Recommended Activities for Choosing Love over Fear

by Susan Tate

The September 2008 issue of the Well Being Newsletter article focused on “5 Steps to Choosing Love over Fear.” I feel compelled to revisit the topic as I observe what appears to be a rising level of news events reported in repeated layers of fear, doom and gloom. What we focus on expands! There is a place of power from where we speak. We can speak and think from a place of fear or from a place of love. It’s our choice. We have the power to create a revolution based on love rather than fear. Do you want to join me?

During the 1990s, I was involved with health promotion programming at the University of Virginia. “Make your choices based on love, not fear” was the Elisabeth Kübler-Ross quote we selected to be printed on the back of the condom packs provided during sexuality workshops. (Yes, stop and think about it. We wanted students making safer choices because they had a respect and love for themselves more than they feared unwanted pregnancy or an HIV/AIDS-related illness. We wanted them to “know” what they were saying “yes” to.) I believe this quote is a powerful, love-filled statement.

Today, I would like to see this quote boldly printed on our TV screens, at our banks, in our work settings, in our cars, in our grocery stores, on our computers and in our newspapers (on the real paper ones AND the news on line).

I found this advisory on the Homeland Security home page:

Recommended Activities
All Americans should continue to be vigilant, take notice of their surroundings, and report suspicious items or activities to local authorities immediately.

Everyone should establish an emergency preparedness kit and emergency plan for themselves and their family, and stay informed about what to do during an emergency.

Reading this made me recall the drills we had in the 1950s when we tucked ourselves underneath our little first grade desks to practice saving ourselves from a Russian attack. Now, I am all for national security and I am not blind to our twenty-first century world. However, I believe we must find a way to redirect our focus to advance a vision of peace, a sharing of our abundance and a distinct caring for our fellow human beings, whether they live in the United States or some other place on this globe.

We are living in extraordinary times. Clearly, it is important to know about things that can keep us safe. For example, I don’t think I’ll be taking any cruises off the coast of Somalia for a while. But what is being splashed in front of us at a rapid rate is repeatedly fearful information, aimed at keeping us on the edge of panic. Do we have the courage to stop buying into this madness and boldly create a revolution (beginning with ourselves) based on love and not fear?

I have created an expanded list of what I now label Recommended Activities for Choosing Love over Fear.

1. Lovingly observe when you find yourself thinking fearful thoughts.
   
   
2. Take three deep, calming breaths when you notice stressful, physical sensations anywhere in your body.
   
   
3. Practice mindfulness meditation.
   
   
4. When fear invades your thinking, move your body. Walk, run, swim, dance, bike, do Nia, yoga or other physical activities that create endorphins from your body’s inner pharmacy.
   
   
5. Pray, meditate, chant or sing. Notice and give gratitude when sacred peace envelops you.
   
   
6. Entertain the possibility of enjoying each moment.
   
   
7. Observe your tendency to judge others and gradually lose interest in doing so.
   
   
8. Enjoy frequent attacks of smiling.
   
   
9. Extend love often and be the place where love shows up.
   
   
10. Send a prayer to those who get stuck in fearful thinking.
    
    
11. Choose to no longer view the “other” as “other”.
    
    
12. Enjoy the tendency to think spontaneously rather than basing your thoughts on fears of the past.
    
    
13. If you watch the news, use it to support your prayer practice.
    
    
14. Spread good news whenever you can. (The YouTube of Susan Boyle’s “I Dreamed a Dream” performance did much to uplift hearts everywhere. Good news is communicable!)
    
    
15. Notice when worry or fear creeps into your thinking; stop and breathe in love instead.
    
    
16. Forgive someone.
    
    
17. Notice your surroundings and the people in it with appreciation. This may mean noticing people who don’t think, look or act like you.
    
    
18. Enjoy frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation and gratitude.
    
    
19. Have someone to call in an emergency should you forget to choose love.
    
    
20. Choose love.