What if it all turns out well?
There's so much tendency of the mind to go into worry.
It's a function of the nervous system that we try to predict what might happen that is dangerous or a threat so that we could take care of ourselves.
Not a failure of a system,
That's the way that system works.
The brain believes what we think.
If we think a lot of alarming thoughts or if we have a lot of alarming thoughts coming in,
Which is really common now these days,
There's a lot going on in the world,
We have this natural function of the nervous system.
So let's flip that as a practice.
What if everything works out well?
Our brain also believes those kinds of thoughts,
It's just that we don't tend to have them as much.
The mind will ruminate or do catastrophic thinking all day long and yet we have to do this as a practice.
Settle in,
Look around for a moment,
Notice where you are and when you are,
What's happening in your day-to-day,
In your life generally,
And take a few breaths.
One thing we can always use as a reset is cyclic sighing.
So we can look around with our eyes,
We can touch our body or put our hand on our heart,
We can do some breathing.
Cyclic sighing is a deep double inhale through the nose and then a long exhale like you're breathing out through a thin straw.
Inhale through the nose and then again and then out through the mouth and let your whole body soften as you breathe out.
Take your time and as you breathe out soften your forehead,
Mouth and jaw,
Neck and shoulders,
All the way down to your toes.
And then bring to mind something that you tend to worry about,
Something that could happen in the future,
Could be the immediate future,
Today,
This week,
This year,
What is it that you tend to worry about and then just bring one of those up and let yourself notice it in your mind,
Notice your body and let yourself feel into what is the best possible outcome for that.
Maybe you're looking for a new job and the best possible outcome would be to get in with a company that you respect,
Where you'd be valued,
Where your skills are a good match.
Whatever your example is,
What is the best possible outcome and then really see that,
Bring it to life in your mind.
Let your breath have some ease.
If your mind is arguing with you,
Well that's not going to happen or what about this?
Ignore those just for a moment and bring yourself back into the best possible outcome.
Who's there?
What's the weather like in the situation?
Are you in a building?
Are you outdoors?
Are you with a friendly person?
Let yourself savor that,
Really bring it to mind,
The colors,
The sounds,
The smells.
What is the best possible outcome with this worry that you're working with?
And then let that go and think of another one.
What is something else that you worry about?
And it could be something specific to your life.
When we get into big problems like global warming,
It's a bit too complex perhaps,
Although certainly if you want to work with that you could.
Bring together another worry that you have.
I'm 72,
So I'm not worried exactly,
But I'm conscious that my body's getting older.
That might be something to do with your health.
Bring the worry forward and then let yourself breathe.
And what is the best possible outcome?
And see yourself doing that.
So I might see myself walking along,
My body's healthy.
What's your best possible outcome?
Bring it to life in your mind.
The mind's natural impulse might be to warn you about all the things that could get in the way of that.
We can look at that anytime,
But right now we're just visualizing what's the best possible outcome with this one.
And then let that settle.
Take a couple of deep breaths.
Bring to mind a different one.
Maybe it's a social engagement.
I have this thing going on.
I might feel awkward going in.
So instead of visualizing the awkwardness,
What could happen that would be the best possible outcome there?
Maybe you'll go with a friend and you'll walk in feeling good,
Or maybe you'll just do some breathing before you go in,
Or you'll work with some of the catastrophic thinking.
As you walk in,
You're welcomed into that environment.
People's faces light up.
They're welcoming you.
You feel like you're part of that circumstance,
The setting,
The friendships,
Or maybe it's at work.
Whatever it is,
Let yourself bring that to life,
Feeling really comfortable and welcome in a social situation.
Notice that maybe your shoulders have released a little.
Maybe you could come back into your breath.
And then let's work with another one,
Whatever that might be for you.
Maybe you're wishing for more deep,
Authentic friendships,
And you meet this person and you click and you spend time with them and they become really valuable and really important in your life,
Or maybe it's a deepening of an existing friendship.
Let yourself feel that you're surrounded with their care,
Their attention,
Their goodwill towards you.
Maybe you like to go walking together or playing cards or whatever that might be.
Let yourself develop that so that your body really feels it.
They'll look on their face when you first meet up.
I'm so happy to see you.
Maybe it's the feel as you hug them,
The smell of their skin or the warmth of their body.
And then let that come to rest.
And if we were to say,
Generally life works out for me,
Notice what comes in around that.
Does that feel true?
Are you getting some rebuttal?
Generally life works out for me.
That can bring to light some of what might not be reasonable.
What does that mean,
Life works out?
Everything always goes smoothly.
Nobody ever gets sick,
That there's never any trouble.
I'm generally strong enough to stay present or to work with life circumstances.
I don't think anybody would ever say life is perfect.
That's not really what life is.
Move into life is rich and nourishing and interesting.
Notice how that feels in your body.
I experienced my life as rich and interesting.
And then let come in some of the elements of that.
Is it friends?
Is it your dog,
Your job?
What is it that makes your life interesting and rich?
Let some of those scroll through your mind,
Through your body.
Let your breath have some ease,
Let your mind go wherever it's going with this.
You might still be savoring that,
Maybe one of those outcomes going to work out well.
Let all of that go and move your body a little,
Look around the room.
And notice what changed as you've just done this little practice.
Even in 10 or 15 minutes,
We can have quite a change in our experience of life.
