Fear is the most fundamental experience of the spiritual path. Without fear, awakening is not possible, leave alone enlightenment. We must allow our pain and explore our pain in order to let go of it and be free from it, so there will be lots of fear, it’s unavoidable. Don’t be afraid of the fear, fear is good, fear is wonderful, fear is important. It means that you are going to learn something new about yourself. It is a marker of stepping into the unknown.

The spiritual transformation is the most beautiful thing in the world. It is immensely freeing and full of wonder and unexpected discoveries. But what lies at the very core of it, its most fundamental movement, is making our unconscious suffering conscious. Nothing that is still unconscious can be let go of because nothing that you’re still in denial of can be accepted. And the amount of unacknowledged pain we carry is severely underestimated by everyone, without exception. Suffice it to say, if we truly knew how deep the egoic pain really goes, we would never embark on the spiritual journey, we would run away in terror.

So there will be lots of fear, rejoice! In meditation or on psychedelic trips, fear is the precursor of a learning experience. If you are feeling fear, it means you will soon see something about yourself you haven’t seen before. It’s a good thing, embrace it. Don’t turn away now, don’t run away, stay.

Seeing something about yourself which you were previously in denial of is always painful, always unpleasant. Anger, hatred, jealousy, disgust, vanity - all these experiences are painful, they are difficult. They are layers of the ego to be seen and accepted. Every time you’re about to uncover more of those layers, there will be fear. That’s also why, on the spiritual journey, fear is the last thing to go away.

Fear is like filling in between the many layers of the cake. The cake is saturated with it. This cake is your ego and it’s all yours to eat. Bon appétit!