By being present we can change our relationship with anxiety from resistance to acceptance.
Welcome to this series of meditation tracks.
In this series I aim to talk about anxiety in a different way and create space for insight and reflection for you so that you can see something new about your anxious thoughts.
Believe me I understand how debilitating anxiety can be and I want you to know that there is a way through as anxious thoughts are not you but they are happening to you.
Make yourself a little more comfortable,
Leave everything behind,
Let go of expectations,
Let go of judgment and allow yourself the gift of these few minutes together.
If you feel comfortable to do so close your eyes or lower your gaze and allow your breathing to settle into a deep rhythmic pattern.
There's nothing to attend to,
Nothing to do,
Nowhere to be.
I invite you to listen to today's quote again and see what it means to you.
By being present we can change our relationship with anxiety from resistance to acceptance.
Now take a moment to let this quote resonate with you,
Feel the words gently settle into your mind as if each syllable were a soothing balm softening any tension you may be holding.
What does the quote mean to you personally?
Allow yourself to explore its significance,
Reflect on how being present could transform your relationship with anxiety.
Imagine what it would be like to move from resisting anxiety to accepting it as a message that you're not present.
How do you feel when you wonder about this idea?
Notice any emotions that arise.
Do you feel a sense of hope and curiosity or even some resistance?
All feelings are valid.
Acknowledge them without judgment and simply observe them as they come and go.
Where in your life do you find this quote to be true?
Where in your life do you find this quote to be true?
Think of instances when getting really present has helped you navigate through anxious times.
How did it change your experience?
Maybe there was a moment when getting present helped you cope better with a stressful situation.
What resistance do you encounter when thinking about this quote?
Are there barriers?
Is there something that stops you from being present?
I remember a mentor of mine used to say you're either in your head or you're in your life and when I'm in my head that's when anxiety really takes its hold.
When I'm in my life nothing can stop me from just enjoying the moment.
If it pleases you to do so take some time to journal your thoughts and feelings.
The act of journaling can be a powerful way to understand your inner world more deeply.
Equally it's just as valid to sit back and relax and enjoy the music.
I'll share a personal story to illustrate the meaning of the quote to me.
I've always noticed that I'm very good in a crisis.
In a crisis I don't get anxious,
I don't get overwhelmed,
I don't worry about what's going to happen or what people are thinking about me or how things are going to pan out or what I should have done.
There's no blame,
There's no judgment.
I've been in a few crises in my life but I'll talk to you about a work-related one.
I was responsible for the computer systems for a large builder's firm.
There was no way that the firm could not be open and the computers could not work.
So I used to have to do the offline work,
Fixing the computers and adding new patches and things like this out of hours.
One night after several hours of updating one of the servers the whole thing crashed.
It was around 10pm and I had to rebuild it from scratch,
Which takes hours.
I rebuilt the server,
I ran the updates again,
It crashed again.
We were now heading to 2am in the morning.
My colleague was panicking about the fact that the computers needed to be running by 8am the next day,
Well that day actually,
And going over what we'd done wrong and what we should have done better.
They talked about all the problems and all the trouble that we were going to get into.
But even though it was very very late and I was very very tired,
Something kicked in.
I became very present and very clear.
I just did each step.
I said this is what we need to do and then I took each step and followed it.
When I felt my mind wandering,
When I felt worried or anything like that,
I would stop,
Take a breath,
Walk around the room,
Maybe have a cup of tea and then sit back down and carry on.
In the limited time left I rebuilt a whole server,
Which I can assure you takes a lot,
And I got us up and running to start at 8am the next morning.
I felt as crystal clear as I'd ever felt.
Now several years later,
I realised that when I came to understand the inside out nature of life and the innate health that we all have,
I realised that all that was happened was that I got very present and dealt with the situation as it was,
Not how I thought it should be or could be.
I invite you to reflect on this story and consider if it changes how you see the quote.
Does it give you a new perspective on the potential of how presence can cure anxiety?
How might you apply this to your daily life and transform your relationship with anxiety?
Don't worry if you can't see anything new right now.
You've already opened your mind to new possibilities.
Insight will follow in its own time.
For a more in-depth exploration,
I invite you to check out the playlist in my profile called Anxiety and you might enjoy the course How to Make Decisions You Can Trust as it provides practical strategies and insights to help you develop decision-making skills that you can rely on,
Fostering confidence and clarity in your daily life.
Thank you for joining me in this meditation.
Enjoy your moments of presence throughout the day.
Lots of love.
