Well,
Hello and welcome to Guided Meditation,
Which is for dealing with anxiety.
Now,
That's something that I have.
.
.
I don't want to say struggled.
I'm trying to think of a better word.
But anyway,
Something that I've been dealing with for a long time,
As I'm sure many of us are.
And what I've learnt over the years and through my meditation practice is that if I'm not careful,
I can add to the anxiety,
Which is what the Buddha called the second arrow.
We have something that happens,
An event that might upset us or trigger and or might trigger a negative emotion.
And then we add to our suffering by the way we respond to it,
By making it worse.
And the other day I was thinking,
Because I quite often feel anxious when I wake up in the morning,
For no apparent reason.
It just is.
It's just there.
There's those feelings,
Those sensations.
And if I'm not careful,
It's very easy then to get into that negative spiral,
Downward spiral,
And then start feeling anxiety about the anxiety or I'm anxious because I'm feeling anxious.
And it's helpful if you can just recognise it as a feeling,
Sensation.
There's no good or bad about it.
It only becomes a problem when you start adding layers of thoughts on top of that and the mind gets involved.
And this can all happen very quickly in a split second.
And that's why meditation helps us because we can start to break that pattern and notice when you start to get into that spiral,
That circle of negative emotions.
And I'm not saying it's easy.
It does take practice,
Especially as there is so much negativity being bombarded at us.
And if we're not careful,
You know,
If you watch the news or anything like that,
It's nearly all negative.
That's why I don't watch it.
Because I don't need any more things being added on to what's already going on in my mind.
And that's not to say you don't care about things that are happening,
But we don't help make the world a better place by being anxious.
It doesn't help anybody,
Least of all ourselves.
So that's enough of me.
Get into a comfortable position,
Light a candle,
Some incense,
If you wish,
Create a space where you feel inspired to sit and meditate.
And at any time,
Because we are focusing on anxiety,
I mean,
I wouldn't say go to like the top notch thing that like whatever,
Whatever's happening in Palestine or something like that,
That's really going to trigger a lot of anxiety.
But something relatively low key and manageable and maybe and also something that you can that you have control over that you can do something about might be something that's coming up or whatever.
And then we can start to investigate what our thoughts and feelings are around this.
And most of the time,
You know,
When we dig deeper,
We realize actually we're okay and there's nothing to be anxious about at all by coming back into the present moment.
So when you're ready,
Just take a deep grounding breath.
And let your breath bring you back into the present.
And if you need to remind your mind that in this moment,
You're safe.
Just take a little bit of time to look around the room.
Noticing any familiar objects.
If you're sitting near a window,
The view out of the window,
Whatever it is that can reassure you that you're safe.
And then if you want,
You can close your eyes or just keep a soft gaze in front of you on the candle or something.
Just so you know,
When your mind wanders off,
If you're looking around the room again.
Feeling the support of the ground,
The chair or whatever you're sitting on,
Lying on.
Just notice those sensations in the lower part of the body.
Feeling your weight going down through your legs,
Feet,
Sitting bones.
Keeping your awareness down in the lower part of the body.
Noticing the breath in the belly.
No longer need to control the breath.
Just feel the sensations and the movement of the breath in the belly.
And just know that anytime you can come back to the breath.
Feeling the ground.
Feeling overwhelmed.
To help get you out of your head and into the body.
Coming back to the present moment where everything is okay.
And if your mind wanders off,
Which it probably almost inevitably will,
Come back to feeling the breath in the body.
Relax,
Gentle awareness.
Not trying to force anything or push yourself.
Relaxing the jaw and the shoulders.
Any other areas where there might be tightness.
Maybe you'll start to notice that the mind quietens down.
Thoughts become less intrusive.
In this moment,
There's nothing to worry about.
Nothing to feel anxious about.
You've made it through your worst day so far.
Whatever happens in the future,
You'll be able to deal with it.
You'll get through it.
Taking time to slow down will help you to become less reactive.
Be able to think more clearly.
More creative.
In this moment,
You're safe.
You're supported.
You're always supported by the earth.
Needs are always met.
What we focus on expands.
We focus on feeling calm and relaxed.
Not being hijacked by any anxious thoughts.
Acknowledge them as they arise.
Don't try and suppress them or push them away.
Also,
Don't get caught up in the energy.
Eventually,
They'll die away and fizzle out all on their own.
As you gain mastery over the mind.
Now,
Just having a sense of the whole of your body.
The whole of the body breathing.
The sense of touch,
Taste,
Smell,
Sight and sound.
Allowing you to orient yourself in the present,
Wherever you are.
Feeling the space around the body.
When you're ready,
Bring this meditation to a close.
Or feel free,
If you wish,
To sit on for longer.
Well,
Thank you for joining me today.
I will see you again very soon.
In the meantime,
Take care,
Go well and lots of love.
