Hello friends and welcome to this meditation for when you're feeling anxious.
Sit in a comfortable attentive position with your feet on the floor,
Relax your shoulders and be attentive to your breath,
Taking a few deep wide inhales and exhales.
As you continue to breathe deep and wide let your body come to stillness,
Sinking into the chair allowing yourself to be held and supported.
Slowly let your attention drift through your body to your feet.
Notice their connection with the floor,
Push one gently into the ground followed by the other.
Imagine yourself rooted,
Held and sustained by the earth.
As we enter this meditation stay in your body as much as possible.
When thoughts or distractions come return to your breath,
Alter the sense of your feet rooted into and connected with the ground.
Now begin to connect with your anxiety noticing where it's living within your body.
You may become aware of tightness in the neck,
Knots in muscles,
Butterflies in the stomach.
You may become aware of other sensations that to you feel like anxiety.
Stay with this process for a few moments locating and then connecting with the anxiety as it is within your body.
We will be silent for a while as you do this.
Now imagine going into the place where the anxiety is being held within you and lifting it out of yourself,
Placing it where you can see it in front of you.
You are now observing your anxiety outside of yourself.
As you spend some time looking at it what do you notice?
Does it have shape or form?
Is it still?
Does it move?
Is it bigger or smaller than you?
You may want to walk around it and see it from different angles.
You may want to rise above it and look down.
As you do this try to avoid analyzing it or moving into your head to fix,
Control or work it out.
Remain curious without judgment.
How does it feel in your body to observe your anxiety?
What's coming up in you?
What are you noticing?
As you observe your anxiety does anything shift or change about its form,
Shape or color?
In the quietness of your heart ask what it is that you're scared of.
It may help to place one or both hands over your heart space as you ask this question.
We will spend a few moments of silence to allow any response to emerge.
Again try not to analyze or work it out but let your heart and body be the guide.
Once you are clearer on why this anxiety is present welcome it to be with you.
Let it have a voice.
Imagine it to be held and contained in a place of compassion and kindness.
It's okay to be afraid.
It's okay to be anxious.
You may want to spend a few moments naming what this anxiety is related to.
We now welcome divine love to be present with you to your anxiety.
The Beloved enters this space with you.
As you and the Beloved give loving attention to your anxiety do you notice anything change about the shape and form of it?
Does anything shift inside of you?
Do you sense divine love offering anything in response to these places of anxiety?
Is there any comfort or gift that's being offered to you here?
Imagine the anxiety to be blanketed encompassed in loving tender kindness.
Receive what you need from this offered compassion.
Receive the peace you need.
Place your hands on your heart and feel the gentle rise and fall of your chest as you breathe.
Take three deeper breaths with an extended exhale.
We end with the words of Julian of Norwich.
All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well.
Amen.
