Let Go Of The Energy Of Fear & Anxiety

We have developed very habitual reactions to experiences and this reaction is often what turns a stimulus into suffering. We explore how we can gradually change this reaction & transform our relationship with fear or anxiety.

Transcript

Something that I often say to people is pain and suffering is not the same thing. It's our reaction to stimulus that causes suffering. With fear or anxiety, The sensations in the body are just sensations actually. It's our habitual reaction to those sensations that label it as uncomfortable and turn it into a whole thing. It turns it into this awful package that we call fear or anxiety. We can gradually change this habitual pattern and transform the way that we respond to stimulus. On a deeper energetic level, What is happening? When a stimulus arises, In the body we habitually kind of freeze or contract around the experience. Every feeling and emotion has an energy to it. And when we freeze or contract around an experience, The energy of the emotion gets stuck, Held or pushed down. If we can get used to noticing this habitual holding process in the body, Keep allowing that to let go and open, And letting the energy of it take its natural unfolding course and liberate, The fear or anxiety begins to lose its power. This can be really transforming and genuinely change the relationship that you have with the fear or anxiety. For some, It takes a little while to get to feel this energy and get used to this process. For others, It's more instant. However it is for you, It's okay. It could be something that you come to experience and understand in time. Everyone is different. But it's worthwhile exploring and then you can just gauge for yourself where you are in the process. So that's what we'll do in the meditation. As we begin the practice, Let your body find a comfortable position. Some place where your body feels awake, But safe, Supported, And where it can relax. There's no need to hold yourself tight or strain. You can allow your body to find a restful position and have a natural movement to it. Gently close your eyes and allow yourself to gradually arrive. In the meditation, I'll give you some guidance and then I'll leave some silence for you to really be in your own space and feel what is happening for you in the moment. With your eyes still closed, Noticing the room that you're in right now. You are nowhere else except for right here and you are safe. Notice the form of your body and the space that it holds. Gradually drawing your awareness away from the outside world and into the body, Become aware of the rise and fall of your natural breath. Take your awareness down to your belly and notice all the sensations of it rising and falling with each in-breath and each out-breath. Notice how with each out-breath, As your belly falls, There's a feeling of releasing and relaxing in the body. And by following the quality of your out-breath, Really let your whole body deeply relax into the ground below you. Feeling the steadiness and the safety of that ground and noticing how it holds you and supports you. Coming back to the rise and fall of your belly, Let your awareness expand out from your belly until you're breathing with your whole torso and let it expand out more until you're breathing with your whole body. And this breathing process softens the separation between you and the space around you. So as you breathe, You gradually become more spacious and open. If you become distracted, You'll probably notice a sense of tightness or lifting up out of the ground. See if you can gently let go of the distraction, Let your body deeply relax into the ground again and gradually let yourself become more spacious and open again. Resting and allowing. Now for a few moments, Let a situation arise for yourself where you feel a deep sense of fear or anxiety. See if you can let yourself be present with it, Let it grow and let yourself really feel it, Putting yourself in that situation as much as you can. Now drop the story of it and just notice what's happening in your body. You'll probably feel a sense of holding or tension in the body or maybe like you're squeezing in or even like you're subtly lifting up out of the ground. Take a deep breath in through your nose and a long slow breath out through the mouth. Relax your body and let your body be spacious and open. You might notice the energy of the fear or anxiety taking its natural unfolding course, Moving through, Moving out and dissolving away. Allowing it to liberate. We can try that again if you like. Gently bring yourself back to the situation where you feel a strong sense of anxiety in the body and for a moment let yourself really be there and feel it. Dropping the stories and the labels, Coming down from the head and looking into its raw nature in the body. Notice the bare sensations of it in your body. Notice if it's something you could grasp with your hand or not. And now notice if obviously or really subtly there's a feeling of tension or holding in your body. With a deep in-breath and a long slow out-breath, Let your body deeply relax and be fluid, Spacious and open. Allow the fear or anxiety in your body to move and take its natural unfolding course. And notice what you feel. You might feel the energy of it move out and dissolve away, Liberating. And notice if somehow your relationship with the fear shifts. After a while you might feel everything kind of gradually drawing in again, Becoming tighter. Again, Let go of any stories and thinking. Take a deep breath in and a long slow breath out through the mouth. Letting your whole body deeply relax and be open again. Letting the energy of the fear or anxiety move and transform. Freeing it. Noticing the slight shift in relationship each time. As we bring this meditation to an end, Spend a few moments reflecting on your experience. I hope that it gave you a new perspective on how you can be with fear or anxiety. You can practice this as many times as you like, Both in meditation and in your daily life. As you become more and more accustomed to being with your emotions in this way, It gradually gives them less power and control over you. Wouldn't that be wonderful to live freely, Having the courage to be how you want to be, Without being held back or controlled by fears? Fear and anxiety colors our perspective on life and impacts our mental and physiological well-being in so many ways. What we don't want to do is go to war with it, To try and stop it or repress it or change it. If we can get used to being with it and letting the energy of it take its natural unfolding course and liberate, It will gradually lose its power over you and you can enjoy a much greater sense of courage and freedom in your life. This practice is part of my course, Transforming Fear and Anxiety. If you found it helpful and would like to explore more, Then you're welcome to have a look at the course. Thank you for joining me and hopefully see you there.