18 Comments

This topic of fear that you write about, Veronika, is not coincidental; I do not think so. Not at all. I have been sensing more fear and anxiety lately, even among the non-human species who I encounter in my daily walks and meanderings.

Yes, the air is thick with it and although there could be many of the usual reasons and explanations for it--economic, political, social, personal--I sense that the pervasive fear that we feel is something more than what we usually associate with fear-inducing events. It is different, and Joshua's encounter with it confirms this in my mind.

I can't put my finger on it, not precisely (and the idea remains inchoate), but it seems that Nature wants to awaken us humans, who are the least aware of all species, for the most part, of what is taking place on Home Earth. This is to say, "A Whole Lot.:

I thank you for opening this discussion on Fear. We do need to talk about it more; by talking about it, we apprehend more.

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I totally agree. Plenty of fear-inducing *phobogenic* stuff flying around. Fear is closely related to danger, as I wrote last week. This cuts both ways. In a (truly) dangerous situation we (may) feel more fear. On the other hand, when fear is whipped up by manipulation of the military industrial complex, fear itself can become dangerous.

While psychology still talks about uncertainty, darkness, snakes, spiders and other scary animals 'out there' as causes for our fears, far more dangerous and insidious phobogenics are at work within the human mind itself. (The demons inhabiting the inner world)

With these wordcasts I am also edging towards this deeper topic, which I am hoping to tackle some time soon. No coincidence, I don't think either. This is a time we need to grasp fear, and embrace it as a friend, (which can help us prevent the creation some seriously dangerous situation...)

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Thanks for this wonderful safari into the wildwordwoods Veronika. Phobogenics. Your posts are always so informing, and I leave with a smile on my face and a deeper vocabulary. I love to know where words came from, and what they truly meant at birth! So glad Josh was not eaten by the wild dogs and made it back to tell the story very poetically. 🙏❤️

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Oh me too! 😅 His *wild dog* experience was so timely for this wordcast as well! Another little wink from the universe talking to us in many wondrous ways.

I was quite exhilarated by the arrival of phobogenics as well!! from 😰 to 🤭. Some words just fit so well, and sound instantly familiar. In retrospect I have learned that it has been used in psychology in relation to objects or phenomena that elicit phobias.(and in medicine there are 'phobogenic stimuli that trigger pathological fear'). Here I'm applying the principle and the term to words themselves. Plenty of phobogenic language going around in the media these days...

P.S. just wondering *Did you notice in the title the nod to the poem "Sometimes a Wild God"?

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Loved it! God to Dog! That damn dyslexia lol. I don’t know Tom’s work but will check him out. 🙏❤️

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I've now added the link above (under the wordcast). I think you'll find Tom's work inspirational in general...

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"Sometimes A Wild God" by Tom Hirons is one of the poems I recite (I think the longest one too).

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"Words ~ not unlike humans ~ can reveal their fuller character, purpose, meaning and identity in the spaces between each other. Gathered here, in the understory of the wildwordwoods, they might feel a little overwhelming." Yes, they are, and you are a wonderful guide who helps us navigate through them. Thank you for this post!

As mentioned in the comments, there’s a shared sense of fear (collective) that many of us feel. I love the mythology aspects and how you point a path to the reader throughout the post. Much appreciation, Veronika—keep bringing us the courage to understand more so that we can fear less as (Marie Curie said it better).

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Thank you Katerina. Isn't it interesting how words stir the felt sense they convey?

I know, fear in her whole spectrum, and the whole gamut of negative feelings are riding high on tumultuous waves this season. We're all thrown into them and need to learn to surf to keep ourselves from sinking xxx

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Affray reminds me of children or English language learners trying to say the word afraid, but we still understand what they're trying to say. Also, fascinating origin stories for these words like dread and shock. The definition of worry reminds me of worry beads. Wonderful work, Veronika.

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Thank you Lani! I love how this bead-string of words triggers different associations for different readers, continuing to add more beads... You're absolutely spot on with both.

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Your ability to weave past and present into new, expanded, reimagined meaning is astounding Veronika! I was particularly tickled by horrere, meaning to bristle with fear and its derivation from hedgehog!

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I know! I hadn't expected bristling hedgehogs in that fear-undergrowth either... and was delighted to meet them.

Thank you for acknowledging my gift, Kimberly. This is also something I only discovered relatively late in this life ~ actually, I'm discovering it as I write these wordcasts, which reveal new meanings every time, which may help us gain a new understanding of our experience of life, which inevitably leads to a deeper understanding of ourselves, which can change our world, one blink of insight at a time!!

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Hi Veronika, I love learning about lexicon around the subjects of your posts. A timely post for me — I have been feeling many of these emotions this week — some are obvious, some not so — quite probably mainly of the imagination. The full gamut, part of our being — emotions, so I accept them as another form of energy that will come and pass and cycle back. Your poem speaks to this of course — love it. Thank you for sharing.🙏💜

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Dear Simone, thank you for tuning in! I know, these inner 🐉 emotions are not easy, often overwhelming, and never welcome. But with your depth of understanding and breadth of experience (and mine) we can open a little door to let new insights reveal themselves. This is, in my understanding, the key to growth in Consciousness. I'm delighted and grateful how this wordcast speaks to you. 💗🙏

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Hi Veronika, Thank you 💜. Yes, the gifts of these emotions are certainly the insights and portals into the expansive consciousness — in accepting them can come a grace — as you say, I open the door.🙏

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thank you so much for restacking Geraldine 💗🙏

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An alphabet of emotions followed by a poem that unites the list, Veronika. Marvelous.

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