Thank you for joining me today.
No matter where you're at on your journey,
There are times when we have anxious feelings or thoughts,
Panic,
Being scared.
My hope today is just to sit with you,
By your side,
As you might face these feelings of anxiousness or anxiety or panic.
That you're not alone.
That when you hear my voice,
It helps to bring calm and soothing.
Sometimes when we need someone to sit with us and they're not available,
That's okay.
You can listen to my voice and know that I sit next to you.
I am with you.
No matter what's creating the anxiety,
Panic,
Or fear,
Know that you have a friend.
In the Buddhist tradition,
We invite the fear or panic,
The mind who is afraid,
To sit with the discomfort of the anxiety to allow it in,
But not to stay,
Just to move through.
So may my voice be a friend to your insides,
Saying it's okay,
We can walk through this.
In this moment,
I light a candle for you.
The candle bringing you back to your center,
Your higher self,
That part of you that's eternal,
That can never die or go away.
No matter what happens to your physical body,
There's always that part of you that resonates with your higher self,
The stars,
The exquisite nature of the eternal.
To move through anxiety,
Fear,
Or panic,
I'll have you take a deep breath in,
Breathing in deeply,
Filling your lungs,
Moving that breath all the way through your body and exhaling.
And on the next breath,
Taking another deep breath in,
Breathing in that energy of Mother Earth,
Grounded,
Safe,
Loving,
And supportive all the way through your whole body,
Letting it expand.
And exhaling all the way back down from the top of your head,
Letting your breath out slowly.
When we breathe slowly and fully,
We allow our nervous system,
That energy of the panic,
To begin to slow down and not overtake us.
Breathing in deeply might feel scary at first,
Your mind might tell you it can't,
But I invite you,
Like Buddha,
To sit with me and breathe in deeply,
Moving through this place of discomfort and exhaling fully.
Taking another deep breath in,
Allowing the breath to continue to slow and expand,
And exhaling fully,
Letting all that breath from your lungs come out,
And imagine that that breath is engaging the energy of the Earth,
Feeding it life,
So that the Earth feeds you your air,
Breath,
And life.
Allow the breath to come in and slow,
Slow down,
And allow you to find a moment of peace.
Listening to my voice,
Knowing that I too work with these same feelings,
So as I sit with you,
Speak in your ear,
Sit next to you energetically,
Imagine that I place my arm around you,
Hold your hand,
And that the candle that we have lit creates a light around us that helps us calm,
Find center,
Find safety inside.
Knowing that we can sit together,
Even when we don't know all the answers,
And inside is the friend of you,
That small child who wants to be held.
Imagine that that part of yourself that feels scared and childlike now sits on your lap,
Your arms around him,
Her,
Them,
Bringing peace and comfort to you and around us the wings of angels.
You are okay.
You are breathing.
You are life.
You are loved.
All you have to do is just breathe.
Take another deep breath in and exhale.
Take another deep breath in and exhale.
As the calmness moves through you,
You might experience tears.
Allow them to come through.
Allow yourself to cry if you need to,
To allow that release of emotion.
Allowing deeper breaths to come in.
Allow yourself to be supported in this moment.
I'd like to read these words from a poem by John O'Donohue for us as we close this time together.
Like the joy of the sea coming home to shore,
May the relief of laughter wash over your soul.
As the wind loves to call things to dance,
May your gravity be lightened by grace.
Like the dignity of moonlight restoring the earth,
May your thoughts incline with reverence and respect.
As water takes whatever shape it is in,
So free may you be about who you become.
As silence smiles on the other side of what's said,
May your sense of irony bring perspective.
As the time remains free of all that it frames,
May your mind stay clear of all that it names.
May your listening deepen enough to hear the depths of the laughter of your spirit.
Thank you so much for joining me today.
Remember to keep breathing deeply,
Holding space and knowing that I sit with you by your side.
Have a beautiful day.
Namaste.
