This is a meditation to help you when you're feeling anxious.
Often when we're feeling anxious there is a sense of I don't like feeling like this.
I don't want to feel like this.
How do I get rid of this feeling?
And that resistance to the way that you're feeling will often prolong and even intensify.
The anxiety that you're experiencing.
So in this meditation we're going to practice having an attitude of allowing or accepting whatever you're experiencing in this moment.
And see if while you're doing that you can let go of any expectation that anything will change.
Because if we put pressure on ourselves to feel something differently,
To try to make ourselves calm down,
It can have the opposite effect.
So getting yourself into a comfortable position.
Either lying down or sitting,
Whatever is most comfortable for you.
And taking some deeper breaths in through the nose.
And out through the mouth.
Feeling the body expanding as you breathe in.
And softening as you breathe out.
A really slow,
Long,
Deep in-breath.
And a slow out-breath.
You might already feel that taking some slower,
Deeper breaths has calmed you down.
Closing the eyes now.
And feeling the contact between your body and the surface that you're sitting or lying on.
Having a sense of being grounded.
Connected to the ground.
Connected to the earth.
I'm going to begin this meditation with a poem called Allow by David.
This meditation with a poem called Allow by Dana Fultz.
Allow.
There is no controlling life.
Try corralling a lightning bolt containing a tornado.
Dam a stream and it will create a new channel.
Resist and the tide will sweep you off your feet.
Allow and grace will carry you to higher ground.
The only safety lies in letting it all in.
The wild and the weak.
Fear,
Fantasies,
Failure and success.
When loss rips off the doors of the heart.
Or sadness veils the vision with despair.
Practice becomes simply bearing the truth.
With the choice to let go of your known way of being.
The whole world is a mirror.
With the choice to let go of your known way of being.
The whole world is revealed to your new eyes.
So in this meditation we're going to try to practice having a sense of allowing or accepting our experience to be exactly as it is.
Noticing what far away sounds it's possible to hear.
Nearby sounds.
Noticing what sounds your body is making.
And noticing what attitude you have towards these sounds.
Can you have an attitude of allowing them to be as they are?
Can you say to yourself that whatever sounds are there,
That's okay?
Noticing the spaces in between the sounds.
The rhythm of the sounds.
The texture of the sound.
Is there any sense of judgment or wishing for the sound to be different?
Or is there a sense of acceptance?
And now bringing your attention to your mind.
Watching what's happening.
Are there any anxious thoughts here now?
Are there worries?
Are there a lot of thoughts whizzing around?
Or does the mind feel relatively quiet?
Whatever the mind is doing right now,
What's it like to tell yourself that's okay?
It's okay if my mind is busy.
It's okay if it's quiet.
It's okay if there are anxious thoughts here.
A sense of allowing,
Accepting the mind in this moment.
And if it's not possible to accept what the mind is doing,
How does that feel?
There's a sense of resistance,
Of wishing it was different.
Does it come with some tension?
Some kind of unpleasant feeling?
Seeing if you can be okay with not being okay with what your mind is doing.
And now bringing the attention into the body.
Scanning through to notice if there's any tension,
Any discomfort in the face,
The head,
The neck and shoulders,
The arms and hands,
The chest and belly,
The back,
The buttocks,
The groin,
The legs,
The feet.
Maybe there's some tension.
Maybe the breath is short or the heart rate is elevated if you're feeling anxious.
Is it possible again to tell yourself that whatever you're feeling in your body right now,
That's okay?
Allowing and accepting.
Any sensation,
Anything that's happening in the body right now.
Can you let it be as it is?
And what about your emotional state?
Is it possible to label it?
Is it anxious?
Is it calm?
Neutral?
Is it relaxed?
Whatever your emotional state is in this moment,
That's okay.
What is it like to tell yourself that there's nothing that you should or shouldn't be feeling in this moment?
To allow yourself to be exactly as you are.
And seeing what happens now if you expand your attention to include emotions,
Physical sensations,
Feelings,
Thoughts,
Sounds.
Seeing if you can just notice what is unfolding moment by moment in your experience.
And whatever you notice,
Have an attitude that that's okay.
Noticing how that feels.
Allow.
There is no controlling life.
Try corralling a lightning bolt containing a tornado.
Dam a stream and it will create a new channel.
Resist and the tide will sweep you off your feet.
Allow and grace will carry you to higher ground.
The only safety lies in letting it all in.
The wild and the weak.
Fear,
Fantasies,
Failure and success.
When loss rips off the doors of the heart.
Or sadness veils the vision with despair.
Practice becomes simply bearing the truth.
With the choice to let go of your known way of being.
The whole world is revealed to your new eyes.
And now bringing your attention back to the contact with a surface that you're sitting or lying on.
Noticing sounds.
When you're ready,
Slowly opening the eyes.
Noticing if you feel any different.
And seeing if you can take this attitude with you for the rest of today.
However I feel.
Whatever my mind is doing.
That's okay.
