The "It's Not Mine" Practice: How to Release Fear

When fear grips you, one quiet practice can loosen its hold surprisingly fast: realising the fear was never truly yours to carry. Here's how it works.

In short: A lot of fear isn't original to you. It's programming you absorbed over a lifetime. The practice is to notice the fear, recognise "this isn't mine," and hand it over, to God, the universe, whatever you connect to. Naming it as not-yours loosens its grip in a way that fighting it never does.

Most of us try to manage fear by wrestling with it, analysing it, or pushing it down. There's a gentler move that often works better, and it starts with a small but freeing idea: the fear isn't really you.

A real breakthrough on a real call

On a recent Awakened Gathering call, a student shared what happened when she stopped claiming her fear as her own. A situation had triggered her, and instead of spiralling, she sat down, breathed, and surrendered it, repeating that the fear was not hers. She described the relief that followed, and how clarity and new ideas flowed in once the fear was set down.

Why "it's not mine" works

Here's the principle underneath it:

"Originally, eternally, we're pure divine souls, and all of it we've picked up in one way or another. We don't want to think that any of it belongs to us. It's like a bunch of garbage you can hand back."

That reframe matters. When a fear is "mine," I defend it, identify with it, and carry it everywhere. When I see it as something I absorbed, from family, from culture, from old experiences, I can set it down, the way you'd hand back a bag that was never yours. This is the heart of surrender that David Hawkins describes in Letting Go: we stop suppressing or fighting a feeling and simply allow it to leave. In Awakened Academy, the Awakened Spirit and Miracle Consciousness sessions in Pillar 1 teach this connection to a higher power as the safe place to surrender into.

How to do it, next time fear rises

You can try this in two minutes:

1. Notice the fear without fighting it. Just feel where it sits in the body.
2. Name it as not-yours. Quietly: this isn't mine. I picked this up. It doesn't belong to me.
3. Hand it over. Breathe out and pass it to God, the universe, the light, whatever is real for you. You can take this. It's not mine.
4. Notice the space that opens. Often there's a softening, sometimes even a laugh of relief, and clearer thinking on the other side.

This isn't a replacement for proper support if you're dealing with serious or persistent anxiety, and it's not about bypassing real feelings. It's a doorway out of the ones you've been carrying that were never truly yours.

Are you willing to set down a fear you've been treating as part of you? It may be lighter to release than it's ever felt to hold.

Frequently asked questions

What does "the fear is not mine" actually mean? It means much of our fear is absorbed programming from our past and environment, not our true nature. Seeing it that way lets you release it instead of identifying with it.

How do I surrender fear to God or the universe? Notice the fear in your body, name it as not yours, then breathe out and hand it over to whatever higher power is real for you. Naming and releasing tends to loosen fear faster than analysing it.

Is this the same as ignoring or suppressing my feelings? No. Suppression pushes a feeling down; this lets it move through and leave. If anxiety is severe or persistent, please also seek appropriate support, this practice sits alongside that, not instead of it.

Michael Mackintosh has been pioneering spiritual life coaching since 2004 and certifying coaches since 2012. His free guided meditations have earned 85,000+ five-star reviews on Insight Timer, and he has helped students across 25+ countries create lives they love. He is the founder of Awakened Academy.

Published 31 May 2026. Reviewed by the Awakened Academy coaching faculty.

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Related reading

• How to Let Go of the Past (The Willingness Practice That Helps You Set It Down)
• It's Never Too Late to Have a New Childhood: Healing the Root of Your Limiting Beliefs
• Fear Is in Your Thoughts

Lots of love 🙏 Michael

Sources

• Hawkins, D. R. (2012). Letting Go: The Pathway of Surrender. Hay House.