appear to be in my mid 40s, however, I’m actually not…and I can do everything in my power to “appear” that I am a decade younger than I am, (I don’t), but that does not make it true…although it can lead others to believe that I am and I can just not reveal my true age, leaving them to assume what they like…talk about False Evidence Appearing Real…for many this stems from an attempt to control other’s perceptions of them, as well as trying to bolster their own perceptions of themselves…in this way we can continue to pretend, and use other’s beliefs as evidence that it is true…strengthening the veneer that covers the truth of who we are and what we see…what’s that term, “appearances can be deceiving”? So we can appear to be something that we actually are not, or want to be perceived as, or believe ourselves to be, and in fact, for some reason, need others to believe we are… appear as one thing, when in fact we are not…

Real: real…what is real, anyway? Opinions vary, right? I think most people believe what they can see and touch is real…what they experience is real, a sensory experience…in spite of the fact that there are any number of scientific studies that put all of this in doubt…I’m sure you have heard of “quantum physics”, right?…this is an attempt to explain “the nature and behavior of matter and energy on the atomic and subatomic level”…thus, bringing a level of doubt in regard to what we have previously perceived as the limitations of the human sensory experience…our belief, aka what we perceive as real…

I’ll put it to you this way…have you ever, let’s say, had a completely different expectation of what a food item will taste like, and what it actually tastes like? Your mind has convinced you of one thing, only for you to experience something totally different…you were sure that soup you ordered was going to be delicious, the menu described it as such, as did your server…your mind was convinced of something you had yet to even experience…it was so convinced that you were in complete shock when you took your first bite of soup, ready to relish its deliciousness, and what?! Blaaahhh! Shock…you at first couldn’t believe it so you took another shot at it, and still it was an 8 on the yuk scale of one to ten in yukiness…how about let’s use a person as an example…I’m pretty sure we have all had the experience of deciding ahead of time that we do or do not like a particular person…we convince ourselves that this is real, and true, by presenting all kinds of “evidence” that will support our perspective…now, how many of you have then, much to your chagrin, found that this person is a really interesting and good human being? And how hard was it to finally give up your previous belief that they were not? How hard did you try to keep your already determined beliefs about this person? Right?!….I see all of you, as I’ve done this myself as well…much to my own chagrin…

SO…how are you feeling about all of this now? A bit differently I bet…

Now let’s talk about LOVE…

Maybe I’ll give it a go and see if I can come up with a half way serviceable acronym for LOVE as well….the one for FEAR, obviously not mine…but maybe I can make something work here, although LOVE is such a big and nebulous term, almost elusive in its ability to defy a clear sense of definition. The proverbial search for the holy grail of meanings, right? This could imply the need to put on your armor and prepare for a crusade in search of this tangible, yet intangible entity that we call LOVE. However, it is really a need for the divesting of all armor and barriers and hinderances to LOVE that is required of us, is it not? The release of all trappings of defense, offense, control, denial and all fear related illusions that create veils across what is innate within us, and everyone…thus, the word Vulnerability must be involved…Ha! There we go, there is the “V”! Only three more letters to go…ok, we’ll see where the rest of this goes then, shall we? Also rhetorical…

So if we are to believe that the, Ha!, here comes the “E”! Energy that has created us, sustains us and connects us is the Energy that is LOVE, then we could say that LOVE is the very material of creation and existence as well, could we not? Hmmm…the connective tissue that permeates, links and empowers all that exists. For we know that energy must be present for anything to exist and to be empowered through the vibration of this energy… and connection is inherent in this…for if everything is energy, then all things are connected…there is no such thing as separation…and if LOVE is this energy, then we can deduce that everything is LOVE…even including things like art, books, architecture, gardens, and even money….I have spent months learning digital art in order to create a card deck that offers guidance through Practical Wisdom, thus this must be a creation of the Energy of LOVE….ahhh, I love a theory in progress…

Now, if all that exists is this Energy of LOVE, it is therefore Limitless….Ha! Here is the “L” in our acronym…this is fabulous! So, let’s keep going. I find that the term Limitless can seem one of two things, either really exciting, or really freakin’ intimidating, scary even…the wide open sky, or the bottomless pit…I think this is a clear display of what your primary thoughts are…LOVE is wide open, and FEAR is bottomless darkness….wow, well that’s fairly clear now isn’t it? Since we are speaking of the Limitlessness of LOVE here, we will embrace the wide open sense of possibilities and opportunities that actually exist in this state…if a particle can exist and not exist at the same time, can we not infer from this that our dreams and desires, and every version of ourselves exist in every moment? That the most Limitless and Loving version of of us exists at this very moment….this is when impossibility is only a “kiss” away from reality…

Now…I would then say that, if all of this we take as true, that LOVE is Limitless Vulnerability and Energy that creates all that is, was and will be…then there must be some Order to that…bam! “O” for the win please, Pat! If we can see LOVE as the Order of the universe and all of existence, then can we not see FEAR as disorder, and the illusion that we believe, that hides the reality and truth that LOVE is the only thing that is actually real? That the disorder of FEAR creates the illusion of separateness, struggle, limitation and power struggle…the belief that there is a need to control and have power over because of the belief that what is available is limited…which, in and of itself, is not true….I remember my brother saying to me one time that he couldn’t understand how I had so much love to give, and then telling me that he couldn’t possibly do that….this is a prime example of us believing that all things are limited…for if we believe the very nature of all that is is limited, then that means everything is limited, meaning LOVE…thus, leading people to believe that they must protect the limited amount they believe they have, and dole it out carefully in case they run out….personally, I have never believed this way…and I was a bit taken aback by my brother’s comment…especially since he is one of the most loving people that I know…it was for sure confusing…

So, when I say “elige dominum tuum” or “elige magistrum”…choose your master…it is only these two things that you choose from to be the guiding force of your life, knowing that one is real and true and the other is not real and false….it is your choice…LOVE or FEAR…

What will you choose?