PRACTICE: FEAR INVENTORY

To be done daily...The Fear Inventory is a powerful exercise for the clearing of accumulated fears and resentments so that our underlying motivations and desires can be revealed. Start by finding a quiet, private place where you can write without interruption. In the beginning, we recommend you dedicating yourself to a few hour long writing sessions to help clear out the pipes and get things flowing. After that, shorter inventories every day for about 8-10 minutes will help keep you in flow. Make sure to do this practice with a non-judgmental attitude about your humanity. And, give the process some time to start working its magic - most of us have so much backed up inside, it takes a while to get to clarity. Enjoy the process, and your emerging freedom. This is a daily practice recommended to be done in the morning.

"God/Spirit/Higher Power, I am resentful at __________________ (person, institution, idea), because:

I have fear that ______________________________

I have fear that ______________________________ etc. (this can go on for multiple lines if you need to)

"God/Spirit/Higher Power, I ask you to remove these fears. I pray only for knowledge of your will for us and your power to carry that out for _______________________ (the names of all the people, things etc that showed up on your fear inventory)."

for example...

God, I am resentful at Janet for criticizing me at the staff meeting, because:

I have fear that I can't control what she thinks of me

I have fear that I am dependent on her approval

I have fear that I will continue to look outside of myself for validation

I have fear that I expect others to give me things I can only get from myself

I have fear that I would rather long for people to give me affirmation rather than do the hard work to grow it in myself, etc...

It's always useful to use "I". "I have fear that I will sabotage my relationship." instead of "I have fear that she is going to leave me". This is what gets you to your underlying motivations and desires, which is what the inventory is ultimately about. Conclude your inventory with this prayer:

************

This is a demonstration of me working with a client on how to do fear inventory. You can find a copy of the official Fear Inventory instructions in the docs section of the group page. Use that to properly script your inventories. This is a daily practice and should be done in the morning.

Client:

Big Mama, I am resentful at EF because I have fear that I will be stuck doing work I tolerate, but am bored with & don’t love because it’s easy.

Brig:

Break that fear inventory down to the root essence of what you fear.

So the next line would be: “I have fear that if I am bored with my work then_____”

Client:

I have fear that if I am bored with my work then I will self sabotage by not giving my best and potentially be let go before I’m able to resign due to apathy.

Brig:

Good. Now, let’s go deeper.

“I have fear that if I self-sabotage by not giving my best and I am let go before I’m able to resign due to apathy then_______”

We are looking at what exactly what is being threatened.

Client:

I have fear that if I self-sabotage by not giving my best & I am let go before I’m able to resign due to apathy, then I will feel like even more of a burden on my father than I already do & I’ll be further from walking in my destiny.

Brig:

Okay good.

“If I feel like more of a burden on my dad, then I will feel_______. If I am further from walking in my destiny, then I will feel_______.”

Client:

If I feel like more of a burden on my dad & further from walking in my destiny, then I will fall back into depression deeply & may not recover again.

Brig:

Beautiful. Now. The last line of this fear inventory reveals your true fear. Whew.

It should read: “I have fear of falling back into depression and that I may not recover from it.”

There it is. All of the layers of fears that you listed are attached to this one. Now you can actually do the final step of the fear inventory and give it up to your higher source, “Big Mama”. Tomorrow starts your inventory there with: “I have resentment towards myself because I fear falling back into depression and that I may not recover from it.”

And break that down in the same way. If you feel plagued by this fear every day, do fear inventory on it every day until it doesn’t apply anymore. Don’t forget to give it up at the end before going on with your day. This exercise is one of self awareness and release. It will get you clear about the fears that are motivating your choices. Including the choice to be self-critical, egoic about depending on others, and impatience/resistance about circumstances.

Client:

I can do that Thank you! I think what’s really helpful is your suggestion to piggyback (repeat).

Haven’t been doing that.

Does that also apply to the desire inventories? Or can they be brand new every day?

Brig:

You should be doing these based mostly on what comes up that morning as anxiety or resentment relative to the day, but, yes, if you have a fear that is pervasively affecting your life on the daily, name it. You can do more than one as well. And if one comes up during the day you can do another!

DEEPER DIVE: BALANCED NEGATION

Back to advanced poses home page