While catching up with the Visual Quest Facebook group and all the other course material, i came across this parable. Some people on Visual Quest have done 'journeys' already, guided by Pixie Campbel. Some came across some dominant and aggressive animals that tried to give them a message. Pixie's advise on this is: trying to 'be' with them instead of running from them might make us understand what they try to tell us. Because it's difficult to 'get' what these intense animals try to tell us if we feel resistance towards their 'style' of communicating with us. That message from animals is what is called 'animal medicine' in shamanic 'language'. I am so happy to learn all this..
This parable sheds a different light on facing fear. It gave me Goosebumps..
Once there was a young warrior. Her teacher told her that she had to do battle with fear. She didn’t want to do that. It seemed too aggressive; it was scary; it seemed unfriendly. But the teacher said she had to do it and gave her the instructions for the battle. The day arrived. The student warrior stood on one side, and fear stood on the other. The warrior was feeling very small, and fear was looking big and wrathful. They both had their weapons. The young warrior roused herself and went toward fear, prostrated three times, and asked, "May I have permission to go into battle with you?" Fear said, "Thank you for showing me so much respect that you ask permission." Then the young warrior said, "How can I defeat you?" Fear replied, "My weapons are that I talk fast, and I get very close to your face. Then you get completely unnerved, and you do whatever I say. If you don’t do what I tell you, I have no power. You can listen to me, and you can have respect for me. You can even be convinced by me. But if you don’t do what I say, I have no power." In that way, the student warrior learned how to defeat fear.
~Pema Chödrön
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