Awareness of nervousness
an excerpt from Live Beautifully: A Book to Sit With, by Doris Wedige
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Reflections on the antidote for pain...
When we find ourselves in a tail spin and we are faced with agonizing pain, both physical or emotional, what do we do? How do we stop the insanity? I find it beneficial to pull myself back up by focusing on inspirational quotes, prayers and writings. I crowd out the fearful thinking by focusing on reading Truth. And from that place, a moment of stillness may come. From that place, I can breathe. Just breathe. I can find a corner of solitude and sit. I can feel the anxiety within my body. I can become aware of the swirling of thoughts and emotions. I can acknowledge what is. Then I can make the choice to simply focus on my breath. My thoughts may come back. I’ll return to my breath. My heart may pound. I’ll return to my breath. My stomach may turn. I’ll come back to my breath. I’ll just be aware of my breath. With practice, I may be able to feel a bout of anxiety coming on and by merely becoming aware of my breath, I may prevent the fearful thoughts and emotions from snowballing into a full blown panic attack. When I am aware of my breath or reading inspired works, it takes my attention away from fueling the darkness that attempts to feed on my thoughts, my emotions and anyone else that it can draw in. |
I intend to be prepared to redirect my mind.
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