This is the first of three themed meditations from my book,
Essentials for Living in a Troubled World.
Each begins with some words on the theme,
For contemplation,
And then I give the narration for the sitting,
Which brings together in a synthesis the theme,
Our body,
And our mind.
The theme of this meditation,
To feel at ease.
To be anxious is to be human.
Few people can say that there is nothing that makes them anxious,
And so there are few people who don't at some time know what it's like to feel that unease,
For which the sum can quicken the breathing and lead to a dizzying sense of foreboding and claustrophobic vulnerability.
In some cases,
Anxiety seems specific.
In others,
It is more like a general feeling of unsafeness about the world and living.
But one thing all anxiety has in common is that its object,
Its real object,
Is not here and now,
Even though its source,
Which lies within us,
May be.
This is a meditation to bring uneasing of the upsetting discomfort that accompanies anxiety,
And points a way to being able to cope more easily when the feeling begins.
Prepare yourself by sitting comfortably.
Check and physically loosen the muscles which you find are most apt to tense up for you.
Think,
Relax.
Take three long breaths,
As slowly and steadily as is comfortable.
Think,
Relax.
As you let your breathing subside,
Start to feel your out-breath as a stroking,
Noticing how you can give it more force if your mind leans the weight of your body into it.
You can have a sense of the breath just floating into your body when you breathe in,
And gently stroking you as you breathe out.
Hold this pattern for several minutes,
If possible with nothing else going on in your mind,
And return to it whenever you come back to the clear space as thoughts disperse.
As you feel your out-breath stroking you,
Feel your mind being pulled away from thoughts,
And resting with your body.
Notice that the only place you need to be is here,
With this gentle caress.
Feel back to this at regular intervals as you sit.
In your mind,
You could play yourself the mantra,
Gently being,
Being now.
Gently being,
Being now.
Gently being,
Being now.
When you are ready to close,
Hold your awareness of your body for a few moments more before gradually lengthening your breathing as you come out of your meditation and back into the world around.
