The elusive task of becoming free from fear is an arduous one at best. The most difficult step is the first one - to acknowledge that fear is indeed a part of your being. It has become so engrained within us that most of us have accepted what we once saw as fear as being natural. It has become so much a part of our interaction with the world that its vote now counts in the decisions we have to make and its influence colors the directions we take.

What is this creature called fear and what do we do to get rid of it? It is that adrenaline rush you get that begins in the pit of your stomach that signals to you something is wrong or that you need to be aware of a situation you find yourself faced with. A falling boulder as you are mountain climbing can do it (in fact, simply mountain climbing would do it for me!) A spider creates such rush for some of us. A car speeding down the street, going in the wrong direction can do it as well.

Then we move on to other arenas of fear - those that are based upon speculation as opposed to what is actually happening. The threat of impending natural or unnatural disaster gets us almost every time. Often times, we find that we are even addicted to the rush that fear generates within us which is why so many of us love to watch scary movies. The media capitalizes on this addiction by filling us up with all sorts of horror stories that keep us pumped up with fear.

There are some points of view that explore the possibility that there are powers that be that actually get stronger by feeding off the fear generated within us. It is certainly feasible to see that, at the very least, it is good for some that we stay entrenched in fear so that we are more eager to do whatever it takes to alleviate the cause of the potential fear - buy a product, avoid an area, spy on our friends...

Whatever the source of fear - natural or unnatural - it is necessary to put ourselves into the driver's seat by learning to recognize fear when it initially appears and then place it into our control as opposed to falling victim to it.

One of the things you probably notice is that fear causes your chest to tighten and your breathing becomes very shallow. You become like a deer caught in the light of a car. Unlike a deer, though, you have the ability to identify the purpose of the fear quickly and then move on it. This means that you decide if you are in imminent danger and what you need to do to remove yourself - either confront the cause or run for the hills. We tend to forget this was the original purpose of fear.

In situations where we are unable to respond in either way, the fear is unjustified and needs to be dismissed. Actually, after it is acknowledged in the first scenario, it can be dismissed as well. What happens when you attempt to dismiss it and it refuses to leave?

There are techniques shared by some of the very best across the board. The one that I have found to be the most beneficial for me is to breathe. Simply breathe. When you breathe deep and slowly down to your diaphragm and release it, you are able to gain control of yourself and become more analytical about the circumstances.

Try it. The first step to becoming free from fear is to let it go. Simply let it go.