Forest is a respected authority in the Esoteric Sciences, including the disciplines of Astrology, Tarot, Guided Meditation, Crystal Healing and Therapeutic Movement.
Forest has studied Classical Dance for decades, and has created performances professionally in venues ranging from the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC to Bar Sinister in Hollywood.
Courage is crafted from the raw material we experience as fear. That is not to say that fear necessarily generates courage; quite the contrary, in fact. Fear is the seed from which any number of varied circumstances may grow: from paralysis to passivity to violence. It is only through conscious and deliberate action that we may transmute fear into the strength with which to act in accordance with the ethical, human standards to which we hold ourselves and others. It provides the resistance we can use to become stronger.
So, why do we have to become any stronger? What's the point? Isn't it good enough to be as we are? Haven't we been through enough, already for crying out loud? Perhaps we have. But, nestled among these questions is precisely the moment where courage becomes possible. We can absolutely choose to be stopped, to stay exactly as we are and to accept that "this is as good as it gets." More to the point, "this is as good as I get." We can also choose to explore beyond previous experience and the perspective it has generated. It is possible, believe it or not, to learn more. Always.
"The Great I-Don't-Know," as I like to call it is -in my opinion - the key to growth and personal evolution. The idea that we "already know" anything effectively limits our ability to move forward. However, we are facing a mighty opponent in our efforts to "not know."
Enter: Fear. It is not an evil thing, in itself. In fact, from an evolutionary standpoint, we are hardwired to respond to unknown things with caution, trepidation ... the fight-or-flight response. Fear helped us (and continues to help us) stay alive in a sometimes hostile environment full of saber-toothed tigers and such. In a contemporary context, physical survival is - relatively speaking, of course - less urgent a matter than it was when we were cave people. It is - however - no less frightening to deal with the Unfamiliar; only now, it seems to affect us on a more personal, emotional level. Where it has become a less urgent matter to protect and sustain the material self on a day-to-day basis, it has become more urgent to protect the SENSE of Self.
In the presence of a threat to our emotional equilibrium, we are capable of responding in astoundingly ineffective ways. In some cases we can shut down, entirely and avoid emotional involvement, altogether. We can also be as rabid in our defense as a cornered, bleeding animal. It is even possible to do both at once! I know ... I have.
But, there is another way. Instead of defaulting to a fight-or-flight response, one can stop, see the fear and choose to keep looking directly at it. Upon doing so, the true cause of fear begins to unveil itself. If we remain steadfast, patient and compassionate to ourselves, we may come to recognize that root cause and call it by its true name. Then, like a faerietale goblin, it becomes insubstantial, like smoke. It disappears before our eyes. It is gone. And all that remains is a certain, quiet humility ... perhaps even a slight sense of shame at having thought the creature so very formidable, once upon a time. This is a moment in which it helps to have a good sense of humor about one's self. Truth comes not amid victorious fanfare ... but, quietly and with gentle grace. We must be willing to receive. That means being able to stand up and say, "oh ... I didn't know, that."
