Card #269 – Loss, Abandonment Fear

The choices of others, our choices, and fate can separate us from those we love. Abandonment fear is a primal emotion. It’s one we share with many species. A pack animal that gets separated from its pack is much less likely to survive.

If you have experienced a loss, take comfort from the reality that our separation exists on only one plane of existence in a multidimensional multiverse.

If abandonment fear is a dominant force in your life, recognize that this is a primal emotion visible in dogs waiting outside of stores.

Abandonment fear is recognized in cognitive psychology as one of the classic “schemas” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schema_(psychology) of emotional reactivity. Most of us have some aspect of it, but for some, or in some acute situations, the abandonment fear can be debilitating. It’s a primordial feeling to be found in many social animals. If you lose track or can’t keep up or ostracized by your pack, your survival is threatened.

If you are feeling abandonment fear, or an actual loss, pray for yourself and for all other beings who are similarly afflicted.

For more on schemas and dealing with negative emotions in general see:
A Guide to the Perplexed Interdimensional Traveler