Meeting Anxiety With Love

Anxiety can arise in anyone of us, especially in times of either personal or global uncertainty. Join John for this practical, kind, and beautiful meditation which will allow you to meet whatever difficulty may be arising for you in a loving and integrative way which will help restore and deepen your sense of presence whenever you need it.

Transcript

Dear one,

Welcome to this space and practice to help you with meeting anxiety with love.

Often either due to the situation of the day or some deep part of us that needs our attention,

We can come.

This practice offers you a space to meet whatever is arising with awareness and love.

And from there,

The ability to have choices,

To integrate and to transcend into yourself with a more whole and healed,

Authentic sense of being.

So I invite you to allow yourself to begin settling for this practice,

Seated or lying down in whatever way is best for you.

And the key word here is allowing.

Often we might come to practice hoping to achieve something,

To have a meditational experience,

To shift something that needs shifting.

Let's just allow ourselves to be here,

To enjoy this space,

To take it as a treat for ourselves.

Just meeting your body.

I invite you to feel your feet against the floor.

So not thinking feet,

But genuinely just feeling feet against floor from within,

From your felt sense.

Your lower legs,

Your knees,

Quads and thighs,

Your buttocks,

Your hips,

Your lower back,

Your whole back,

Allowing your shoulder blades to relax,

Allowing the space behind your heart to be easy,

Allowing your shoulders to drop,

Back of your neck,

Back of your head,

Your whole head,

Awareness of your forehead,

What we sometimes call the third eye center,

Softening the eyes,

Allowing your eyes to be soft and easy,

Closing should you choose to.

And that gentleness of life coming to the lips,

Perhaps as an inner smile,

Particular kind attention to the throat center,

The place between the head and the heart,

Where all our communication originates,

Chest,

Heart,

Abdomen,

Placing your hands on your knees or on your lap,

Feeling the contact between your hands and your lap or your legs,

Aware of your whole body.

And so to help us,

We'll take three strong breaths.

So naturally breathing out and then as you breathe in,

Feel the breath coming up through your feet,

Up your legs,

Buttocks,

Lower spine,

Spine to your heart,

To the clavicles and then allowing it to roll away,

Not pushing it away.

Breath in through the feet,

Up the legs,

Up the spine to the heart,

Clavicles,

Whole breath and allowing it to roll away.

And last time in through the feet,

Up through the legs,

Up the spine,

All the way and just letting go and allowing yourself to return to your natural breath.

Just taking a moment here to feel your natural breath and the felt sense of your whole body.

Your body,

Space that you're in,

Any sounds in the room or sounds from outside,

Allowing everything just to be as it is.

And of course,

You're aware of your thoughts.

I invite you just to feel the energy of your mind.

Notice how the thoughts arise and pass away,

How some are sticky and linger.

Notice the energy without judgment or criticism or trying to change anything.

Just allowing yourself to witness the energy of the forms in the mind.

And from that same place of witnessing,

That depth within yourself,

Notice the emotional forms,

The energy.

Not trying to change it,

But actually just bringing awareness.

Being curious how some of the thoughts create emotion.

Just resting into this witnessing awareness,

Just allowing with kindness and curiosity.

And from this grounding place of the witness,

I invite you to very gently allow whatever is playing out for you today to arise a little in your mind or in your feelings.

And notice how your energy shifts and changes,

How the mind forms start to gather.

Perhaps fear comes.

So just grounding into that place of witnessing,

Not with fear or tension,

But by relaxing back,

By letting go into love.

Just allowing whatever is arising to arise and witnessing it.

Not detached,

But just kindness,

Love,

Awareness.

Almost as if you are holding this part of yourself that needs your care and love.

As if it was a baby bird.

We hold it so gently.

Allowing this holding to open your heart,

To be a gateway for you into your own heart.

Should things get too much for you,

Or the thought forms or emotional forms take over,

Simply coming back to your breath and your body.

So I invite you,

If you wish,

To place your hands of love against your heart now.

Staying with the witness and placing your hands against your heart and just feeling this kind,

Loving contact with yourself.

Holding the pain of anxiety or whatever has been arising for you.

Not in identity,

But with love.

This sense of love,

Of innocence,

Of opening to your beauty,

Your presence,

Your wholeness,

Your love,

Your love,

Your love.

Just being aware of yourself sitting here.

Feet on the floor.

Your whole body.

The space of the room.

Please return to this practice as often as you feel you need to.

Thank you for sitting here in your beauty and your courage and your love with me today.

Bless you.

Take care.

Reviews

Such a gentle and yet powerful practice. Thank you 🙏

Thank you, John. That was helpful. I will return to this mediation again.

Very calm voice. Nice imagery. Good sound quality and no frills / bg music.

Thank you John. Your voice is so beautifully calming. I’m grateful 🙏🏼

John is such a comforting presence… he feels authentic to me in a way that many of the other teachers do not. I return to his tracks again and again. Thanks John!😘

Lately I have been so critical of my physical appearance that it has caused anxiety. Thank you for such a loving and caring meditation.

Thank you John for this calming and quiet practice which is very soothing in a time of bereavement. Namaste

So soothing for my turmoil. My tears still flow but this helped me reach something deep inside - a strength perhaps? which I had forgotten. A gentle, deep and stirring meditation. Thank you 🙏

Relaxing ,Empowering,just what the soul needs .Thank you .🌹🙏

Blessings and peace to you as well, dear John. Grateful for your beautiful words.🙏💜

Vey soothing
Teaching Self Compassion
Thank you so much 🙏

Such a peaceful voice with nice pace and guidance. Thank you 🙏

Thank you as always John. Just what was needed today

Thank you so much for this beautiful, healing meditation! I will return to it often. 🙏💗🙏

Thank you once again John for your guidance and gentleness

Thank you! Dealing with COVID worries after two years and this was exactly what I needed for the 15 minute waiting period for the test. Negative!

I love this grounding and calming practice. Thank you John 🙏

So relaxing! I am feeling very peaceful. Thank you 🙏💗

Beautiful! I imagined holding my inner child with love and kindness and I feel so calm now…this is perfect for the times we are in! Thanks so much John!💖🙏🌻✨

Made me feel a little less sad, and shifted my thought patterns about a situation I am having to deal with, thank you.