Don't let fear co-opt your sovereignty

Ganesh is your strength.

These are the days that try our souls and challenge us to grow. There's no sugar-coating it: malignant forces have taken root in the American political system (among others), and have co-opted the hearts of some of our brothers and sisters whose sensibilities made them susceptible. As Yogis, we should remember that it's part of our practice to embody the highest of our ideals to the best of our ability: In particular, our Divine attributes such as truth, strength, and compassion. If we are successful, the vibration of fear finds nothing in us with which it can resonate. But fear is always testing the fences, looking for a weakness in our defenses. Unfortunately, too many people are ignorant of its insidious tactics.

As most of you know, I live in Mexico but as I write this I'm in the US for a short visit, and it's the first time I've been here in a while. To an energetically sensitive person like me, the tension in the air is palpable and deeply uncomfortable, although I personally haven't witnessed any malevolence so far. If anything, things feel a little too quiet, as though everyone is politely pretending to normalcy, while also holding their breath so as to keep the darkness (of which we do not speak by some kind of silent agreement) from noticing them.

The word that keeps coming to my mind is "denial"; the word that political scientists like to use for essentially the same thing is "hyper-normalization." Denial is a product of fear that we can't yet find the courage to recognize. Denial betrays a strategic mental process that's taking place in many of us -- at least in those of us who can see what's happening and sense the potential for worse -- wherein the mind quietly reckons with forces it can't control and tries to convince itself that maybe it's over-reacting, maybe things won't be so bad, that perhaps life "as usual" can continue with minimal disruption. At the same time, though, the mind is conjuring contingency plans just in case trouble should find us. Quietly, we understand that somewhere, something has already gone, very, very wrong.

I have long wondered why some people in positions of great global influence seem to take delight in causing harm and chaos, when their influence is such that they could easily create the opposite. There are many factors that I think contribute, but primarily it seems to me that such people have never made peace with their fear, and they have never learned how to embody their own sovereignty as Beings. Instead, their sense of security (and defense against fear) is outwardly directed, and perilously rooted in an illusory sense of "power." If your "power" is based on your net worth, physical features, origin, age, possessions, or ability to control the lives of others, then your house is built on sand and you live with the ongoing fear of its collapse. It's a mental and emotional malignancy that can never be culled until and unless the mind recognizes it for what it really is: a delusion that assumes that nothing beyond physical reality exists and that the only goal of physical existence is to dominate. If you yourself are the one causing the chaos, the implication is that you are beyond it. The fantasy is that you might even control it, and that any harmful effects will be experienced by someone who isn't you.

I made a video on one of the social media platforms not long ago wondering about the mindset of multi-billionaires who seem incapable of finding happiness despite their worldly fortune: "Do they not realize someday they are going to die? That all of their accumulation will ultimately be rendered meaningless?" They seem to believe themselves immortal, behaving as though they will enjoy their hedonism in perpetuity, never to be confronted with the fallout of their greed, untouched by the effects their short-sighted, nihilistic hoarding, whether they be climate collapse, war, or disease. This, too, is a kind of denial, one which is rooted in a fear buried so deep it becomes unthinkable for them to acknowledge. But deep in the heart of every norm-wrecking, humanity-hating, power-drunk billionaire is a silent soul that knows better, one kept quiet by the understanding that if it were ever allowed to "speak," the psychological fallout would be nothing short of Biblical.

But back to those of us doing our Yoga, our inner work. Fear can easily creep into the undefended spaces in our awareness, which is why self-inquiry is such a valuable tool on the Yogic path. Fear is both a useful sentry and an insidious agent of chaos, because when allowed free rein, it distorts our perception. So we need to stay vigilant to its incursions. My dog, conditioned by an old fear, sometimes jumps at a long stick on the trail because she mistakes it for a snake. Humans, conditioned by the psychic pressure of propaganda, similarly jump at the presence or even the mere thought of other humans whose attributes they have been taught to perceive as a threat. My dog can't do too much damage to a stick, but people can do unthinkable things to those they mistakenly identify as threats. We cannot allow ourselves to fall in with the delusions of the fearful. By practicing mindful self-inquiry when we feel a fear rising, we can reclaim our love, compassion, and the Truth itself from its clutches.

We must remember, too, that fear is a tool of those who would use it to make unwitting humans harm each other in a way that serves some ulterior agenda. The day may come wherein each of us is challenged to choose to help or to harm; to stand on our principles or to betray ourselves; to defend truth at the expense of our safety, or to slink away in fear. If, as Yogis, we stand firm in our embodiment of courage and personal sovereignty, we may find ourselves in harm's way. This is the choice. I don't propose to tell anyone how to choose, when if the time comes. I will say only that the choice arises for a reason, and that its consequences will resonate beyond its immediate effects, not just for ourselves but for all humanity.

Watch for fear, and should you find it, feel it fully. Then put it in its proper place. Guard yourself but do not allow your emotions to be manipulated. Choose consciously. Choose well. Remember you are sacred, sovereign, and ultimately infinite.

Love and namaste, Rishika