Taking Our Power Back From Fear
Fear is one of the most common things people ask me about in their work with Ayahuasca. It wears many faces: fear of failure, fear of success, fear of change, of the unknown, of financial ruin, sickness, death—our own or a loved one’s. Fear of being alone, of making mistakes, of falling back into old patterns. We even fear the fear—because we feel beholden to it, controlled by it and don’t understand what to do in the face of it.
Fear is an equal opportunity visitor. None of us are immune. Ayahuasca can help us face our fears, release the grip of old fear, and repair the damage done to our nervous system and psyche—but fear will still come knocking throughout our lives. The work, then, is not about eradicating fear but learning how to meet it, harness it, and take back our power from it.
Fright vs. Fear
One of the most important distinctions is between fright and fear.
Fright belongs to us. It is rooted in the present. Something explodes, a car veers too close—our body responds with a surge of adrenaline, blood flow, oxygen. Fright alerts us, mobilizes us, and can save our lives.
Fear, on the other hand, does not belong to us. It is a force of nature, and a contagious one. Fear is of the anticipated future: what if…? It also releases powerful chemicals into the body, but without an outlet—no running, no fighting—they only drain us, leaving us depleted, dysregulated, anxious, or frozen. Fear does not save our lives; it steals our quality of life.
“The antidote to fear is connection. Fear lives in an imagined future. Connection lives in the now. When we are fully present—rooted in what is real, happening here and now—we cannot simultaneously be in fear.”
Fear As Disempowerment
Think of fear as walking into the wrong room of a house. In some rooms, you are empowered—you can act, move, shift outcomes. In others, you are powerless, paralyzed, unable to change anything. Every time we play with fear, we walk ourselves into the rooms of disempowerment. And yet the only place we ever have power is here, in the present.
How Fear Hooks Us
It seems like fear belongs to us because of the way we notice and claim it. In slow motion, it looks like this: fear approaches like a cloud. We sense its presence. At first, without our involvement, it is about nothing—it simply is.
Sometimes, depending on our current level of resourcing, we manage not to pay it any mind. Most of the time, we sense it, mistakenly feel it must be ours, and ask: what am I fearful about? And when we look deep inside, we always find something. Fear usually settles on the most current and uncomfortable thing in our lives, and, in our minds, we attach the fear to the uncomfortable thing. Suddenly, that fear—which in and of itself was not about anything and was definitely not ours—is now attached to something associated with us and, in that instant, becomes ours.
Using Fear As A Teacher
So how do we take our power back? The first step is recognizing that fear always highlights something important to us. That is not its purpose—it is simply a byproduct of its presence—but it is a gift we can use.
Imagine that I am taking my beloved new puppy to doggy day care while I am at work. I am super excited for this opportunity for them to have fun and socialize, and I am grateful I won’t have to come home to chewed-up furniture, messes on the floor, or guilt about them not having enough stimulation.
After I drop them off, something shifts. Fear has come to visit. And it gets my mind running. What if my precious pup gets out of the fenced playground and gets hit by a car because a distracted employee leaves the gate ajar? What if another dog parent faked their dog’s vaccine records and my pup catches a contagious and possibly fatal infection? What if my pup gets into a fight with a bigger dog and gets really hurt?
The visiting cloud of fear has attached itself to the most recent thing in my day or life that is or has been uncomfortable in some way. Here is where I stand at a crossroads. I can double down on my own disempowerment—spinning my wheels or, worse yet, digging myself a very deep hole, loading my nervous system with stress—or I can take my power back.
In this case, fear is highlighting for me that my new puppy is very important to me. I likely knew that, but as I look at the flavor my fears took, I get some important detail I am going to add in the antidote.
So I now know that not only is my puppy really important to me, but his physical health really matters to me. How he feels in his heart and his body matters to me. I now know I really like knowing that he is going to be well when he is with me and when he is not.
So—the first thing I am going to do is thank fear for highlighting the ways my puppy is so important to me. The very next thing I am going to do—as immediately as possible—is something that supports what I just learned from fear is really important to me.
So, in this instance I might visit the pet store on my way to work and finally switch to that better puppy food I have been meaning to pick up, or maybe I sign up for some puppy classes so my loved one will know how to behave safely around open doors and gates—anything that fits with what I just learned.
As I take that immediate action (or act in the now by making a plan I am going to follow up on as soon as I can), I am currently in the now and building momentum toward something important to me. I am not in the future, where I have no power and am flooding myself with physiological chemicals that can make me physically and mentally sick. I have taken my power back from fear.
Cultural Wisdom
This way of meeting fear has been known across traditions and stories. In the film Apocalypto, Jaguar Paw’s father warns him that fear is a sickness that cripples the soul, urging him to “Strike it from your heart. Do not bring it into our village.” That scene powerfully illustrates how fear travels before us—and how, if we can, we must drop it like a hot potato, returning our energy to what truly matters.
He teaches that fear is contagious, that we sense it before it's fully here—and that we must respond not by letting it invade our inner world but by acting in care and support of what fear revealed as precious: our land, our people, our hearts. He taught his son to recognize what fear highlighted—what mattered most—and to take immediate steps to protect and nurture that, reclaiming his power in the present moment.
Practice & Healing
The more we practice, the sooner we catch fear as it approaches, before it can attach itself. Over time, the cloud visits less often—or perhaps we simply learn to relate to it differently.
“Instead of being undone by fear, we see it as an opportunity to clarify what matters most, and to act in service of that truth.”
6 Steps To Take Your Power Back From Fear
These steps are not optional or theoretical. To convert fear into agency, act immediately or schedule the first action immediately.
Step 1: Catch The Cloud
Say (out loud if you can): “Fear is present.”
Naming it prevents instant attachment (naming it simply as “fear,” not “my fear about X”) and keeps you in the now.
Step 2: Extract The Signal
Ask: “What does this fear show me is precious to me?”
List specifics. In the puppy example: health, emotional well-being, safety when I’m absent.
Fear reliably points to what we value. Identifying details gives you targets for action.
Step 3: Choose One Supportive Action You Can Do Now
In the puppy example: upgrade to better food; enroll in a safety/obedience class; confirm daycare gate and vaccine protocols.
Action in the present shifts physiology (completes the stress response) and builds momentum where you have power.
Step 4: If You Can’t Act Now, Schedule It With A Date & Time
Put it on your calendar within 24 hours and set reminders.
A time-bound plan anchors agency in the present; your nervous system registers direction, not helplessness.
Step 5: Close The Loop
Thank fear for the information. One slow breath. Say: “I’m acting for what I love.”
Gratitude ends rumination; breath regulates; a clear statement consolidates the state shift.
Step 6: Repeat These Steps Every Time Fear Tries To Resurge
If fear resurges, return to Steps 2–5 and take the next small action or schedule it.
Iteration prevents reattachment and turns fear into a cue for aligned movement.
Result:
You are back in connection (the antidote to fear), in the present (the only room where you have power), and moving toward what matters—rather than spiraling in imagined futures.
Closing Thoughts
Fear is not our enemy, but neither is it our friend. It is a visitor, a force of nature, a passing cloud. When we learn not to clutch at it but to listen through it—when we thank it for showing us what is dear and then act in the now—we turn disempowerment into empowerment. Again and again, we can take our power back from fear, not by pretending it doesn’t exist, but by remembering that our strength is always here, where connection lives.