Hi,
This is Jenny Braav,
And this is a poetic meditation for when your mind is anxiously spinning.
Anxiety is the mind's way of trying to find grounding through thought,
And through attempting to control the external environment.
Imagine for a moment that you're the leaf of a tree,
Trembling in the wind.
It starts to rain.
You feel small,
Terrified at the mercy of the elements,
Not sure you can trust the rest of the tree to protect you.
You decide it's safer to disconnect from the tree,
Try to be the whole tree yourself,
Attempting to predict and control the outside environment instead.
You try and try,
But you can't,
And the more you try,
The more powerless you feel,
Until you are spinning around and around in the wind,
Because it's not possible to control the elements.
The rain,
Hail,
Thunder,
Sun,
Wind,
Are all going to do what they do,
Regardless of your will.
And so I invite you to breathe,
Pause,
Allow the weather to wash over you,
Send compassion to your mind-leaf spinning in the wind.
It's okay,
You are safe in the present moment.
Breathe,
Pause,
Feel how your leaf is connected to the branch in your neck.
Breathe into your neck,
Invite your muscles to relax ever so slightly,
And as you do,
Feel how your neck is connected to the tree trunk of your body,
Connected to your spine,
Pelvis,
Your leg,
Torso,
And lower body,
All the way down to your free.
You're okay,
Right?
Allow your mind-leaf to feel held and supported.
There's nothing for it to figure out or fix.
Imagine energetic roots going from the bottom of your feet all the way to the center of the earth,
With each in-breath inviting the grounding,
Nourishing energy of the earth to spread.
Feel your feet,
Up your legs,
Spreading through your nervous system,
Soothing those jittery nerve endings,
And with each out-breath sending that agitated mind energy down the branch and trunk of your tree,
All the way down the roots,
Sending into the earth the way an electrical discharge would be.
Breathe,
You're safe,
Supported in the present moment,
And your mind just needs to be a mind,
Not the whole tree.
Allow your roots in your trunk to support you,
To guide you,
To set the direction.
Your mind just has one specific function to implement.
It does not need to be the whole tree.
Taking one more breath,
And when you're ready,
You can slowly open your eyes,
And imagine you're bringing this into the rest of your day or evening.
