So let's begin by arriving,
Wherever you are,
Take a moment to settle your body,
Perhaps sitting upright,
Alert yet relaxed,
Or of course lying down if that feels better for you.
Let your hands rest easily and begin by simply feeling the contact points with the ground or the chair.
Feel your feet,
Your bottom,
Your back,
Supported.
Let your awareness sink down,
Really feeling your body being held by the earth.
That body that can also gently hold,
Contain the anxiety.
Now gently bringing your attention to your breath,
No need to change it,
Just noticing the feelings of the breath moving in and out.
No need to imagine it,
Visualise it or analyse it,
Just feeling the gentle rise and fall of the breath.
And if your mind is racing that's okay,
You might even say to yourself gently,
Ah yes,
Anxiety thoughts.
So anxiety is the fear of what might come,
A kind of pre-experiencing the worst case scenario.
It's part of being human,
A natural expression of the body's ancient wisdom.
That wired in fight,
Flight,
Freeze that in the case of anxiety is often turned in towards ourselves.
Every mammal has fear,
Needs fear.
And the human mammal with our brilliant tricky minds can even fear things that haven't yet happened and may never happen.
And we can find our natural emotions such as sadness,
Anger or fear itself threatening.
So as you notice anxiety,
See if you can say softly to it,
I see you anxiety.
Thank you for trying to protect me.
Feel what happens in the body as you say that,
As you're not fixing or pushing it away,
Just meeting it with awareness.
Alan Watts called anxiety the wisdom of insecurity,
The gentle recognition that life is always changing,
That nothing is fixed or certain.
When we open to that truth,
We begin to see it's actually okay to feel insecure.
It's a natural response to living in an impermanent world.
Our insecurity isn't a flaw or a failure.
It's the body and mind reminding us that everything changes.
Everything's in a constant state of flow.
And when we can meet that flow,
That process with awareness and compassion,
Insecurity itself can become a doorway into presence.
Now with anxiety,
It can really help to slow everything down a little.
So let your breath deepen.
A slow,
Full exhale.
When in doubt,
Breathe out.
You might even like to put your hands on your belly and let the belly gently expand as you breathe in,
Noticing your hands rising.
And your belly releasing softly as you breathe out,
Hands lowering.
This belly breathing can be really helpful with most emotions.
But if that's not so helpful for you,
Perhaps imagine you're breathing through the soles of your feet,
Drawing steadiness up from the earth.
And if it helps,
Imagine you're standing beside a great tree.
Feel its strength,
Its deep roots.
Imagining your own feet growing roots down into the earth.
Storms will come and go,
Winds of anxiety will blow,
But those roots hold firm.
The branches of the tree might be swaying wildly,
But the tree stays,
And you can stay too,
Present,
Breathing,
Steady.
And as you stay with this gentle awareness,
You might begin to notice this,
Perhaps emotions underneath the anxiety.
Might be a wave of sadness,
Or anger,
Or fear,
Or another emotion.
See if you can name what's here,
One emotion at a time.
Even if it's a little bit of a guess,
Just acknowledging it softly.
Ah,
This is sadness,
Or anger,
Or this is fear.
And then giving each emotion a little space,
Allowing it to be felt without needing to fix or analyze.
You might sense where it lives in the body,
How it moves or changes when it's simply allowed.
Each natural emotion,
When met with awareness and kindness,
May settle and integrate quite quickly,
Simply because it's finally been seen.
You might begin to question gently your thoughts.
Perhaps,
What if that thought isn't true?
Or maybe,
What if there's just the tiniest possibility it isn't true?
When you really look,
You may notice that thoughts are attentive,
They're shifting,
Creative constructions of the mind.
And you can offer a little kindness to the thinking mind.
Thank you,
Thank you for trying to protect me.
In that moment,
You create a bit of space,
A soft distance from the thoughts.
And you may be beginning to rest in something quieter,
More spacious,
More real.
Now,
Perhaps the anxiety has already settled,
But you might gently bring your attention to where you've felt or still feel anxiety in your body.
It might be in your chest,
Your belly,
Your throat,
Or somewhere else entirely.
It might be just a shadow of it,
Or it might be really obvious.
Just notice.
And it's okay to acknowledge,
It can feel really unpleasant.
You don't have to like it.
And now,
Begin to explore the elements of these sensations,
Kindly,
Curiously.
Are the sensations heavy or light?
Are they warm or cool?
Are they really still or moving,
Perhaps vibrating or tightening or swirling?
Let your attention be close.
As I said,
You don't have to like the sensations,
But can you be kind and tender towards them?
If you'd like,
You might place a hand on your heart,
And the other on your belly.
And just drop this gentle question into your body.
What am I most afraid of?
Or perhaps you addressing the anxiety,
What are you most afraid of?
You don't have to think of an answer.
Just listen quietly.
No rush.
Maybe what arises is a sense of loss,
Or failure,
Or not being safe.
Whatever comes,
You can say,
Oh,
Thank you.
I hear you.
You might even ask again,
Anxiety,
What story are you telling me?
Simply let the story unfold,
Without needing to 100% believe it.
Then asking softly,
What do you need me to learn?
Sometimes anxiety carries wisdom,
Like ask for help,
Take care of what matters,
Or rest.
Sometimes the answer is simple.
The answer might be a little superficial.
And you can stay in this quiet place and ask,
What is really,
Really important here?
Sometimes the anxiety is pointing to the most important thing in our life,
Our heart's desire.
A desire of true belonging,
Perhaps.
Or love,
Or connection.
Or of living a rich,
Deep,
Meaningful life.
Now gently imagine stepping back,
Sensing or seeing the anxious part from a little distance.
And again,
You can whisper,
Thank you for trying to protect me.
I respect you for that.
And I can hold you with kindness.
Feel the space around the anxiety,
The quiet awareness that's holding it.
That awareness,
That presence,
Is who you are.
So much bigger than the anxious part.
Rooted,
Spacious,
And whole.
Now if you wish,
If you've managed to step out of the anxiety a little,
And sense what it really wants for you,
You can ask yourself one more question.
If I only had one year to live,
How would I want to live it?
What is my deepest intention?
The quality I want to bring to my life.
Maybe it's to live with love,
Or with courage,
Or gentleness,
Or presence,
Or joy.
If something arises,
Let that intention rest,
Like a seed in your heart.
Feel it there.
Steady,
Luminous,
Quietly growing.
Now with one more slow breath,
Inhale calm,
And exhale kindness.
Allow that kindness to wrap around any residual anxiety.
You might like to say inwardly,
Yeah,
I see you,
Anxiety.
I honour you,
I respect you.
Thank you for trying to protect me.
I can hold you with kindness and compassion.
I'm here,
And I'm safe enough right now.
And you know the anxiety is not who you are,
It's just one small part of you.
You are so much more spacious.
And taking a final,
Last,
Slow breath.
And as you exhale,
Letting the practice go,
Notice yourself.
So human,
And whole,
And free.
And steady.
And if you do suffer anxiety,
You may have to return to the practice again,
And again,
And again.
And that is so okay.
Each time you do that,
You're strengthening awareness,
Kindness,
And trust in your own capacity to meet life as it is.
It's good work.
Beautiful work.
The quiet work of coming home to yourself.
Thank you.
