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"Rather than fleeing, he welcomed each demon, inviting them all to stay to teach him."

...Examining and learning from our fears instead of avoiding the sources of them... what a powerful way to turn the tables on them. Thank you for this piece of wisdom...

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Thank you, sir. As it happens, when I was a teenager, I used to put the scariest horror posters up in my room. Alien. Hellraiser. Creepshow. My mother got worried, thinking perhaps I'd turned to the dark side. One day, I explained that *this* was how I overcame my abject fear, which I'd felt so acutely since I was little. I had externalized and embraced the horror. (Adolescence didn't hurt, I'm guessing.) More recently, I have been trying to articulate more existential forms of confrontation. Drawing strength and wisdom from the old teachers has helped me enormously. In any case, thanks as ever for reading, Lee.

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Your teenage years reminds me of one of my current practices (playing ambient horror music on headphones at night in the dark, blindfolded, and simply staying calm).

Although fear is not the worst enemy of mine. I think sadness and grief are much more powerful and... scary.

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Amen, brother.

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