The Fear of Intimacy

By: OSHO

Narrated by: OSHO

Everybody is afraid of intimacy. It is another thing whether you are aware of it or not. Intimacy means exposing yourself before a stranger. We are all strangers - nobody knows anybody. We are even strangers to ourselves, because we don't know who we are.

©1987 OSHO International Foundation (P)2009 OSHO International Foundation

Maintaining equilibrium in an unloving world.

This Osho talk is all about love and openness. Osho makes it clear that when a person is closed off and afraid that they make enemies of everyone around them. That the very fear of being disliked becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. That one must open themselves up, be vulnerable and be prepared to have some people treat them wrong. The idea is to be like water running off a ducks back, none of it should stick and if it does it's time for some self reflection. What forces one to value others opinions so much anyways? Is it a Buddha or an enlightened one that is judging you so harshly? In fact Buddha welcomed disrespect as a means to test his growth in enlightment, a man spit on his face and he thanked him for the opportunity to test his reaction to a negative experience. This is the difference between a person whose consciousness has grown beyond like and dislike. You are responsible for your behavior and they are responsible for theirs. Can you expect a child to be well behaved? Be like a cloud filled with rain ready to drop it's kindness on both the good and evil. The more happiness and joy you give away the more that you will have. It's the one thing on earth that is capable of being infinite.