I am writing this article, because my partner and I are expecting our first child, a son, in July.  Stepping thru fear has been a process that I have been working with over the past several months.  Like my past few posts, about acknowledging the shadow aspect of ourselves, stepping thru fear is not necessarily a comfortable action to take, it is however very rewarding.  Recently I held the belief that I wished to be free of all fear, to attain a state of fearlessness (Abhaya in Sanskrit).  There seem to be two ways to go about this; 1.  To realize that everything in phenomenal existence is but a play of illusion (maya) originating from the mind, and to hold this understanding as a thought form in each moment.  2. Is to have a traumatic brain injury or psychological impairment.  A 44 year old woman from New York has a damaged amygdala and is unable to feel fear. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/16/brain-damaged-no-fear_n_797848.html)  Of the two options #1 seems really great but as of yet I only have an intellectual understanding of life's illusion that is not present every moment within my mind. As for #2 I'm not sure I want to take the chance of breaking my brain.  So being completely fearless is out of the question for the time being.  I imagine that it would be much easier to not contend with fear at all.   My only other options are to press on in spite of my fear or let my fear dictate how I live my life.  Fear can dictate how we live our lives, because we have a habitual reaction to it.  That reaction can shut us down and keep us in the same patterns that leave us feeling unhappy and dis-empowered.  The fear maintains it's grip on our life and we never challenge it because we are afraid of the discomfort of stepping thru fear.    Making the choice to do something you are afraid of is a very empowering decision.  The fear could be leaving a job you hate to pursue your passion, leaving a relationship which you have outgrown, asking for help, failure, having a child, or doing a headstand, handstand or other inversion.  For the last year I taught rock climbing at a local gym, and one of my favorite things about the job, was seeing people step thru their fear of heights.  The smile on their face after climbing all the way to the top of the wall was priceless.  The first step in conquering your fear is acknowledging that it is there, then having the audacity to put yourself in that situation in spite of your fear, with practice the discomfort will ease and you will transform your habitual reaction into non reaction.  It is a very empowering process, but it does require you to stay checked in and remain open and honest with yourself.  Give yourself love and understanding and remember persistence is the key to making lasting changes.