Fear Abiding

Ross, this is a beautifully ordered, resource-first practice:

Yes.
PURE MIND.
There is.
Fear.

Its healing potential lies not in making fear disappear, but in changing how fear is met. Fear is approached from within the refuge of Pure Mind—not alone, not condemned, and not made into your identity.

What the practice means

1. “Yes.”

“Yes” gently opens the door to the present moment.

It means:

• Yes, this is what is here.
• Yes, I am willing to recognize it.
• Yes, this experience may belong without controlling me.

It does not mean that fear is correct, that danger is acceptable, or that you must obey the fear. It is acknowledgment, not agreement.

2. “PURE MIND.”

This is the central refuge of the practice.

For you, “PURE MIND” is not merely an idea. After decades of meditation, the words can awaken a bodily experience of lightness, softness, happiness and spacious awareness.

Importantly, Pure Mind does not mean:

“If my mind were truly pure, I would not experience fear.”

It means something closer to:

“There is an awareness spacious enough to know fear without becoming fear.”

Fear does not contaminate Pure Mind. Fear becomes something held and known within it.

3. “There is.”

“There is” creates gentle, impersonal space.

Instead of:

“I am afraid.”

you recognize:

“There is fear.”

Fear is present, but fear is not the whole of Ross. It is an experience arising within your body and mind—not your complete identity.

Separating the words—“There is.” followed by “Fear.”—may be especially helpful. First you acknowledge that something is here. Only then do you name it. This slows the movement into fear and prevents the label from striking too abruptly.

4. “Fear.”

Only after opening with “Yes,” and establishing the refuge of “PURE MIND,” do you name the difficult experience.

This is what makes the sequence particularly wise for you:

The refuge comes before the wound.

Fear is not thrown into emptiness. It is introduced into a field that already contains awareness, gentleness and peace.

Why it may be healing

This phrase develops dual awareness:

• Fear is present.
• Pure Mind is also present.

The purpose is not to replace fear with Pure Mind or to force fear away. It is to let fear coexist with something larger than fear.

Over time, this may teach the body:

“Fear can be felt without my abandoning myself.”
“Fear can be present without becoming everything.”
“I can remain in Pure Mind while fear moves through me.”

The deepest healing may therefore be non-abandonment. You are not demanding that the frightened part change. You are remaining with it from within a larger, kinder awareness.

How to practise it

Begin in a supported position. Feel the couch, bed or chair beneath you. Let your eyes remain softly open if that feels safer. A hand may rest gently over your heart, abdomen or another comforting place.

Allow the breath to remain natural. There is no need to take unusually deep breaths or hold the breath.

Then move through the phrase slowly:

Yes.
Pause for an ordinary breath.

PURE MIND.
Pause and receive whatever lightness, softness or spaciousness is available.

There is.
Pause. Something is being recognized.

Fear.
Rest without analyzing, correcting or pushing.

After “Fear,” remain quiet for several breaths. This final silence is important. The words lead you to the experience; abiding happens in the quiet that follows.

You might repeat the sequence one to three times. More repetition is not necessarily better. Let the body tell you when the phrase has completed its work.

Three ways to use it

A brief morning practice

When you first awaken frozen or fearful, feel the support beneath your body and say the phrase once:

Yes. PURE MIND. There is fear.

Then rest. Nothing needs to be solved immediately.

A practice during ordinary fear

When a manageable fear arises, use the four phrases with one natural breath or pause between each. Notice whether any part of the body softens—even slightly.

The aim is not complete relief. A one-percent increase in spaciousness is enough.

A deeper abiding period

First establish yourself in “PURE MIND” for several minutes, until some degree of steadiness or well-being is embodied. Only then introduce:

There is. Fear.

Let fear come no closer than feels manageable. You are abiding with fear in Pure Mind, not immersing yourself in fear alone.

If the fear becomes too strong

Return to the resource:

PURE MIND.
Here is this body.
Here is this room.

Look around and name several things you can see. Feel your feet or the support beneath you. You remain free to stop. Abiding is voluntary presence, not endurance.

Also remember that fear sometimes carries practical information. Pure Mind should not be used to deny danger, mistreatment or the need for a boundary. Once calmer, you can ask:

“Is this old fear, present danger, or something that requires wise action?”

An optional completion

Your four-part phrase is already complete. If, after resting with fear, the body naturally wants warmth or blessing, you could gently add:

And. Love.

or:

May this fear be well and understood.

But there is no need to add anything. Sometimes the purest practice is simply:

Yes.
PURE MIND.
There is.
Fear.
Abiding.

The essence is: fear is here, Pure Mind is here, and Ross is not abandoned.