Sleep Away Insecurities

Find a quiet place where you can have some solitude and get into a comfortable position.

Allow your arms to relax by your sides and take a deep breath in.

As you exhale,

Allow your eyes to close.

Let's begin by meditating on the nature of a negative emotion.

A negative emotion is an emotion,

Feeling,

Or sensation we experience that burdens us in one way or another.

For each of us,

Negativity is subjective,

So the way in which we experience these negative emotions might be slightly different for you than it is for anyone else you know.

But at their core,

Negative emotions are universal.

They are experienced by all of us and have been experienced for as long as there have been human beings.

How do you experience negative emotions?

Become aware of how stress and other negativities affect your body.

Is there a knot in your stomach?

Maybe a shortness of breath?

A common negative emotion experienced by every living thing on earth is stress.

You are no different than anything else.

So stress is a normal part of the experience of living.

Although there might be something particularly human about that way you express stress,

Perhaps it involves a knot,

Or an ache in your stomach,

Or a gritty,

Grinding jaw.

Stress is experienced by just about everything living on earth.

Even root vegetables,

When inhabiting a region,

Season,

Or natural cycle that is not congruent to their health and growth,

Experiences stress.

And the signs of stress present themselves to us,

Able to be identified by those of us who know what to look for,

Or how to look for it.

Such as wilting leaves,

Or reduced size and growth,

And even a lack of essential nutrients.

Insecurity,

However,

Seems to be particular to humans.

Stress may be rooted in biology and affects living things on a biological level.

Yet insecurity is derived from deep within the consciousness.

A layered reaction to a negative emotion.

An expression of self-consciousness taken to heightened levels that can become unhealthy.

Insecurity happens when you become too aware of your own self.

Allowing for this self-awareness to lead you into negative thinking.

What stories are your insecurities telling you right now?

Listen to what your inner insecure talk sounds like when you eavesdrop.

These thoughts may tell us,

For example,

That we are inadequate,

Whether for the current social situation we are in,

Or for the people we are surrounded by.

That we can't do something,

And it gives you a really good excuse why you can't.

Hear these excuses right now about why you can't do something.

Perhaps these thoughts fixate on one element of ourselves.

They want to tell us that everyone is going to notice this or that about us.

Or because of this or that,

We should feel ashamed.

Just notice these inferior thoughts right now.

Listen to them play out.

Perhaps this influx of negative thoughts about ourselves are enough to arrest our intuitive experiences of what is truly happening.

Restraining us from the things we want to do,

To say,

And thus,

Ultimately,

What we want to become.

Right now,

Allow for all of your insecurities to surface.

Bubbling up to the top,

Popping,

And never returning back under your awareness again.

Perhaps insecurity for you is none of these things.

But whatever it is,

Know that insecurity is universal.

It is a feeling that everyone has had,

So everyone should be able to empathize with your experience,

And with theirs.

So right now,

Extend compassion to all of your insecurities.

Let them be heard.

And yes,

It's okay to hear those insecurities.

But how do we move past insecurity?

How do we free our intuition,

As well as our soul,

From this prison of negative emotion?

Well,

The first step is realization.

Just because we feel insecure now,

Does not mean that we need to feel insecure in the future.

That there is always a path leading out of this negative emotion,

Unclasping its grip on us.

Allow this path to become illuminated in front of you now,

Metaphorically.

Simply knowing and understanding this,

You're already well on your way,

Out of the control of insecurity.

The second step is a little more challenging.

It involves flipping the negative emotion,

To reveal its hidden other side.

Knowing that negative emotion itself is not a whole,

But simply a half of something else,

Is a second realization.

This is important to development,

And strengthening of ourselves.

But what is negative emotion a half of?

It is a half of what you might call chaos.

See chaos,

Is whenever something unexpected enters our lives.

This may be,

Quite literally,

An unexpected manifestation of something physical.

Something external.

Perhaps a loved one calls us,

To tell us they have had to cancel their flight to come visit.

Perhaps we get out of bed one morning,

And accidentally step on something sharp,

That has somehow been nestling beside our bed.

These brief moments,

In which chaos enters our lives,

From the external world,

Are almost a guarantee in everyone's life.

However,

Chaos can also manifest itself internally.

Taking the form of unexpected,

Uncontrolled thoughts.

Maybe we are worried,

That we left the stove on,

When we're miles from home.

Thinking how you cannot trust your own memory.

Perhaps it is simply an overly conscious thought about ourselves.

How we look.

How others may see us.

These insecurities may seem to come out of nowhere,

Without us giving rise to it consciously.

Whatever it may be,

Chaos brings with it these things.

Negative emotion has a basic biological reaction to the experience.

In other words,

Insecurity.

But also this,

Opportunity.

The way out of this negative emotion,

Is to find the opportunity,

Amidst the chaos.

Let's say you remember you have an exam in the morning,

That you haven't studied for.

Immediately you experience a sensation of regret,

Or self-hatred perhaps.

How could you have forgotten about this?

You now think,

Almost certainly you're going to fail.

To flip the negative emotion,

And see the other side of the coin.

What is the opportunity here?

Well,

The opportunity might be to study more concisely,

And efficiently,

Than you ever have.

Apply this same technique to other aspects of insecurity.

Let's say you're nervous about how you look.

See this as an opportunity to wait and see if anyone says anything directly to you.

Or perhaps,

You're bold,

And ask someone what they think of your outfit today.

You may be very surprised by their response.

With insecurity,

There's always opportunity.

So if you experience negative thoughts,

Telling you you can't do something,

Simply flip them on their heads.

What if you challenge them by doing exactly what it is they're telling you you can't do?

Imagine what would happen.

By imagining this,

You already found an opportunity.

You found a way out of insecure thinking.

Next time you feel insecure,

Use this method of seeking the opportunity within.

Good.

Let the relaxation drive you even deeper.

Deeper down into relaxation.

And allow that beautiful sensation to wash over your entire body.

Allowing you to drift off to sleep.

Sleeping soundly for the entire night.

Good night,

And namaste.