As we go through life, there are certainly going to be times when we are anxious, fearful or scared. No matter where it’s coming from, other people or just our own fears, it's good to know some ways to handle it.
Perhaps there are problems that involve you at work and tomorrow you have a big meeting on it. It could be an argument with a relative or friend. Maybe it’s getting together with family for a vacation and having to deal with, well, the stuff that comes with family! Whatever it is, life always throws you some bumps in the road that you now have to deal with. A little anxiety, frustration and a bit of fear come with that territory.
I was thinking about this when I had recently had to have an MRI done of my hip. Lying in the machine for 20 minutes isn’t a big deal, well, not really…is it? I’ve done it before, and it’s not terribly pleasant. They put ear plugs in your ears because of the loud pounding noise of the machine, tell you that you can’t move for 20 minutes while you’re stuck in a long tube with your face inches from the inside walls. I have a little claustrophobia, but I can handle this.
The technician was so nice, he was confident and pleasant. We chatted a bit before we started, I remarked how I didn’t have to wait long to get in to do the test. He told me how it was super busy just before I came and now it’s calmed down so I was lucky. I lay down on the table and asked him to put pillows under my knees because my back would hurt big time if my legs were flat. The nice technician propped up my legs and knees and even gave me a special pillow so my knees wouldn’t bang into the tube walls.
Ear plugs in and headphones on (so you can hear them when they talk to you), and a hand held button in my palm he gave me in case I needed to alert him for some reason. Just before the technician left, he asked me if I had any questions. I said, “So how long will this take?” He says, “Oh, about 45 minutes.” I thought, “What? 45 minutes!! Wow, that’s a long time I didn’t expect that!”
They rolled in the table into the tube. Just before they started I began to feel a little anxious, suppose I sneeze or move? Suppose my back starts to hurt, which it often does lying like that. Will they have to do it all over again? Will the pictures come out badly? My mind started to think all kinds of things. I realized that I was becoming more aware of whether I was feeling comfortable or not. That wasn’t good because it focused my attention on my trying to be still and calm, which doesn’t work. Then I thought, I need to stop that. Calm down and stay centered. I turned to my usual tried and true remedies that help me through the worst fear and anxiety.
I closed my eyes and took several long slow deep breaths. That tells my body that I’m going to meditate and then I start to repeat a mantra that I learned almost 30 years ago. It’s almost like saying a prayer. Immediately, my attention turned inward and I relaxed. Then, I paid attention to my breath, just followed my breathing and stayed in the moment not worrying about how much longer I had to be there.
I was surprised that the 45 minutes went by relatively quickly without my feeling I needed to move or shift and my mind stayed calm.
How do you get through it and still stay calm and centered? This is how I’ve done it over the years and it’s gotten me through some pretty scary times. A few that were a thousand times more frightening than this. Some of them I wouldn’t wish on anyone. Maybe in my future emails, I’ll share those stories. Here are my steps:
#1 – A belief in something in bigger than me.
A belief such as God, our Creator, the all knowing Universe, whatever you want to call it. It helps me tremendously to know I’m not in control. Something greater than me is in control and I trust that it will be there for me through my angels and guides to help me through anything. This trust gets stronger as the years go by as I’ve experienced it to be true.
#2 – Having a set of mantras or prayers.
I have a few that I have repeated over and over, often to meditate, with the thought that it connects me to God each time I say them. That helps me relax and feel divine energy within me.
#3 – Be the moment.
Because there is no future nor past, only this moment, now. Focusing on this helps me calm down and feel grounded.
#4 – Breathe.
Because breathing not only naturally relaxes you it also moves energy through you and helps clean you out of negative energy.
The cool thing is about all of these steps is that it helps you connect more strongly to your intuition. As such, I have use them as a practice to tune into becoming more aware of my intuition. You can try these steps too.
