Let Go Of Anxiety, Overwhelm, Worry & Fear

This meditation brings together guided imagry, becoming present, detaching from the "you" that is creating the emotional chaos and entrusting the "you" who knows better and cares for your true well being - starting now.

Transcript

Close your eyes,

Make yourself comfortable,

And if you're feeling overwhelmed and anxious,

I invite you to imagine that you're caught in the rapids of a powerful river.

Out of control,

You're being swept downstream in this river of anxiety and fear and worry.

The current is pulling you under,

Banging you up against the rocks.

But now,

As you come up for air,

You look downstream and you can see a low-hanging branch.

You're approaching it quickly.

When I say now,

You're going to grab that branch and pull yourself out.

Ready?

Now.

Nice work.

And now,

You're on your hands and knees,

Crawling onto the shore,

Where you find a beach full of pure white sand.

You flop onto your back.

You can feel the healing warmth of the sun.

You can feel the healing warmth of your awareness that you're alive and breathing.

Long,

Deep,

Life-giving breaths.

Just bring all your awareness to the sensations in your throat,

In your lungs,

Your abdomen,

That comes with each breath.

You're slowing down,

Taking this small vacation for yourself.

You're done being the captive to the river of worry and anxiety and fear.

You're finished with being tossed and turned and banged up and scraped.

Because you know it's time for something different.

And the road to something different starts with becoming present.

Worry,

Anxiety,

And fear only work when we're lost in a fantasy future of suffering.

So,

I invite you to be here right now by paying attention to your next breath.

And as you breathe,

I want you to begin to do a scan,

Starting down with your toes and feet,

Bringing your awareness now up into your legs.

Just becoming aware of any feelings that you have,

Any sensations in your thighs,

In your hips.

Just seeing your abdominal muscles and feeling the next inhale drop into your soft belly.

Just noticing any pockets of tension and letting them go.

Any feelings at all in your fingers,

In your hands.

Bringing your awareness up to your arms,

Your shoulders.

Relaxing,

Opening your heart space.

Bringing your awareness up into your neck.

Dropping your chin.

Noticing those muscles in the back of your neck.

Relaxing the muscles in your jaw.

Relaxing your jaw full of slack.

Relaxing your brow.

And breathing.

In the distance you can hear the river now,

As it flows by peacefully.

Now I want you to imagine that the person you think of as yourself is composed of two very different versions of you.

One of these people,

The you that is burdened by worry and anxiety and fear,

Will call this version of you the reactor.

The other you within you is peaceful,

Comforting,

Strong and caring.

This is the caretaker you.

You're the caretaker as the perfect parent,

A wise and unconditionally loving you.

Now I want you to tell the reactor you,

It's time to return to the river and I won't be going with you this time.

And before you let the reactor walk away,

I want you to express gratitude to this part of you that is anxious and worried and in fear.

I want you to tell that version of you,

Thank you for trying to protect me.

I know your intentions are good.

Now imagine the reactor leaving you,

Stepping into the river and floating away,

Downstream toward the future of its own making,

Filled with negativity where it will feel most comfortable.

You are staying here in this moment,

Anchored in the present,

Fully present in reality.

And what keeps you here is your awareness of your breath,

Which has now found a gentle rhythm of serenity in and gratitude out.

And as you breathe serenity in and gratitude out,

You realize that the caretaker you is now sitting next to you and saying,

It's safe to let go.

And so you do.

Each exhale is a letting go.

So just notice anywhere in your body where there is leftover energy,

Any traces of the reactor that exist in your body as muscle tension.

Will each out-breath release any of that tension?

And you begin to feel a sense of balance that is the complete opposite of your experience in the river of worry,

Anxiety,

And fear.

Breathing.

At any time,

If it feels right,

You can ask the caretaker you to hold you.

You can become childlike and sit on the lap of the caretaker you.

Whatever you choose,

Keep breathing.

Knowing you are here in this moment,

Knowing this moment is the only thing that is real.

Writing the wave of my voice,

Writing the wave of your breathing,

Continuing to clear any negative energy in your body.

Calm.

Relaxed.

Open.

Free to float weightless in the timeless now.

Aware of the space within you.

The space around you.

Aware of the space where your heart is.

Aware of the space where your throat is.

Aware of the space between your eyes.

Now,

I invite you to think about a situation that has been creating worry,

Anxiety,

Fear.

And I want you to answer these two important questions.

The questions are,

What do I want?

And the other one is,

What do I absolutely need?

What do I want?

What do I absolutely need?

If you feel the urge to open your eyes and take notes,

That's fine.

What do I want?

What do I absolutely need?

Sometimes it's very difficult to answer these questions because the reactor you won't allow you the peace to think clearly.

Worry,

Anxiety,

Fear create too much emotional fog.

If the reactor you shows up as you contemplate these questions,

Express your gratitude,

Say thank you,

I appreciate your concern,

I've got it,

And invite that aspect of you to return to the river.

Something to consider,

Is there a deeper desire contained in what you want?

For example,

If say you want to be a successful actor in movies,

Is it the artistry that drives you or the desire to be liked?

It probably would be some of both,

But how much,

What's the ratio?

How much of what you want and need is about controlling others or the world around you?

As you think about what you need and want,

Is there any desire to control people's moods or how they feel about you?

If you have some of these hidden intentions,

How much are they contributing to your worry and your anxiety,

Your fear?

Is it possible to satisfy those needs and wants?

Now your caretaker is with you,

Listening,

Working on a plan of action.

When you're ready,

Turn to your caretaker you and ask,

What's the next step in making this a reality?

Your caretaker may have an answer,

The answer may come tomorrow.

What's most important is to let the caretaker you know that you're listening.

Keep working with these two really important questions.

What do I want?

What do I absolutely need?

Paying attention to any hidden motivations,

Any hidden agendas,

Any unconscious intentions that are creating conflict in you.

Now I want you to listen very carefully,

Open up and receive this on the deepest level possible.

Going forward,

If you find yourself in that river of worry and anxiety and fear,

You're going to look downstream,

You're going to find the low hanging branch and you're going to grab it.

You're going to pull yourself up onto the shore and breathe.

You're going to say to the reactor you,

Thank you,

I appreciate what you were trying to do,

But I'll take it from here.

You're going to watch the reactor re-enter the stream and disappear.

As you and the caretaker you,

Find the peace that comes in each breath and decide if there is something that needs to be done.

Got it?

Good.

Now,

I want you to listen very carefully,

Open up and receive this on the deepest level possible.

Reviews

🙏🏻 Thank you so much, Paul, for helping me understand how much I need more self-compassion. 🙏🏻🌸

Thank you Paul this mediation helped me with a situation I need to resolve!

Always a blessing being guided by you Paul! Much love ❤️

I liked the interesting imagery and kind voice. I will definitely listen again. Thank you

Great visualisation to help realise the true feeling when swamped with worry. Lovely sound track.

Excellent!✨💙✨Thank you! 🙏🏻

This was one of the best meditations. Amazing use of visualization, peaceful background tones, and calm voice

Thank you for this soothing therapeutic meditation! It brings peace at the end of the meditation after thought through these two questions and retrospected deeply beyond that: what I absolutely need at this time of life? My anxiety driven actions often made regrets especially when dealing with the relationship… hope to return to this piece whenever I need to let go of my worries anxiety and uncertainty.
Thank you again for the wonderful magic work 🙏

Powerful great affirming advise as we live this life.

Very powerful! It really helped me find more peace and balance. Thank you 🙏

Very very helpful. Thank you!

Soothing, helpful and insightful. Thank you.

Thank you! Thank goodness for tree branches' Nice words to reflect and journal upon. 🙏💗🌻

This was fantastic. The content was exactly what I needed today. I would have like a little more time to see myself in the rapid before catching the branch and a little more time for the body scan. But overall, wonderful

Thank you for sharing this meditation. Looking at my anxiety as the reactor part of me and the rest of me as the caretaker really helped put things into different perspective and I feel a lot better. Namaste.