Fear of the Unknown
Erm. How are you doing with this?
This morning in my energy practice, as I kept refocusing from being in my mind into sensation and feeling, I slowly became aware that I was only going so deep. Then I received an image: I ‘saw’ myself on the surface of the ocean. And I experienced the sensation of knowing that despite having much to explore in the great depths beneath me, I was going to hold steady right here.
Hmm. What’s underneath that? asked the inner voice of my Connection.
Depth, possibility, creativity, opportunity, and satisfaction… I trailed off.
Well, then, why are you staying on the surface? asked the voice.
A memory: I’m in the ocean with my snorkel mask on. An ancient underwater grand canyon lay below me. I am excited and scared of what I’d find below.
Because I’m afraid of the unknown –of what I cannot see.
“The ‘American Fears’ survey quickly became an annual media event. Most years, Chapman University post its latest top 10 fears list a few days before Halloween.” “…(2024’s results) tells me Americans are becoming more afraid in general, about everything,” said Chapman sociology professor and department chairperson Christopher Bader.” -Top Ten Fears, the Guardian
It’s Easy To Get Stuck in Fear
Most of us are familiar with looping anticipatory anxiety over unknowns. Apparently, this kind of fear is on the rise. According to the above linked 2024 survey, American’s are no longer scared of *just* cancer or poverty, but cyberterrorism, a WWIII, corrupt government, climate change, North Koreas use of a nuclear weapon, terrorism, and biological warfare...
All of this IS scary, but the article says because this widespread fear is circulated now through a vehicle we all have (cellphones) it allows ‘math (algorithms), media stories, social media, and our primitive brains to all work in tandem to create big sweeping feelings of fear and anxiety.’
And, because neuroplasticity research tells us that our brains are wired to focus on negatives over positives (negativity bias) = major fear loops.
I love this comparison; how beautiful is it that we so closely resemble Nature?!
Intuition: A Different Way of Approaching Fear
Years ago, while John was doing his thing in the world, I went on a solo trip to Kauai. I drove my rental, a hilariously big white Cadillac (it was the only car they had left) down a dirt road, to Anahi Beach, to snorkel. It was very isolated, for Hawaii. There was only one other family there besides myself.
Before I went in the water, I sat on the beach, centering. This is ocean safety, for me. I must be in my embodied awareness before going in. It’s how I remain responsive, flexible, adaptable, resourceful, and feel safe.
Sitting there, I recall feeling a bit anxious and ungrounded. I didn’t know why, but I did pause to acknowledge I was feeling this way. I asked myself: ‘Is this about the ocean?’ It wasn’t, because I had no problem going in the water.
As I swam in, and the shoreline receded, I was in only a foot or two of water for what felt like quite a long time. I could easily stand up in this.
Then, quite suddenly, things dramatically changed. The ground disappeared, and everything got big. I was now in an underwater grand canyon. It felt like the ocean’s bottom had dropped out from under me. I recall popping my head above the water, like a turtle, doing a sanity check: Yep. Everything looks the same above! But below, OMG. I’d never before seen these kind of underwater depths. I swam onward, past sheer cliff faces disappearing into a dark void below me. I had no idea where the bottom was, all I knew was that I was somewhere majestic and magnificent, and I was unsure how I felt about it.
Huge turtles swam by, along with massive tropical fish. It was very dark though, and often I didn’t see a thing until it was right next to me.
I swam for a good ten minutes, taking it all in, in a state of wonder. Then, my skin went from pleasantly tingling to creepily crawling. Time to head back into shore. I swam back and my skin lightly tingled all the way back.
I’m telling you this to illuminate my intuitive process. I know my body is wayyyy more reliable than my mind, so I cultivate this connection. This is how I avoid going into fear thinking, and stay in safety and inner authority.
I got centered in my embodied awareness, so that I’d have clear-perception and be able to flexibly respond to real (not made-up) threats.
I paused to notice what I was feeling. Sometimes doing a practice alerts me to an energy or feeling I had been overlooking, distracted from.
I curiously inquired into the feeling. I took my time doing this. When it felt ‘okay’ -I proceeded. I went into the water.
The moment I began to feel newly uncomfortable sensations in my body (not stories my mind was telling me), I listened. I swam back in.
Giving Fear A Safe Place To Land
Basic psychology says: Unfamiliar novel/new territory underlies all forms of stress… and so triggers our fears of the unknown. In other words: Never before experienced stuff (hello, future!) feels anxiety-inducing.
In the USA right now, we are on the precipice of a dramatic election. None of us living here truly knows what our lives will look like a few weeks, or years, from now. Whatever happens, whomever is elected, there will be real-world consequences affecting each and all of us (VOTE).
Let’s own this as true for us all, right now: We’ve never been here, before! This is all new territory. This equals stress. Some anxiety is normal.
If your mind spins out into unknown fears about it all, it gets much worse.
So how to deal?
I went into a few personal fears of the unknown, myself, during my energy practice I introduced to you in this essay. I acknowledged them, one by one, and yet my ‘fears’ still felt ‘bottomless’. The void underneath me felt gaping.
How would I ever get to the bottom of this?, I asked.
The ocean has a floor. Replied my Connection. For you, it’s your pelvic floor.
Oooooh! That told me I wasn’t fully in my body yet; I was still in my mind, which, given all it’s stories, is an untrustworthy place to hang out. I needed to reach the bottom to feel safe and secure. I needed to be inside my pelvic floor.
So, I dove down a little more deeply, into my *Root center, and I arrived. I felt cozy. Safe. Peaceful. From this space, I could be okay with the unknowns.
It’s normal to feel a bit of uncertainty.
But your fears of the unknown are NOT bottomless.
Just as the ocean always has a floor, so do I.
There is always a safe place to land. You can feel safe, cozy and present to yourself. You can always come back to Earth, and your body.
Cozily Settling into The Unknowable Future
In 2025, Pluto will finally, firmly, be in Aquarius, Neptune will enter Aries, Uranus will enter Gemini, Saturn will enter Aries and Jupiter will enter Cancer. Do you know what this all says to me? WOW. That’s a lot of change for us to navigate. Many of us can and do feel into the future at least a little bit. We are (all born) psychic in this way. So it makes sense if you are feeling more uncertainty, all the unknowns and unknow-ables right now.
There are many unknowns in all unforeseeable future scenarios. Yet you don’t have to let your primitive mind + social media algorithms drive you into those Great American Fears! Your embodied connection can help you.
Get Back To Your Root
Your *Root is allied with an energy I rarely hear talked about – your feminine intuitive knowing (I did recently see an IG reel, a guy talking about how a woman holds her power in her p***y. Okay, true, but both sexes have this, and also said in that crass way, from a guy, this didn’t sit well for me).
When I’m deeply nestled in my Root, by which I mean, I’m embodied in this pelvic area, feeling completely warm, cozy and open to all the sensations I feel, I am very intuitive. I know things. I can receive vision. I am connected to Divine timing. I can ask questions of my Connection and receive answers. I am connected to the solid and real truth. Literally, all I need is right here.
Don’t dismiss your greatest feminine resource -yes, one and the same as what patriarchy has been dismissing for centuries: Your sensory and feeling body. Your body is a resource. Your feelings are resources. If you don’t learn to listen to and honor these, you lose out on so much depth and richness!
Ideas For Embodied Connection:
Embodied practices…to get present, re-centered, release energy, and come back to yourself…are gold for the times we live in.
Breathwork. Diaphragmatic breathing and ‘box breathing’- the 4-7-8 Method. These help your parasympathetic to get back online.
Consistent Embodied Energy Practices. Try my podcast practices, many of which are also in my card deck (linked above). Try qi gong or tai chi. These are cumulative; the more you do them the better you will feel.
Body Scans. Close your eyes and slowly move your awareness from head to toe. Any way you can bring your body and mind together, helps.
Grounding and Earthing Rituals. Walk barefoot on the Earth to discharge old energy, and absorb fresh energy. Try my Goddess Walk (here).
Body Tapping. Tap your body to wake up stuck energy, and to reconnect to the body. It feels amazing. I do this every morning, awakening.
Somatic Movement. Like expressive dance or authentic movement.
Mindfully Engage Your Senses. Try a silent meal of mindful eating, chewing, tasting, noticing. Be in Nature and observe all through your senses. Just drop into the pleasurable aspects of being in a body…
Enjoy yourself! Pleasure naturally restores embodied presence.
*Your Root is the visceral seat of your feminine power and intuitive knowing – no matter your gender. Physically, it is located in your seat, your pelvic bowl and if familiar with energy chakras it is comprised of chakras one and two, those connected with the energies involving your creativity, sexuality, physical safety and relational survival). This is what I mean when I say ‘Root.’