So for tonight's talk what I'd like to do is continue a reflection I began last week

and it was on how to work with fear and and very specifically not full-blown trauma that's a

little different but how to work with the kind of fear that we're not always aware we're walking

around with and yet it keeps us from living fully so that's the theme and I I describe it as a

trance of fear just because so much of our fear is unconsciously driving a huge portion of our

lives Einstein once famously said that the most important question facing humanity is is this

universe a friendly place it's one that I want to invite you to reflect on not just tonight but just

encourage you to consider it and see what what comes up for you because he's talking about a

most profound sense of is reality benign and certainly it's really easy to look around and go

no way you know you look around and sense you know if this was a benign universe how could certain

things happen how could there be cruelty and torture and suffering how could humans be so

blind as to let what happened this heartbreak in the golf happen how could what's going on in

the Middle East happen we can just name thing after thing after thing and say a friendly place uh-uh

and there's no question that there's aggression and greed and ignorance but there's a deeper inquiry

is there some fundamental goodness that's possible and can be manifest that when we relax some relax when

we step out of some of our fears is there a basic goodness or spirit that shines through and I find

with this inquiry that if you try to go at it mentally or academically you'll land in either confusion

or with a strong opinion but if you go at it more through experientially through meditation

what's actually happening moment to moment it becomes an inquiry that's really revealing

check in right now if you will and just sense if you turn your attention inward do you detect fear

can you feel fear in your body or heart just check it out

is there an uneasiness it can be anywhere from uneasy to a real squeeze of fear and if you're not

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