Meditation is an effective way to deal with anxiety and worry.
Basically, our mind consists of pure consciousness, free from worry, anxiety, thoughts, etc. It can be described as a being, an existence. However, throughout the ages, our mind has been cluttered with feelings of inferiority that are expressed in, among other things, anxiety, worry and stress. Am I good enough? Can I handle this? Have I done right? What if I get criticized! Do I have enough money? Will I survive? We automatically feed off these types of thoughts and describe them as anxiety or worry.
Anxiety and worry are thus nothing more than automated thoughts and feelings inside our mind. This means that if we find a way to eliminate such thoughts and feelings, they will cease to operate within us, and our life will instead be lived from the place of pure consciousness. When there is no worry, we are naturally calm and happy.
The key to beginning to let go of these distressing thoughts and feelings is to accept them. It may sound difficult to accept, but acceptance is nothing more than stopping fighting your thoughts and feelings.
Our instinctive reaction is often to try to combat our negative thoughts and feelings by trying to think positively or by occupying ourselves with something. However, such an action does not lead to our getting rid of the painful thing. We may be able to push the pain away temporarily, but the result is that the feelings return, often with increased strength. We become a bit like pressure cookers that eventually explode.
Accepting our pain means - instead of trying to think it away or push it away - to consider and welcome it. In this way, the pressure ceases and the negative thoughts and feelings will little by little lose their strength and "puff out" of us.
A good tip to start meditating is the following simple exercise.
Set aside 10-15 minutes daily for yourself. It can be in the morning, at lunch or before bed.
Sit down comfortably. Close your eyes and let all thoughts and feelings play freely. Observe everything that comes up. Let the thoughts and feelings just pass, like clouds in the sky
When the time has passed, you take a few deep breaths and inside yourself you say "thank you" for this moment with yourself.
Make this a daily routine. Do not try to control your thoughts and feelings (if you do, in such cases, observe the thought that is trying to control your thoughts). Just let them play freely. Don't expect quick results. Do this for a long time, at least three months.
The process will be experienced as going "up and down". Some days it will feel like it helps and other days it will feel like nothing happened or that it's even worse than before. This is normal, and is in itself a sign of progress. It is therefore important not to evaluate until you have done for a long time. Then you'll see how much progress you've actually made since you started. A good idea is to write a diary about your inner emotional life. That way, you can follow your progress more easily.
Gradually, you will find that you do not identify as much with the negative. It has lost its effect. At the same time, you have discovered a space within your mind where there is total freedom and harmony. It is happiness. Continued meditation is expanding this space within you.
The above is a great start. If you want to continue to deepen and discover a natural peace within, I recommend that you find a meditation center where you can receive guidance and encouragement. A center makes it easier to keep going and create a routine. I meditate myself with Stockholm Meditation, which is a meditation center that offers guided meditation - both on site and via the internet - every day. You can read more at www.stockholmmeditation.se.
Michael