Begin this meditation practice by finding a comfortable position.
If you are in a seated position,
Try to maintain an upright,
Dignified position.
You can roll your head around a little bit until you find a comfortable spot for it.
Have your feet planted firmly on the ground,
Your hands relaxed in your lap.
If you are laying down,
Again,
Finding a comfortable position with your legs uncrossed,
Arms at your side,
And fall into a comfortable breathing pattern.
To begin,
We are going to start taking just a couple of cleansing breaths.
Taking a deep inhale and exhale.
One more time,
Taking a deep inhale and exhale.
Transforming anxiety and fear starts with the belief that painful cycles of thoughts can be transformed.
And so if you are experiencing anxiety right now,
I want you to take a moment to lean into the feeling.
Allow the anxiety and fear to arise.
Don't be afraid of it.
Anxiety,
Fear,
Depression are simply energies.
They cannot hurt you.
So notice where in your body you are feeling this anxiety now.
Is it resting in your abdomen?
Maybe you can sense it in your solar plexus right below your ribcage.
Or maybe the anxiety resides in your heart space.
Feel it fully wherever it is in your body right now.
Don't resist it.
Allow it to come up.
Now take a deep breath in.
And with your exhale,
Set the intention of releasing it from your body through your fingertips.
And again,
Inhale.
Feel the anxiety.
Feel it releasing it through your fingertips.
Let's do this one more time.
I want you to inhale a deep inhale while feeling the anxiety.
Don't be afraid of it.
It cannot hurt you.
Allow it to arise.
And with your exhale,
Breathing it out,
Releasing it through your body and out of your fingertips.
And now that you have felt your anxiety and fear,
I want you to notice the thoughts that are fueling that fear and anxiety.
Question these painful thoughts.
What is the thought that is causing you anxiety right now?
Can you know this thought to be the truth?
What is the tone of the voice of your thought?
Is it frightening?
Is it bullying?
Is it demanding?
What story does this thought want you to believe?
How painful is it to hear it over and over again?
If you no longer believed this thought,
Who would it free you up to be?
Now take just a couple of moments to examine these thoughts that are fueling your anxiety.
Allow the feelings to be present.
Breathe into the stories that the thoughts are trying to get you to believe.
Now that you have felt the painful thoughts and you have examined them,
Take a moment to thank them for trying to keep you safe.
You may put your hands on your heart and say in your mind,
Thank you,
I recognize you're trying to protect me,
But I am okay now.
Our anxieties and our fears are always present only to protect us.
So thanking them is a kind and gentle way of once again releasing them from our body.
Now that you have released a hold of the painful thoughts you have held,
It's time to replace the old outdated thoughts with better feeling ones.
So in your mind you may repeat after me.
I am learning to make peace with my old beliefs and thoughts.
I am compassionate towards myself and others.
I will live with trust and kindness.
I will take the next best step that is all I ever need to do.
I will take loving care of myself.
May I be safe and protected.
I trust that the universe supports me.
Once you notice fearful thoughts coming up again,
I want you to simply repeat the steps we just went through.
Feel your feelings.
Examine your thoughts.
Replace them with better feeling thoughts.
It is important that you don't judge yourself as some of our old outdated beliefs can be quite resistant to change.
This is normal and natural,
The painful thoughts,
The anxieties and the fears have created deep grooves in your brain.
Changing our habitual way of thinking is a practice and can take time.
But each time you replace the old fearful outdated thoughts with newer,
Better feeling and supportive thoughts,
You are changing the grooves in your brain.
Use this meditation practice and the steps in it as often as needed to bring yourself back in alignment and seeing yourself and others through the lens of love,
Compassion and acceptance.
When you are ready,
You can bring your attention back into your body.
You may wiggle your fingers and toes.
Bring the attention back into the room that you're in.
When you are ready,
You may open your eyes.
Many blessings for peace,
Love and compassion during difficult times.
Namaste.
