Welcome to this guided meditation.
It is designed to transform your perspective on how you see your anxiety and in the next 15 minutes we invite you to explore anxiety not as an adversary but as a protective friend with wisdom to share.
So find a comfortable position sitting or lying down and allow yourself to arrive fully in this moment.
You can choose to close your eyes or just soften your gaze just a few feet in front of you and just become aware of your breath as you're breathing in calm breathing out relax and allow your body to relax on each out breath allowing your shoulders and your arms your face and your eyes all the parts of your body just allow them to relax and with each breath you'll be slowly relaxing even more your body knows how to breathe you don't need to get involved your body knows how to relax all you need to do is just allow your body to do what it does and as you continue to breathe just scan your body from head to toe and wherever you notice some tension just imagine that tension flowing away just disappearing and if there's any pockets of tension that is a little bit stubborn just acknowledge them and thank you thank you for letting me know and then imagine them fading away then and sometimes they need to be heard notice the sensation of the air as it enters your nose you notice the rise and fall of your chest this is the rhythm of the present moment this is your existence and as you continue to breathe just allow this moment to be everything it is you don't need to change anything now gently bring to mind a moment of stillness everything it is you don't need to change anything now gently bring to mind a feeling of anxiety just a little gentle feeling nothing strong perhaps a time recently where you felt a little bit anxious maybe it's like going into a public space or something and notice where the anxiety is in your body and observe it with a curiosity rather than a fear does it resemble any characters and understand that this character doesn't want to give you any harm all it wants to do is protect you and advise you and it's part of a whole team that's always looking out for you it doesn't always know exactly how to let you know so sometimes it's loud and sometimes it's just subtle and as we're feeling nice and calm just ask your anxiety what are you trying to tell me and listen to its response it may communicate through words emotions and just acknowledge its message and do it with gratitude really appreciate the fact that this is like a friend within that's protecting you it's looking out for you and you can thank it for its protection and guidance for its unwavering vigilance all the time that you need it and you can appreciate that sometimes it gets it wrong sometimes it's a bit overzealous so now just visualize yourself with the anxiety this character just sitting together and you can see that it's a little bit like a friend that's looking out for you this character just sitting together not as enemies but as friends and you can even discuss how to work together how its voice could be heard without overwhelming you and you can set boundaries to allow you to appreciate its wisdom and as you're aware of each breath just feel your relationship with this character your anxiety character transforming and growing it's becoming more healthier and more beneficial for you both it's becoming wiser and it joins the long list of characters and voices that you're really proud to have and it's not one you're going to cast aside in future it's one you're going to work with one that you're going to appreciate their nuance for what they're trying to tell you and now we're going to solidify this new understanding with some affirmations and just repeat them silently after me feel what it's like to be completely true I listen to my anxiety with kindness and understanding I listen to my anxiety with kindness and understanding I welcome anxiety's protection but I set boundaries for my inner peace I welcome my anxiety's protection but I set boundaries for my inner peace together we navigate life's challenges with wisdom and courage together we navigate life's challenges with wisdom and courage I'm going to leave you sit with your new friend for a little while just a couple of minutes you can just have a conversation you could set some boundaries and rules on how you're going to listen and how they're going to communicate and not overwhelm you and how you can work together I will keep an eye on the time and as we start to return to the present moment we just become aware of our breath feeling slightly refreshed and renewed shake our arms and wiggle our fingers and toes gently open your eyes and just be really aware that anxiety is one of your voices that it's just there to help you it's there to nurture and protect you and sometimes it may not feel listened to and that's why it may have to overwhelm you and just setting these boundaries and you becoming aware that it's a friend it can change how you see your anxiety and how you're feeling I'm Stephen Webb and I really appreciate your support.
Thank you.
