This is a short talk and guided mindfulness meditation in which I'll be offering out different ways of working with worrying thoughts and the physical sensations that can accompany them as they come up in the present moment.
The idea of working with your worries may seem totally foreign and counterintuitive,
And I'll explain more about that as we go.
Some of us may worry more than others,
And the fact is worrying is something that our human minds do naturally,
And for the most part it comes from a healthy place of wanting ourselves and others to be safe and happy.
We worry because we care.
So if we find that we're judging ourselves for worrying,
It may be useful to connect with that genuine sense of care that underlies the worry.
The difficulty can come in depending on the ways in which we relate and respond to worries.
Two common ways that can bring us more suffering are to believe the worries to be objective truth,
This terrible thing will happen no matter how unlikely it actually is,
Or trying to get rid of the worry,
Pushing it away,
Bottling it up inside,
Or judging ourselves for having it.
After all this time,
How could I still be holding on to this same worry?
And to be clear,
It may be that a worry is pointing towards something that it would actually be really useful and important to take action on.
But if we're blindly reacting to every worry as soon as it comes up out of a sense of urgency without pausing to take a closer look at the worry and where it's coming from,
This can lead to actions that cause more suffering for ourselves and others that could otherwise be avoided.
So beginning this practice in your own time now,
Coming to find a posture that may support you to be awake,
Mindful,
And also at ease.
If it's comfortable closing the eyes or allowing them to remain open with a soft,
Unfocused downward gaze,
And inviting attention to come to rest with a sense of the body,
Feeling into the connection between the body and the surface that's supporting you right now.
As much as possible working less and less to hold the body here and allowing the body to be held and supported by that surface more and more.
If you'd like,
Briefly scanning attention down through the body,
Starting at the top of the head,
And if you may notice any areas of tension,
Inviting them to soften and release as much as they can,
Maybe loosening the jaw,
Shoulders,
And hands.
And as you're ready,
Allowing attention to gently come to rest with the sensations of the breath coming in and going out.
Noticing wherever the breath can be felt most easily in the body right now and anchoring the tension there,
Whether that be at the nostrils,
The chest,
Or the belly,
Or having a sense of the whole body breathing.
Breathing in and aware of breathing in,
Breathing out and aware of breathing out.
And if at any time you notice that the attention has drifted away into worrying thoughts,
Simply noticing this without judgment.
If you'd like applying a soft mental label,
Silently noting to yourself,
Worrying,
Worrying.
And then allowing attention to come to rest once more with the sensations of the breath flowing in and out of the body.
And if you may notice that strong or more subtle physical sensations accompany the worrying thoughts,
There are several ways to work with this.
One option may be to notice the sensations and then re-center attention on the breath.
Another option may be to make these sensations the anchor for your attention for as long as they are present.
Whether it be a churning in the stomach,
Tightness in the chest,
Or beating of the heart,
Or some other sensation with a very light touch and sense of compassion for yourself.
Exploring these sensations as they ebb and flow.
Seeing that eventually,
Like all things,
They will pass away,
Especially if they aren't fed by resisting and tensing against them or playing out more catastrophic scenarios in the mind.
And then when you're ready,
Settling attention again with the sensations of the breath in the present moment.
In this way,
We can slowly begin to soften the initial charge that worries can carry and see them more for what they're worth.
And in your own time now,
Inviting attention to come again to a sense of the body.
Feeling your body being supported by the surface beneath you in whatever posture you've chosen for this practice.
Gently allowing the eyes to float open.
And if you'd like pausing for a moment to offer yourself gratitude for taking time to do this practice.
If you found it helpful,
It may be useful to bring the tools of this practice into your daily life as you notice worries arise.
Applying that soft mental note of worrying,
Becoming aware of any physical sensations that can accompany worrying thoughts,
And using the breath as a way of centering yourself.
It may also be useful to explore where the root of a worry comes from if it is recurring.
In this way,
We can come to understand ourselves and others with more compassion and respond to worries more skillfully.
