Hey Vivien, thanks for the questions! It was interesting to look at fear.
Just notice, is an image you?
Is a self in an image an actual real self?
No, I can't be an image, because that image of self isn't there all the time. The image appears and disappears, but it doesn't affect anything. Nothing changes in reality when an image disappears.
If the body is hurt in this internal movie, does this mean that there is an actual hurt?
Does the movie come true?
The internal movies brings up emotions. A few days back for example I was texting with my dad and I started to feel annoyed because I thought he was making fun of me. Or then I get afraid thinking about messing up school work. Seems just like old conditioning happening. Worrying about the future and fear of being judged (thought patterns) have been going on for many years, ever since I was a little kid.
The scenarios of being hurt in the internal movie don't come true, they're not happening now. There's a fear that they might, which is actually kind of insane. There's nothing there to be afraid of. It's pure imagination, and not seeing reality - what's happening here-and-now.
Is fear helpful? Helpful in what?
What is the gain of having fearful movies? What do you gain by them?
What is the purpose of having frightening images and stories?
There aren't scary things, fear/the story is what makes them "scary". Car crashes are potentially harmful but there's no use in thinking about it beforehand - it only makes you want to avoid driving. The scary images and stories in thoughts aren't real, they're not here as an experience other than as the content of thought.
When there is a fearful story going on, it always involves me. Something bad happening to me, or something bad happening to someone I care about, which still involves me. Then there are even more irrational fears like social anxiety, the fear of being judged by others, which makes me want to avoid meeting new people. This fear isolates me from others.
These fearful movies make it seem like there is someone who needs to be protected physically and even more importantly, emotionally. That there is a self that would get hurt if it wasn't liked by others. What or who would it be, that would get hurt? A thought "he hurt me, nobody likes me" can appear, but it doesn't mean there's anybody in there claiming that. There's no one there to be hurt, only this story of hurting is appearing.
The purpose of having fearful movies is to keep the self safe from any perceived harm happening in the future. But there's nothing that could be kept safe like this. There's no point in imagining how I should behave and what I should say when I'm with a friend, because it really isn't up to me. Conversation goes on without any control. And then there is a movie going on where I'm in control of what I say and do in future situations.
Can you notice, that fear and anxiety come with thoughts about future? What will happen if?
Is fear here when you think about now?
Or when you think about past?
Do thoughts about future make future something real?
The thing thought claims might happen, like going insane, is not happening now. It takes place in the imagined future.
When I think about what's happening now, there's no fear. And there's nothing in the past to be afraid of, either. It has already passed. Yes, fear is always connected to the imagined future. The thought of starting work at a new job is stressful. The funny thing about this is that there's nothing that could be done about the future situation since it's only a thought appearing in the now.
It seems like fear is only a story and not a real thing. If it only concerns future situations, which aren't happening now, isn't fear then also unreal, as in only a story in the internal movie? Elevated heartbeat, sweating, shaking etc can be labeled "fear", but they are actually just sensations.
Thoughts about future don't make it real. The future is a thought content. The here-and-now cannot be escaped. I can't ever leave this moment/the experiencing/the now.
