Relief From Inner Conflict, Tension, & Anxiety

A relaxation and reflection practice for when you’re anxious about doing something important, putting off taking action, or feeling internally conflicted, or indecisive. It’s an involved practice, but I’ve found that you can really make peace with the situation at hand when you challenge your fears and beliefs directly rather than only working to soothe the anxiety itself.

Transcript

If you're listening to this meditation,

I can only assume that you're suffering from some symptoms of anxiety,

And I feel for you.

It's not fun.

Here's a practice you can do for when you're feeling anxious about doing something important.

It's also for when you're putting off taking action and leaving your comfort zone,

Or when you're feeling internally conflicted,

Wishy-washy,

Or indecisive.

It's a bit of an involved practice,

But I've found that you can really make peace with the situation at hand when you challenge your fears directly,

Rather than only soothing your anxious symptoms.

This is a two-part practice.

The first is using calming music to relax physical tension in the body.

The second is to take advantage of this relaxed state to dive into the root of your anxieties.

Let's get started.

The first part is a sound therapy portion,

And it's like a pre-practice.

It is optional,

But I find that it helps to get your mind into a more peaceful and receptive state so that you can then address what's stressing you out more easily and effectively.

We'll have a few minutes of calming melodic music with deep resonant bass tones.

The combination of calming music with a melody typically helps to relax you without putting you to sleep.

The bass tones I've found really help you to feel the music in your body in a way that can really soothe muscle tension.

I recommend listening with headphones for the most immersive and powerful experience.

So take a deep breath,

Let it go,

And let's begin.

Try what's coming up for you as your body relaxes,

And welcome the sensations.

These are messages from your gut center of intelligence in your body.

Tell yourself to relax.

Inject fully,

Dry and in yourолод Keeping yourself in this relaxed state,

It's time to engage with your anxieties in an open-hearted way.

Ask yourself the following questions and try to articulate the answers that arise within you.

What is the situation that you are anxious about?

Get a feel for where the anxiety is present in your body.

Does it feel like a pressure in your chest or a heaviness in your heart?

Do you find your thoughts racing?

Do you feel restless,

Like you need to get up and start doing something?

Whatever you're feeling,

Just make a note of it as you bring to mind the situation that you're anxious about.

What are you afraid that it will mean for you if you take a certain action or make a certain decision regarding this situation?

Try saying all of it out loud.

For instance,

I'm anxious about posting this meditation because I fear that it won't be good enough or it won't make a difference in anyone's life.

Or perhaps I'm anxious about quitting this job that really brings me down because I fear that I'll never find another source of income to sustain me.

Go ahead and say what you've identified is coming up for you and what you're afraid it will mean for you.

Now think on your fears and verbally or mentally challenge the assumptions that this particular thing will go wrong or that the worst will happen.

Pay close attention to general or absolute words like all,

Any,

None,

No one,

Always,

And never,

Because those are statements that you can challenge directly to put your fears into perspective.

For instance,

Roswell,

Are you sure that sharing this meditation won't make a difference in anyone's life?

Not even just one person?

Go ahead and ask yourself,

Are you sure?

Or what makes you say that?

Why do you think that?

How do you know?

Here's how the rest of my own conversation played out when I asked myself,

Are you sure?

So Roswell,

Are you sure that this meditation won't make a difference for anyone?

Well,

I suppose it would make a difference for at least one person.

It could make a difference in my own life,

Even though I'm the one posting it.

Well,

Is it worth posting if it makes a difference for just one person?

Yes,

I think so.

And like that,

I already feel much more at ease when it comes to doing this thing that I had some anxiety around.

So go ahead,

Challenge yourself on your fears.

Ask yourself to confirm or justify those assumptions,

Those expectations that things will go wrong,

And then let that conversation play out.

You can end the conversation by verbally stating what good could come out of taking this action.

For instance,

For me,

Making this meditation will make a positive difference for at least me,

And maybe it will help others too.

What good could come up taking this action for you?

Notice how you're feeling now.

Think back to where you felt the anxiety present in your body at the start of this practice.

By this point,

You likely have reached a feeling of release or relaxation in that area.

During this practice,

You've diffused the anxiety underlying taking that certain action.

You may now feel more free to pursue that action,

Just like I did.

If you've experienced that release of tension,

But you still believe that taking the action is not worth the risk,

That's okay.

The release of tension is what we're aiming for.

The anxiety is gone because you are now more secure in your position of abstaining from the action,

And now you're free to pursue a different path from a state of peace and not one of fear or avoidance.

I hope that this has been helpful for you,

Like it was for me.

After the sound of the bell,

I will have some final words and calming resources that I want to share with you.

So I love creating a good mood playlist.

I use music to help me open up to so much going on inside.

This week I created a 45 minute Spotify playlist of calm,

Melodic,

And resonant sounds called Peaceful Awareness,

And I've been listening to it all week during my otherwise quiet or transitional moments,

Just to help me take the pause I need to rest and reflect on my day.

If you're interested in having the playlist for your own personal use,

You can get free access to it and view all of my other supplemental resources at patreon.

Com slash involumes.

That's all one word.

The link is also on my publisher profile here on Insight Timer.

If you're interested in more practices on healing internal conflict and anxiety,

Be on the lookout for my conflict resolution course that will be available on Insight Timer in the very near future.

Thank you all for listening,

And until next time,

Be well.

Reviews

Awesome! I definitely felt a release of tension and peace at the end! I'm going to look for your Spotify playlist. Thank you!

Wonderful!!! I feel more at easy and plan on listening to this track many times. Thank you!

Roswell’s voice is very direct and instructions are so clear. It is very helpful for when your body is tense, mind is swirling, and you just need a little help to take hold of it in order to release the tension.

It made a difference, Roswell! Thank you for this process! I generally use the RAIN process with challenging states, but I found this very effective, as well. I would love to see some longer, slower meditations, too. Many thanks for the resources; much appreciated!

Calm young voice guiding you into relaxation and calming your mind. You feel a sense of wisdom and maturity that help you stop and listen.

Simple and effective. Making a choice from a place of peace, rather than fear.

I loved this. thank you so much, it really made a difference for me! 💙🙏🏽🦋

Feeling more empowered, Thanks so much!!!

This is exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you 🙏

Thanks. This meditation made a difference for me. I was able to see different possibilities about something I'm working on and this helped me let go of some anxiety I had around it.

I’m glad I found you. Very helpful information! Thank you

I thoroughly enjoyed this guided meditation. Thank you so much Dear one. I feel healed. Your voice is so calming and your instructions were so clear. The music definitely put me in a calm state and I got lost in it in a very good way. Great enhancement to the guide. Absolutely love the way you positioned this in a practical and relatable manner. Thank you for sharing your energy. Namaste 🙏🏽

very helpful indeed, thank you very much for this meditation! 🙏🧡

Thank you so much. I really needed this in my life! Namaste!😘

The best I have found! I managed to say out loud which of the different situations going on in my life right now is my main source of fear, anxiety and discomfort. I feel the stone I carry in my chest has dissolved slowly and during that light peaceful time I came up with a new plan to sol e this particular issue. Thank you! I will be back again and again!

Thank you for a soothing meditation.

My favorite one I have found, I like the combination of music and from what I understood as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy next. Great questions to ask yourself as you are experiencing anxiety, thanks Roswell!

Thank you, Rosswell. I appreciated your courageous vulnerability in sharing your own inner doubt/ anxiety and how you worked with it.

For this talk I haven't been able to identify fully with the process. I can see how this would work fit changes that are not life changing for me. When you gave the example of quitting your job I was excited and hopeful you would provide this as a scenario through the process as this would have helped me significantly. This would be a huge move for me. I will complete the process again but at this stage my anxiety was not lessened. I have been enjoying all of your talks I do have faith in what you say. I might just need more time with this one. Thank you for sharing 🙏

This is like a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy practice. Great! Not focused directly on the body as I was searching for but nonetheless a very valuable tool. The meditation deliberately seeks to identify and target root causes of anxiety which makes a lot of sense.