How to deal with existential fear?

[Travelion]

I usually don't experience existential anxieties. I'm sure some of you know the short story "The Egg" by Andy Weir. It's about reincarnation and eternity. Since I watched the animated version from kurzgesagt, I now feel some sort of existential anxiety when I think about immortality or eternity. It is just overwhelming. It reminds me of my last trip. Which was a great experience but I also got confronted with eternity. And in my sober state that scares me.

Why is that? Because my ego can't comprehend it? I asked myself what exactly I am scared of, and I don't know. Maybe it's the uncertainty. Sometimes I think wether it wouldn't be better if everyone/I was just unconsious for ever (like eternal dreamless sleep). But I guess these thoughts arise from a state of fear.

My question is, how to deal with existential fear? Accepting feels difficult. Practice more acceptance? I appreciate your advice

 

[Megan Alecia]

Fear is an indication of a problem. Locate your inner problem. As Eckhart said, once you fix out the inside the outside will fall into place. 

[Sagar Takker]

One really effective way of dealing with any kind of 'negative' feeling is to fully feel it. Dropping all your resistance, ignoring all thoughts and just being present with the raw sensations of the feeling for as long as it lasts. It's a really powerful way of transmuting feelings into 'pure consciousness.'

You can read more about it in Letting Go by David Hawkins.

It may feel even more overwhelming for a while. The feeling will reach it's peak, stay there for some time and then start to diminish.

This whole process may take minutes or days or weeks to fully let go of the feeling. Stay patient, diligent and persistent. Keep letting go.

[electroBeam]

10 minutes ago, Travelion said:

I usually don't experience existential anxieties. I'm sure some of you know the short story "The Egg" by Andy Weir. It's about reincarnation and eternity. Since I watched the animated version from kurzgesagt, I now feel some sort of existential anxiety when I think about immortality or eternity. It is just overwhelming.

Inspect whether the beautiful, wonderful, estatic feeling of being overwhelmed is being negatively tainted/distorted by a projection of a story being layered on top of that beautiful overwhelming feeling. and whether dropping the story will remove the anxiety and just leave you with feeling overwhelmed. 

[Lyubov]

breathe into it. accept that it is does feel overwhelming b/c it most def can feel this way. let go, this fear will resolve itself and you will have nothing to worry about here  

[Travelion]

Hello. I know my answer comes late.
Thanks for all your words. I already read your answers when you posted them, but I didn't answer them. I needed to take a break from actualized.org, meditation and spirituality. I was just desperate.
I really appreciated your words, but I didn't know how to properly use your advice. I know that repression is not a healthy way to deal with fear, but I didn't know what to do. When I decorated our Christmas tree with my family, I could not enjoy it. To "never stop being aware of something" was very scary. I didn't know what to do, I never felt an anxiety like that in my life. I am not an anxious person.

I think, in retrospect i was not ready for my ego-death-experience in September, at least not for the consequences for my existence. I don't know if I "worked out my fear" or anything like that, but at least I don't feel anxiety when I think about immortality, reincarnation, and the story "The Egg" anymore. Idk, it just does not feel dangerous now. Maybe it will do so in future again. But I will work through it. The experience in September was probably the most incredible gift of my life.

Thanks for your kind words and advices.

[Nahm]

On 12/23/2020 at 8:28 PM, Travelion said:

I now feel some sort of existential anxiety when I think about immortality or eternity.

Pick a better feeling thought about it. Try to refrain from judging feeling. Let a thought in discord with feeling go instead.  

Quote

It is just overwhelming. It reminds me of my last trip. Which was a great experience but I also got confronted with eternity. And in my sober state that scares me.

The thought doesn’t resonate. 

Quote

But I guess these thoughts arise from a state of fear.

My question is, how to deal with existential fear? Accepting feels difficult. Practice more acceptance? I appreciate your advice

Don’t accept thoughts that don’t resonate. Choose a better feeling perspective. That is what is meant by “on the path”. 

If there is resistance to willingly, swiftly letting a discord thought go...now you know what is meant by “ego”.