A Taoist or Stoic Approach To Fear

Philosophy, applied with good practice can heal all wounds.

Perhaps, it is safer to say that Taoism and Stoicism have much in common and both approach the practice of overcoming or ‘dancing with fear’ (by Paul Foxman) in much the same manner.

To build a practice which will benifit the practitioner is best.

The Taoist uses central or core principles like ‘compassion, simplicity and patience’.

Specifically, it is best to follow what science can prove is best.

The lizard brain is practicing fight and flight all the time in a black and white way.

We can over ride this part of our brain as we become conscious of our fear and identify it specifically for our situation.

The frontal cortex allows us to make decisions in a much greyer or rational way.

We can also exercise our motivation to excite and engage our opportunities that are sometimes identified for us by our lizard brains or feelings of fear.

Most of us can identify with situations like procrastination, inability to commit, or a number of other common humanly problems that tend to create a fight or flight response.

Stoics are more akin to cognitive therapy which helps us build practices from which we are apt to build even bigger learning opportunities.

Philosophers like myself identify concepts like these and create an experiment of one to find skills that also mimic applied psychology or philosophy.

I suggest books like Dancing with Fear: Overcoming Anxiety in a World of Stress and Uncertainty by Paul Foxman and Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu and Discourses and Selected Writings by Epictetus.

Sometimes, mistakes happen for a reason.

Flow For Life.

www.researchgate.net/profile/Mihaly-Csikszentmihalyi/publication/224927532_Flow_The_Psychology_of_Optimal_Experience/links/55ad6c2f08aed614b097b39e/Flow-The-Psychology-of-Optimal-Experience.pdf

Science based self help is the best.

A very reliable book called “Flow” is the result of science and study.

The author, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is no slouch.

You can learn a better way to live life.

Good advice for people of all ages.

A modern classic worth the read and application.

Go For Flow

Hurry up and stop or people sometimes race to a red light.

Keeping a balance in day to day affairs become a bit of a chore or a down right problem at times.

Take a state of mind, somedays rest is needed but work is also needed, other times neither work and one is stuck or worse.

I know myself on a good day, but maintenance is a constant companion.

Besides doing what is best for me and realistically possible, it is much easier when I go for flow.

It may not get done unless I can work out the details.

Sounds needlessly complicated and hard to do.

If it was easy, everyone would do it.

Going for flow, I try to be grateful for whatever happens in my day: OT, high maintenance problem, people, both and I take care of myself to stay in optimum shape to weather the experience.

Generally, week to week things work out.

Working it out, sounds like the lyrics from an old Doug and the Slugs song…