Dear Joshua
Thank you for your answer about my fears and relationship with my sister. I will be rereading that and working on it.
I was reading your answer to question 6 or 7 today which was about limiting beliefs being the cause of irrational fears and how most of these limiting beliefs are picked up from others and therefore have not been proved true for me. I can find proof that the belief (for me) is inaccurate, since it has not been part of my experience. That would mean, for example that my fear of being unemployed and unemployable (and therefore without money) is a false belief because I haven't lived it even if others have?
Also, if I have a fear that our CEO is going down a destructive path for my work with his strategy, that is a limiting belief because there is fear of the unknown even while not picked up from others.
In one case I would need to find the examples which contradict the belief, and in the second example, relax with the unknown and continue to try and do what I enjoy doing at work?
Love
Kate
Dear Kate,
Both examples are cases where limiting beliefs play a big role. Remember, anytime you feel negative emotion (whether the fear is easily identifiable or not) it is an indication of a limiting belief based in some irrational fear. If you feel negative emotion, that's your indicator. Stop and state the belief then look for the fear. It's there somewhere.
If it's a limiting belief, you can prove it's false. You could also find evidence to support it and that's what you naturally tend to do. The exercise here is to reduce the intensity of the limiting belief, not add fire to it. You want the limiting belief to fade because it's limiting. It plays a part in creating the reality you now experience. When you reduce it, you reduce the limits to your experience and therefore your experience becomes broader and brighter.
It matters not whether the limiting belief has been created based on your actual experience or from the influence of others. If it's limiting, it's limiting and it's limiting your life. You don't need these beliefs and you don't want them around. They do not serve you at all. They actually work to hold you apart from the life you truly desire. So let's drop them.
Let's look at the fear of being unemployed. That's an irrational fear because unemployment does not equal death. There are lots of people who are unemployed and enjoying their life as much or even more than you. Just because you have employment doesn't mean that life is wonderful. Just because you're unemployed doesn't mean life stops. Indeed there are a million ways it could improve. It's simply the fear of the unknown. Now, you stated the fear, but what's the limiting belief?
In the second example you also stated a fear. The fear that your boss could destroy your company is the fear of the unknown and the fear of being unemployed which is also the fear of the unknown. In this case, it is an irrational fear because all things arise from the unknown. You are steadily speeding toward the unknown in every single moment of your life. There's just this illusion (brought to you by the Law of Continuity) that you can predict what will happen from one moment to the next.
You can practice softening any fear just as you soften any limiting belief. Find evidence to prove that it's false. Do this enough and the fear will dissipate the moment it comes up. It will become automatic and you'll spend a lot less time mired in fear.
Joshua
