Tag: god

“Do not fear.” I heard recently that this is the most common phrase across all religious ideologies. It’s a beautiful sentiment, but it got me thinking about the irony of my own upbringing. If “do not fear” is the golden rule, why is fear the very fabric of our culture in Romania? And how can we manage it, in a world that seems to be going from one threat to the other, each day?

The architecture of fear

In Romania, fear is embedded in the soil. It’s in the church, where despite the “do not fear” mantra, the discourse is dominated by eternal punishment and the consequences of misbehaving. It’s in our educational system, where trial and error is a sin and children are steered by the primitive “stick and carrot” mechanism.

Deepest of all, it’s in our families. We still see physical punishment used to “train” children, while domestic abuse remains a common, dark reality. Even walking the streets alone as a woman carries a weight of vigilance. This isn’t just religious; it’s a transgenerational hangover from a regime where “standing out” or “being watched” meant danger. In Romania, staying small wasn’t just a habit—it was a survival strategy.

The Chicken and the Egg

This brings me to a “chicken and egg” dilemma. I’ve always been a fan of the saying: “Courage is not the absence of fear, but taking action despite being afraid.” (which was attributed to several authors, so I guess we do not really know who said it first).

I believe emotions are “energy in motion”—we can’t always control the feeling, but we can control the act. However, I’ve recently reconsidered something from Tony Robbins: the idea that the way we move influences how we feel.

Growing up, the American style—expansive, big smiles, taking up space—felt foreign, even fake. It was only recent that I connected the dots, that there is a logic behind the madness 🙂 Romanian fear manifests in “closed” biology: shoulders up, heads down, taking up as little space as possible. However, understanding the science of “power posing” changed my perspective. There is a biological reality behind it. When we hunch, we spike our cortisol (stress hormone); when we stand tall, we trigger a sense of dominance and safety. If we move like we are afraid, we stay afraid. If we start to embody courage (Superman pose, holding a pencil in your mouth for a forced smile, see more ideas at the end), we start to feel it and to act on it.

Functional vs. psychological fear

To make sense of “Do not fear,” we must make a vital distinction:

• Functional Fear: Jumping back from a speeding car. This is biology keeping you alive.
• Psychological Fear: The “what ifs,” the fear of God’s wrath, or the fear of social judgment.

If for the first one, fight-flight-freeze response is automatic and useful, for the latter, the answer could be faith. The religious command “Do not fear” isn’t about ignoring the speeding car; it’s about the psychological cage. Whether that faith is in God, the Universe, or simply your own resilience, it provides a radical realization: you can handle whatever comes your way. When that trust exists, psychological fear evaporates.

Reclaiming the power

So, where do we start? We start by reclaiming our “energy in motion.”

If fear was used to keep us small in school or silent at home, then action is our loudest protest. It starts with the physical: standing tall when your instinct is to shrink. It continues with the vocal: speaking up in a meeting despite a racing heart, or finally setting that boundary with a family member or partner.

“Do not fear” isn’t a religious demand; it’s a psychological survival kit. It’s the moment you realize that while you cannot stop the emotion of fear from rising, sometimes, you can stop it from choosing your direction.

And when looking back, how many of us will be happy with decision made of fear, when we played safe, kept low, or how satisfied will we be to realize that we shoot our shot?

As woman, as mom, as Romanian, I have faced a lot of fears and tried to prevent all the risks for my loved ones, but the truth is that it is not humanly possible. I have lost people, I have lost jobs, I had even lost myself at one point in my life. Nowadays, I know I am lucky, I have witnessed several proccesses where the Universe provided me with what I needed, when I needed it, as soon as I stopped pushing for it, as soon as I showed Faith.

PS: for the curious of you, I will leave below a couple of religious references, since this was the starting point of the article and I do love to see overlaps like this in different ideologies (sourced via Gemini) and a couple of power posing techniques to improve our emotional state (also sourced via Gemini).

Religious references

Depending on the translation, the number of direct commands varies significantly, but the sentiment is universally present. Here is the breakdown across different traditions:

1. Christianity (The Bible)

The idea that it appears 365 times was popularized by books like Facing the Future Without Fear by Lloyd Ogilvie.

• The Count: In the King James Version, “Fear not” or “Be not afraid” appears about 103 times. If you include variations like “do not be dismayed” or “peace be with you,” the count rises, but it rarely hits exactly 365 in any standard translation.
• Key Quote: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

2. Islam (The Quran)

In the Quran, fear (khawf) is often discussed in two ways: fear of God (reverence) and the removal of worldly fear for believers.

• The Count: The phrase “Do not fear” or “Have no fear” (la takhaf) appears frequently, often as comfort to prophets like Moses or Abraham.
• Key Quote: “Indeed, those who have said, ‘Our Lord is Allah’ and then remained on a right course—there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve.” (Quran 46:13)

3. Hinduism (The Bhagavad Gita)

In the Gita, Krishna repeatedly tells the warrior Arjuna to cast off his fear and doubt to perform his duty.

• The Count: While there isn’t a widely cited “total count,” Abhaya (fearlessness) is listed as the first of the “divine qualities” in Chapter 16.
• Key Quote: “Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.” (Bhagavad Gita 18:66)

4. Buddhism (The Dhammapada)

Buddhism treats fear as a result of attachment. The “Abhaya Mudra” (the hand gesture of the Buddha with an open palm) is the literal symbol for “dispelling fear.”

• The Count: The focus is on the state of fearlessness rather than a repeated command.
• Key Quote: “There is no fear for one whose mind is not filled with lust, whose mind is not bewildered, and who has discarded both merit and demerit.” (Dhammapada 3.39)

5. Judaism (The Torah)

The Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) uses “Al-Tira” (Do not fear) as a standard opening for God’s encouragement to His people.

Key Quote: “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you.” (Isaiah 41:10)

The Count: Similar to the Christian New Testament, it is one of the most frequent instructions given to leaders like Joshua or Abraham.

Power posing

The science of how posture influences emotion is often called embodied cognition or somatic psychology. It’s the “bottom-up” approach to mental health: instead of trying to think your way into a better mood, you move your way into one.

Here are specific examples of how physical shifts trigger chemical and emotional changes:

1. The “Power Pose” vs. The “Collapse”

This is the most famous example, popularized by social psychologist Amy Cuddy.

• The Action: Standing with feet apart, hands on hips (the “Wonder Woman”), or reaching arms up in a “V” shape.
• The Feeling: Increased feelings of dominance, risk-tolerance, and confidence.
• The Biology: Studies have shown that expansive postures can lead to a slight increase in testosterone (the assertiveness hormone) and a decrease in cortisol (the stress hormone). Conversely, “collapsing” (crossing arms, hunching) signals to the brain that you are under threat, spiking anxiety.

2. The Upright Spine vs. Slumping

How you sit during a stressful task directly dictates your resilience.

• The Action: Sitting with a straight back and shoulders retracted versus slouching over a desk.
• The Feeling: Research from the University of Auckland found that people who sat upright during a stressful speech task had higher self-esteem, better mood, and less fear compared to those who slumped.
• The Flow: Slumping constricts the diaphragm, leading to shallow “chest breathing.” Upright posture allows for deep abdominal breathing, which activates the vagus nerve and triggers the parasympathetic nervous system (the “rest and digest” mode).

3. The “Facial Feedback” Effect

Your brain monitors your facial muscles to decide how you should feel.

• The Action: Even a “forced” smile (like holding a pen between your teeth) versus a “forced” frown.
• The Feeling: The brain interprets the contraction of the zygomaticus major (smiling muscle) as a sign that things are okay, which can lower the heart rate after a stressful event.
• The Romanian Connection: In a “culture of fear,” people often carry a “neutral” or “stern” mask to avoid drawing attention. This constant facial tension reinforces a baseline of internal stress.

4. Walking Gait and Memory

How you walk influences what you remember.

• The Action: Walking with slumped shoulders and minimal arm swing versus a “happy” gait with a bounce in the step and swinging arms.
• The Feeling: A study in the Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry found that people who walked in a “depressed” style remembered more negative words from a list, while those who walked “bouncy” remembered more positive ones.
• The Logic: Your gait sets the “filter” through which you perceive your environment.

5. Open Heart vs. Protected Chest

This is a central concept in bioenergetics and yoga.

• The Action: Pulling the shoulder blades together to “open the heart” versus rounding them forward to protect the chest.
• The Feeling: Protecting the chest is a primal defense mechanism (guarding vital organs). When you consciously open your chest, you signal to your subconscious that you are safe enough to be vulnerable. This is often why “opening” movements can lead to an emotional release or a sudden sense of relief.