Hello and welcome.
Being calm in the face of fear.
There is a saying which says,
Feel the fear but do it anyway.
When we are afraid,
It can be terrifying.
It can be a response inside of our body that raises our heart rate,
Shortens our breath,
Takes us out of a feeling of security and presence and puts us in a state of agitation and anxiety.
There are many different kinds of fears.
Fears that are legitimate.
Fears of danger.
There's fear of embarrassment,
Fear of making a mistake,
Fear of being vulnerable and emotionally open,
Fear of putting yourself out there.
There's fear for every category.
We have been hearing a lot about fear and love and how if there's love,
There's no fear.
How do we work with ourselves in these moments when fear arises?
Our teacher Ram Dass might suggest that we love our fearful thoughts,
That we embrace them,
That we extend a loving hand and invite them in.
There are a few simple tricks for dealing with this energy of fear and we can work with them in a meditation and then you can also use them when you are just in your day or any moment during the day.
You could close your eyes for a moment to collect yourself or just practice them in meditation and they'll be there for you in muscle memory,
In cellular memory,
The next time one of these fears presents itself.
So for this exercise,
Just take a meditative seat,
Something comfortable with your back upright,
Your legs either crossed or your feet flat on the floor and your hands resting on your thighs as is comfortable.
Take this seat,
Let your eyes close and sense into your body if there's any energy of fear or anxiety that's there right now and see if you can find where that is located in your body.
It might be surprising.
Maybe you feel like you have it spread all about but if you just tune in a little bit now with a bit of lightness,
You might find there's one spot maybe that has the most of it contained there.
See if you can find that kind of anxiety or fear and really sense into where that is and how it feels,
How does it matter.
How does it manifest energetically in your body.
You don't even need to know why this is there.
You don't even have to name it.
Just really going on a research mission and once you get a sense of where that is and what that feels like,
Just start to breathe into this area as lovingly and gently or as strongly as needed and just breathe with the intention of softening and letting go right where you feel that anxiety,
Right where you feel that fear.
We're not forcing,
We're not coercing.
We are practicing drawing our attention and offering an alternative.
Fear and anxiety can be very,
Very draining so you may notice as you start to breathe and release here that you get a bit sleepy.
Try to stay present and breathing through this process.
Think of it as if you are kind of blowing out some leaves that have fallen and you're just gently sweeping and blowing them off of this area.
Good and notice what it feels like in the rest of your body when you offer this place of fear and anxiety in you a bit of release.
Notice if there's anywhere in your body that responds to this.
Maybe you feel a part of yourself that is very strong and not at all afraid,
Not at all anxious.
Or maybe you sense the part of you that is perfectly calm,
Perfectly still and at peace.
Or maybe you even notice that other places of fear and anxiety have begun to dissipate just from paying attention to this one spot.
You just continue on breathing and releasing in these places of fear and tension and anxiety.
And every now and again tuning in to find that place within you that is standing strong,
That is still and peaceful and fearless,
Unafraid,
Unworried,
Content.
And you kind of engage in this dance in your own being of giving some loving attention to releasing and softening and breathing into the places that have anxiety and fear and tuning in at the same time to the part of you that is offering strength and peace.
That is offering strength and peace and fearlessness and presence and love.
And more and more tuning in to that part and less and less energy is needed to draw in the fearful and anxious parts.
Breathing and allowing your loving heart to come into center stage.
And this can feel vulnerable.
This can feel somewhat exposed.
But you can even breathe into that and allow that to soften,
Allow that to let go.
And keep coming in and rooting into this part of you that is totally at home and absolutely unafraid.
And trust this part of yourself.
And keep breathing and letting go and breathing and softening.
Breathing and tuning in,
Sensing in to your body,
Sensing in to your energy,
And tuning in to the part of you that is unafraid.
There's no rush.
And you can spend as much time in this as you'd like.
And you can practice this for as many minutes as you'd like throughout the day.
You may even find a moment,
Just a moment in the day when you realize that you've lost yourself or that you've gotten caught in some anxiety or some fear.
And you can just take a sweet minute for yourself to close your eyes and come in and find that fear in your body.
Find the anxiety where it resides.
And send loving breath and the possibility of releasing,
The possibility of softening,
And drawing that in,
And tuning in to the other part of you,
Tuning in to your soul,
And setting aside the role of fear and anxiety,
Choosing love,
Choosing openness and strength,
Choosing peace and contentment,
And allowing fear and anxiety to go.
Good job.
Now deepen your breath.
Let your body shift and stretch however it needs to.
And let your eyes,
You can enjoy this practice at any time during the day.
And use it to get to know the enduring presence of your soul within.
Namaste.
