You are on top of the food chain, but…

Shane Hennesey
Sep 3, 2018 · 2 min read

you are still an animal.

It can be awesome to be the apex predator. That awesomeness can also be a powerful illusion.

We are biological beings and as such, once we are pushed out of the womb, we have only one command…SURVIVE. Not be young and beautiful, not believe a certain religion, not drive a certain car…just…SURVIVE.

The survival drive interprets the world in one of two ways. One is threat or non-survival and the other is safety.

When non-survival is activated, energy is released to correct the situation and move us out of threat. This energy is what we call fear. It is energy that our body needs to take action and put us back into a sense of safety. Nothing more, nothing less. Fear is not something to fight or be afraid of. It is Free Energy Arising Rapidly to be used.

Fighting against fear or trying to avoid it…or working really hard to keep it at an unconscious level…creates stress. Stress is the state of being in threat and not being able to use our fear energy to successfully correct the situation.

The other side of the survival instinct, safety, feels like a sense of peace and non-reactivity. It is brought about by patterns and predictability. If we are in the realm of what we know and can predict (zone of familiarity), we feel a sense of calm. The farther outside that zone, the more we feel threat and the need to adjust.

Stress is fear that hasn’t found a way to resolve itself yet. It is not bad. It is a flag stuck in the ground asking for attention. It lets you know where to work on softening and releasing fear energy to do its normal, natural work.

Stress and fear are buddies and because they are wired into us as biological beings, they are not going away. Your strength and power will come from shifting your relationship to them.

*This article is about normal stress and fear reactions. It does not address chemical imbalances or physical brain anomalies that create persistent anxiety or related issues. If you feel your stress or anxiety is outside the normal range of daily living, please consult a physician or psychiatrist.

Shane Hennesey

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