Meditation for an Anxious Mind
Anxiety stems from believing made-up thoughts about the future. Below is a simple four-step meditation process to combat an anxious mind. Please scroll all the way to the bottom for the video version.
"The meaning of life is just to be alive.
It is so plain and so obvious and so simple.
And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic
as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves."
~ Alan Watts
Step One. Become comfortable. This process may involve setting yourself up in a space at home, in your car or in nature, or excusing yourself from a conversation with yourself or another to pause. The act of taking a moment aside sends a signal to the brain that my health matters.
Step Two. Breathe in four-part cyclical breath pattern. First place one hand to the belly and one hand to the chest to notice your natural breath. Then take five to ten deep breaths moving your awareness from the belly, to the chest, to the throat, to the crown of the bead, then slowly back down.
Step Three. Name what's here. Give a mental label to what's going on right now: busy mind, agitated mind, racing mind, pain in body, etc. Be specific. Naming bypasses the limbic system by stimulating the left prefrontal cortex which helps to create space between ourselves and our thoughts.
Step Four. Say "yes" to what's happening. This is the final step in meditation, and perhaps the most profound. If we can welcome what's going on as opposed to fighting it off or deeming it "bad" in some way, we send a message of compassion to the deepest part of our body's central nervous system.
The choice to pause, breathe deeply, name and agree to what's here interrupts the automatic identification to our thoughts and can remind us that our thoughts are actually powerful agents toward sound decision making as opposed to masters of our fate.
I work 1-1 with folks using the ancient arts of astrology and tarot to help identify, explore and heal subconscious thought patterning that can cause self-sabotage and keep us from living authentically. You can reach out here to schedule a session via phone, FaceTime or Google Meet.
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