For most of my life I have had anxiety of one degree or another, manifesting as compulsive hand washing at the age of eleven, to constant checking in my teens and adult years, along with panic attacks which I experienced palpitations, sweating and shaking… It was very exhausting and debilitating: a reaction to life’s stresses and all the beliefs in the world… the “shoulds and should nots“, “got to’s“, “it’s this… it’s that“, “it’s because of“… All the external views and opinions as opposed to what I was feeling within, along with a lack of trust in myself and my decisions.
I had tried many self-help strategies and various orthodox and complementary treatments, none of which had any lasting effect. I learned to live with it the best I could.
When I started attending and listening to the presentations of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine this began to change, and with the support to understand myself more deeply from Esoteric Practitioners, mainly Simone Benhayon, I began to care for myself and build a foundation of love for myself.
I developed an understanding of eating foods to support myself rather than feed my reactions and emotions, to really listen to my body and what I felt was right for me rather than doing what I thought was expected or that I should do: it’s amazing how these have underpinned most of my decisions and choices in life.
I have realised that anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction that I can have a choice over.
When I could feel the anxiety rising I started to bring myself back to my body by feeling my hands and feet, how my body was moving, how my food tasted and felt in my mouth – just simple things that brought my focus back to me rather than the situation that was scaring me.
When I had times where this level of anxiety happened I would take extra care in nurturing myself to support myself through it, and afterwards, to help my body recover, by having a soothing bath with oils or bubble bath then tenderly putting cream on my body. Or by going for a gentle walk, making a calming cup of herbal tea or sitting quietly and listening to the birds in the trees.
Over time, as I continued to love and care for myself, building my foundation, I found that I wasn’t reacting in the way I used to. I noticed the situations would occur but I would stay steady. I may have wobbled a bit but I came back to a steadiness that was within me – it felt strong.
This steadiness is growing as I continue to build love and I find more and more I stay steady in situations that before would have completely thrown me: my trust in myself has grown so much.
I continue to work with this and now my anxiety is at a level where I feel it as a tension in my muscles, for example in my arms and across my shoulders. When I feel this in my body I know there is anxiety at play and I am then able to look at the cause and can stop it pretty quickly by bringing myself back to my body. I am now aware and can feel how it is a choice I am making and I can change that choice at any time, whereas before it just seemed to happen to me.
I no longer feel the need to check things now I have this steadiness inside me… it’s just not there. If from time to time my heart starts to pump, I say to myself: “It’s a choice, Ruth.” I can choose to feel differently, which I do by connecting to my steadiness, and it stops.
Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.
Each day I experience how my steadiness keeps me much more balanced and able to deal with life, moment to moment. My energy levels are sustained and I get to enjoy the day so much more.
Thank you Serge Benhayon, Simone Benhayon and Universal Medicine for inspiring me to care for myself and helping me to understand that how I live affects my health.
By Ruth Ketnor, London, UK
Further Reading:
~ Anxiety Is Not Something You Just Have To Put Up With – There Is Another Way
~ Beating Anxiety Gentle Breath Meditation
~ From a Life of Depression to a Loving Life
Lovely to read of the supportive tools Ruth had in place if needed, ‘When I had times where this level of anxiety happened I would take extra care in nurturing myself to support myself through it, and afterwards, to help my body recover, by having a soothing bath with oils or bubble bath then tenderly putting cream on my body. Or by going for a gentle walk, making a calming cup of herbal tea or sitting quietly and listening to the birds in the trees.’
It’s a huge turnaround from the debilitating way of being in the world ruled by anxiousness, to self care, self love and steadiness – congratulations. I was also reflecting on my own new steadiness recently which I attribute to all the support provided by Universal Medicine workshops and clinic sessions, they are truly an amazing organisation supporting people to change their lives.
“Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing”– this really speaks to me, and makes me realise how try to fix something without actually knowing therefore being able to align with and support the very foundation of what that is then we are returning to, and obviously we would not know that it is a re-turn rather than becoming.
Simple supportive tools to assist us if we notice anxiety creeping in, ‘When I could feel the anxiety rising I started to bring myself back to my body by feeling my hands and feet, how my body was moving, how my food tasted and felt in my mouth – just simple things that brought my focus back to me rather than the situation that was scaring me.’
Treating anxiety in this way is so empowering because they are tools we can use everyday, they cost nothing, they are ours and once we have made them part of our rhythm form a foundation that has no space for anxiety.
Ruth thank you for writing this blog as I’m sure we have all felt those reactions as you say
“a reaction to life’s stresses and all the beliefs in the world… the “shoulds and should nots“, “got to’s“, “it’s this… it’s that“, “it’s because of“…”
I hated all this as a child I particularly hated adults that expected me to do as they said and yet could break all the rules that they insisted that I followed. The worst insult was the ‘it’s because I said so’. I promised myself that if I had any children I wouldn’t expect them to do anything I wasn’t prepared to do my self and I would listen to them rather than talk down to them or over them or treat them as though they were insignificant; as I felt as a child that was a lack of appreciation of just how sensitive we all are.
“just simple things that brought my focus back to me” when we perceive complications in everything around us we lose sight of the truth of who we are.
Ruth I hear you sister!
When I was younger I used to have odd habits born out of anxiety, so glad that’s out of my system, it was exhausting.
It is so true and I also have come to know and experience that the true antidote to anxiety is connection as when we are at one with who we are with true settlement and everything we need to be and know, the choice then is if we honor it.
‘Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.’ The focus on what works, in this case love and care for ourselves, is always the key in building a foundation that supports us.
A foundation of care and love for ourselves is aways important, ‘ I began to care for myself and build a foundation of love for myself.’
What you’ve shared here can be applied to so many emotions: learn to just be with whatever is there to feel, without needing or wanting to feel any different, and build a sense of deep care and love in the body, and it becomes easier, when things do come up, to hold steady and not react.
When we start to see and feel that we always have a choice and things are not happening to us, it empowers us to make true choices based on what we feel in the body.
It is empowering to know we always have a choice, ‘I have realised that anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction that I can have a choice over.’
I totally understand your experience of anxiety Ruth having experienced this myself, there was a long period of my life when I carried a brown paper bag in my handbag and my psychiatrist allowed me to take a certain drug if my anxiety got too out of control. But I was asked to go drug free as much as possible. Meeting Serge Benhayon, Universal Medicine and his family was a game changer for me. By honestly working on issues mainly from my childhood I have become very steady in myself, I trust myself and I’m actually building a loving relationship with me! l am beginning to appreciate that I don’t have to make life hard work it is actually very playful.
What Serge and Universal Medicine are offering the world could change and very way we ‘do life’, and the flow on effect from that could potentially be an enormous reduction in health and mental health issues, less burden on the medical systems, increased productivity at work, more harmony in communities…. the list goes on.
‘I have realised that anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction that I can have a choice over.’ Spot on Ruth, having experienced anxiety myself throughout life I can relate to what you share, there is always a choice and we don’t have to be a slave to anxiety when it arises, by staying connected to my body I can usually respond in a loving and gentle way and this has then reduced the anxiety or it has stopped completely. We are powerful beings and we can support our bodies in many ways, I have found the Esoteric Modalities to be incredibly supportive in keeping me steady and the Gentle Breath Meditation has been a beautiful tool to use that has almost made a difference.
‘…how I live affects my health.’ This is so key Ruth, to understand this means we are able to take responsibility for our own health.
I used to ignore my feelings and smother them. But then I was less prepared for life and even more anxious. When I care for myself and put supportive measures in place (busy day tomorrow = Prep things today etc) I am less anxious, simple.
I’m the same Leigh, when I take care of things for the following day I feel very held by my own support, and I am not struggling with time because I am not organised. All the little details make a difference and it can be quite fun looking at new ways to bring more care into my life.
There is no quick fix for anxiety as all that is offered in our current world is about suppressing what we are feeling rather than acknowledging how super sensitive we all are and allowing this to be part of our expression.
This is exactly what I was discussing with a teenager about today how if we bring in self-care and self-love and bring it back to the body it actually reduces anxiety. All we need to heal ourselves is within we just need to love ourselves enough to start to honour what we feel and care for ourselves in such a way.
Yes and it builds trust. Unless we feel that we are not our anxiety, and by that I mean it is something we experience rather than a definition of who we are as a person, we will not invest in ourselves to the level that is needed for the anxiety to have no space in our body. Chances are will run around like headless chickens asking everyone else to do it for us which just heightens the anxiety because however well meaning and loving no-one else can do it for us.
Beautiful sharing Ruth. How many people know that true medicine begins with simply caring for and loving ourselves? The steadiness and love you feel in your body is the quality that makes it possible to respond to any situation without losing balance and sense of self. And even if momentarily we slip, we can always bring ourselves back
It is no wonder we feel anxious when we do not love ourselves and lack self-worth as we are always on edge as whether we will be able live up to what is being asked of us or if the facade we have built to hide and protect our lack of self-worth will be exposed. When we love ourselves we no longer need the protection or falseness and so consequently the anxiety drops away.
And by this revelation being brought closer to attention shows the responsibility we have of the quality we choose to live that is eventually making up our health.
When we do not have a steady foundation within we are like ships at sea. We can so easily be tossed around in our often chaotic world when we leave our inner-connection and compass through life.
What a revelation this is Ruth. ‘I have realised that anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction that I can have a choice over.’ Yes and as you share bringing our awareness back to the body, in the simple movements with love and care we build a steady foundation of love, which supports us and is always there should we leave ourselves.
We can all relate to having people who are steady in our life and how safe they are to be around. This can also be us if we learn to listen to and work with the messages from our body.
To have people close to us reflect a real steadiness is a blessing, and there has been times where I have been this same reflection for others too. It is amazing to appreciate that we are here to support each other and remind each other that we can choose to be ourselves and connect to our essence at any time.
Hi again Ruth, reading your blog again has been so supportive, I’ve recently been through a situation I’ve never encountered before which at times felt quite scary. As a result I really let the anxiety rule me, so it’s quite a blessing to come by your blog again and reconnect to the simple ways you have shared to be both more aware of and address anxiety – thank you.
When I have been anxious about something and I tell myself to not be anxious, it doesn’t work but when I let go of trying to fix the anxiousness and focus and connecting to my body it shifts very quickly. Now, I hardly ever feel anxious but when I do I feel equipped to bring myself back very quickly through reconnecting to my body and not let my thoughts run the show.
Telling oneself how one should be never works – doing so is just telling ourself lies. Speaking truth to ourself is to connect to our body.
A great point Jonathan, for if we listen to what our bodies say then there can be no lies for only the truth is spoken and with that anxiety can be a thing of the past.
If we reconnect to our bodies when we feel anxious we have an opportunity to learn why we are being anxious, to resolve the cause and thereby evolve.
“Over time, as I continued to love and care for myself, building my foundation, I found that I wasn’t reacting in the way I used to.” – Commitment to consistently building a foundation of a certain quality of presence in our body has a powerful ripple effect.
We are dis-eased when we are not in the body. This may manifest in different ways. These only heal when we register how different we feel when we are in the body and learn to appreciate it deeply.
I have found the Universal Medicine Therapies so supportive in helping me to build that inner steadiness, each session helps me to clear something such as a hurt, trauma, misconception, which then makes space for more of the real me, the love and steadiness, to be present. To be honest I didn’t even realise I had anxiety, I was just used to being “stressed out”, and in my Universal Medicine clinic sessions I became aware of what anxiety felt like, this then gave me an opportunity to address it when it came up during my day so I could support myself.
The Gentle Breath Meditation has helped me when I have been experiencing those extreme moments of anxiousness. Within two breaths I can feel the change in the anxiety.
It’s an incredibly empowering moment when we see that we are the ones steering the ship. When we see we are the ones who chose to live with certain situations and certain reactions.
One captain only and no team to lay blame!
Yes, an incredibly empowering moment. We are in charge, we can choose to be defined by whatever we want and our thoughts will feed that identification. If we start with the body, we change our movements and then change the repetitive and abusive cycle.
It actually makes so much sense. Anxiety is caused by the way we live so the only true way to cure it is to also look at how we are living.
So true Joshua, this is often overlooked and we often try to intellectualise a way out of anxiety instead of looking at the root cause.
Recently, I was listening to a recording of a meeting where various views were being discussed about a theme that was of a great interest to me, and what I noticed was how I was trying to clock whose opinion was right therefore I should side with. Where has my truth gone? Not being connected is a shaky ground to be in life, and I agree, it is not about ‘correcting’ that posture but it is in the self-loving choices that we find our way back to true confidence.
And through that deepening we get an opportunity to have a much more honest conversation with our bodies don’t we? It is a constant unfolding.
There is no question for me that the way we live affects our health, what you share here is gold because it shows us that the foundations are laid in the small, innocuous activities of self-care, like taking time to get ready, put cream on, be tender and kind to ourselves.
Yes, nothing is insignificant when it comes to the loving detail we apply to life, and our bodies so willingly respond.
What I have loved is that this is theory until such time as it is felt in the body, then it is a truth no-one can take away from us.
True.
Re-tuning back in with our body and listening to what we feel to do gives us the opportunity to re-connect with an innate wisdom we all have inside of us.
Anxiety is a choice but it is our everyday loving choices that supports us to make more loving choices. I find if I eat the wrong food, don’t get enough sleep or react to certain situations, I can feel anxious throughout my day.
Yes agree, I use to find certain foods and stimulating drinks would upset my physiology and cause an underlying tension in my body. When the body is ahead of itself it feels unsettling and not natural.
‘Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.’ This is beautiful Ruth, our connection to our bodies is key here allowing us to build a loving and consistent foundation that will support us in life.
I had not appreciated how truly lovely I was feeling and how light and playful I feel most days until recently. I have a tendancy to focus on the what is not rather than the what is and it wasn’t until I had a day of living feeling somewhat below par that I truly appreciated how different my new normal of playful joyful me had become.
Thank you Ruth, it’s profound how you changed the anxiety not through focusing on it as such but on your connection with you and your body – nurturing that in all moments that then gave you a new foundation that supported you to deal with the anxiousness if it came up.
Eating to pacify our emotions and reactions is something we do to comfort and numb ourselves so we don’t have to feel what we don’t want to feel.
I agree Susie, but when we make unloving choice to numb ourselves we tend to feel anxious and less able to feel our gorgeousness and who we are. Our body is constantly communicating to us and it takes a lot of effort to numb these messages from our body.
Ruth what you have shared here is very simple and practical, to come back to feeling the body when anxiety (or other stressful reactions happen) and to also be more loving, caring and gentle with ourselves. We may see these things as a relief from anxiety but they are actually a way of life. I still experience anxiety but I find coming back to the body and being very lovingly caring with myself not only helps to bring me back, but it also helps me to establish a foundation through how I live that means less anxiety happens.
“I have realised that anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction that I can have a choice over.” thank you Ruth for a great sharing of how you are healing anxiety by choosing self care and love. I have lived with so much anxiety in my life but have squashed it down so I could cope with it, but it was always there under the surface. How empowering it is to know that it is not who I am and that I have a choice in the matter, I have found as i build more self love in my body my anxiety is so much less.
The more I allow myself to be in my expansiveness the less anxiety I feel. When anxiety is sensed in my body it is a sure sign I am holding back and not bringing all of me to another or situation. What occurs to me is that I am then coming from self and investing in me and only me and not for the all.
‘Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.’ I feel too that if we want a long lasting and sustainable answer to anxiety then self care and self love is the way to be/go.
It certainly is Elaine. I have noticed through self-care and self-love my low level anxiety is no longer part of my everyday. I didn’t realise I had low level anxiety until I started to apply self-care and self-love, because this took me out of being in anxiety and gave me a marker of how amazing life is. So, when I dropped my connection and allowed anxiety to creep back in it became obvious I had been living with anxiety for most of my life.
If we allow anxiety to make us anxious we are on a downward spiral. If we listen to our body when it is showing us clearly that we are choosing anxiousness we can start to move in a way that brings us back to who we are.
So many people in the world suffer from anxiety to some degree or another – this blog is a testament to the fact that it doesn’t need to be a permanent part of your life, and can be healed, through very simple ways, like being more loving and kinder to yourself, building a loving foundation in your body to come back to.
” I began to care for myself and build a foundation of love for myself.”
So wonderful Ruth, the starting place of healing .
How different would life be if we learn that dropping into our body changes everything and that we have the support we need it for this to happen.
” I developed an understanding of eating foods to support myself rather than feed my reactions and emotions”
This is a huge learning , a lot of the ills of our life are down to the simple fact that reaction is the easy way to not be responsible, thank you for sharing Ruth lovely.
When we deeply love our body it can surrender and we can let go of anxiety.
How we treat our body is related to how susceptible we are to anxiety and other common physical and mental health issues. So, it makes sense that we can also prevent ill health by deeply loving, caring and honouring our body.
I have found it super empowering over the years to feel the fact that anxiety is a choice not a thing that just happens or is because of life making it happen. That’s just giving our power away
Our bodies will always guide us to know who we in-truth are, and when we are not being, honouring or living who we are not. The greatest friend we could ever ask for, divine in its constellation and designed to embody love and truth, who we are in essence.
‘Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.’ I experience the same, it is about staying in my body, not giving myself a hard time when I feel the anxiety in my body but to go to the solid foundation that is always underneath this tension and give all my attention to being present and feel the love that is there.
Can someone tell me what book or teaching specifically deals with anxiety?
Thank you!
Hi Linda, I’ve personally found http://www.unimedliving.com a great resource on a variety of topics including anxiety. There’s a great mediation on anxiety at http://www.unimedliving.com/meditation/free/meditation-for-anxiety-and-stress/beating-anxiety-gentle-breath-meditation.html which I’ve also found super simple and very supportive in connecting back to my body and being able to feel what is really me and the layers of anxiousness I feel when I’m not being me.
Thank you so much Angela ❤
” Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing. ”
This is wonderful Ruth , by taking your power back and investing in loving and caring for yourself and therefore there is no power to feed the anxiety , so clever and wise.
I am so glad I found this site. What a relief!
Such wonderful and inspiring comments from all of you.
Thank you ❤
” Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.”
This is quite amazing , would it be possible to say that you have healed anxiety and therefore there is nothing to fix.
Thanks Ruth… I love this approach… The back door… It works in so many ways rather than feeling that we have to tackle something head on, we simply work on something simple that in front of us… And then, miracles do really happen.
What simple and accessible tools to help support the healing of an increasingly common condition. They should be taught to everyone – after all, I doubt there is a person on the planet who hasn’t suffered anxiety at one time or the other, if not chronically or acutely.
I agree Victoria, and increasingly younger and younger children are experiencing anxiety and by the time they reach their teens it can be debilitating. It is amazing to share how we can apply these tools that are accessible to everyone.
What you have shared here is something no-one can take away from you because it is all yours. It is your foundation that you have built from loving yourself enough to care for yourself. It sounds crazy that this is not our first choice but clearly for so many of us it isn’t. It is like we stop fighting fires, and actually look to ensure we nurture the space to ensure it is not flammable.
What a lovely sharing on how building a foundation of presence, nurturing and love have helped support you and your body, ‘I have realised that anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction that I can have a choice over.’
What really is extraordinary is how, with anxiety being such of such endemic proportions in our society, people actually keep going. The difference between truly living and just existing and getting through the day becomes more and more pronounced.
Certain situations will be triggers for some people to go into anxiousness, understanding the root cause of these triggers will be beneficial along with having tools to use, like the Gentle Breath Meditation, or really feeling and connecting with our body.
So many people live in anxiety and think it’s normal, that it’s part of life and you just need to get on with it. No wonder coffee is so popular and alcohol and cigarettes – we are exhausted from being in anxiety and need to take the edge off life.
I have realised that anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction that I can have a choice over.” Realising that we are not our emotions is true liberation.
Very true, and this highlights how vital developing a loving relationship with our bodies are, if we want to freely live who we truly are. As our bodies know only how to reflect the truth.
Coming back to our body and being aware of it as you describe is a powerful tool, ‘When I could feel the anxiety rising I started to bring myself back to my body by feeling my hands and feet, how my body was moving, how my food tasted and felt in my mouth – just simple things that brought my focus back to me rather than the situation that was scaring me.’ Lovely to hear how these techniques made such a difference.
‘I have realised that anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction that I can have a choice over.’ This is great Ruth as we are only ever providing our-self with the answer to take away these types of perceptions by the way we Lovingly move and thus therefore connect to our body. It is the same with so many situations lets say being an alcoholic we are not ever an alcoholic, we may have drank alcohol but we are always in essence divinely connected so by our will and divinely loving ways we can return to that essence. So what are Divinely Loving ways, could they be every movement we make to the best of our abilities, which even includes the way we speak, as that is also a movement and if this is true we can also add our thoughts? So as you say Ruth; ‘Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.’
Ruth I remember trying to ‘fix’ my anxiety. One of the things I would do was put ‘don’t get anxious,’ on my list of things to do. I chuckle a bit to myself when I remember those days. What I have realised is it’s the small day to day decisions I make to support and look after myself that build into a way of being that then eventually caused my anxiety to dissipate. Thanks for writing this blog, because I know anxiety is something that many people are living with.
Yes, Debra, this blog is definitely very supportive and practical. Affirmations as an attempt to ‘fix’ behaviours never work, as they are lies we tell ourselves and lies never resolve anything.
A super sharing on how you got to discover that anxiety is a choice and that you can choose differently. Simple, but powerful, but then we are all super powerful when we stop playing small. And self-love is the medicine that can heal and literally transform our lives. I have learned to make loving choices that truly support my body and now I love to give to myself and take care of all my needs.
Anxiety like all other emotions are constantly being felt by us and we can never stop feel the tensions that emotions create but when we express the truth from our inner-most connection we can feel that we are actually nothing to do with any emotion. This connection is happening from our movements well before any thoughts about being anxious come up, so we stay connected through our divine movement.
There is a great course that is available to everyone so for more on anxiety go to;
Understanding Anxiety in Men – ONLINE COURSE
http://study.coum.org/enrol/index.php?id=14
I highly recommend this coarse as I did it live and was so impressed that I also did it again with my wife and family online.
It is so important that when we are dealing with an issue like anxiety that we see it as a habit or a pattern that we have adopted and not part of who we are. That underneath the anxiety we have an inner essence that is not anxious at all.
“Anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction that I can have a choice over” – this is such an amazing realization, and by coming back to our body we come back to ourselves. I recognise how I get carried away in my own reaction, identifying with it, creating an issue when I am disconnected from my body.
Ruth I really enjoyed reading this again and could relate to many things you shared. Anxiety has been so normal in my life I had not really questioned where it still arises – for example double checking things. It’s definitely ok to re-check things but I can feel how much of this is done in anxiety. I could also relate to this “a lack of trust in myself and my decisions” but I hadn’t actually realised this about myself until I read your words. The initial feeling is ok, but when the “what if’s” come in then the anxiety starts. You’ve given me great inspiration to look at trusting myself more.
Having also suffered anxiety and stress for most of my teen years and well into my twenties I now find the consistency to keep coming back to my connection to my body and how I move helps significantly. Even something as simple as feeling my feet on the ground or how my hands feel when i touch something can really bring me back to the present moment and my mind does not stray because the focus is on the simple movements. I find it’s the consistency to keep checking in with myself and how I move really can halt the anxiety and bring true love to the fore.
Yes and the tip about feeling your feet on the ground and your hands when you feel the anxiety coming or you are in a situation you hadn’t expected. That is a gift because we can’t expect to find a quiet space in a stress-full moment, we need practical things we can do at any moment. This is a gold nugget right there 🙂
Ruth this is such a supportive blog for anyone who experiences anxiety, the choices you made to begin to heal this condition to now living your life with more ease and steadiness reminds us what’s possible when we begin to truly love and care for ourselves.
I can relate to your experience Ruth as I had been an anxious person most my life starting in childhood when I would worry about things ‘a little girl should not be worrying about’ (I overheard my parents say that about me). I saw and felt EVERYTHING but instead of staying steady within myself, I lost myself by absorbing all that I felt, which included the toxic emotions, thoughts and movements of another, and then identifying with it all as my own. What this meant was that I walked around in a constant state of overwhelm, like a dam ready to burst. I was prone to many anxiety attacks and panic attacks as well as emotional outbursts. Coming to the Universal Medicine presentations and learning how to observe the world and let myself feel all that there is to feel without absorbing it all, has been a lifesaver for me. It is a work in progress because it requires as you say, a steady rebuilding of love so well worth it for the steady footing it assures you in the world.
‘I am now aware and can feel how it is a choice I am making and I can change that choice at any time, whereas before it just seemed to happen to me.’ It’s absolutely revolutionary to know and feel that if we are feeling emotional in any way, it is a choice we’re making and so therefore we can make another one. A wise friend once expressed to me that feeling overwhelmed is actually a very powerful choice – one that is saying ‘I don’t want to take responsibility for myself in this moment and so I’m going to be overwhelmed so I have a seemingly good excuse not to’. This has helped me enormously to be able to come back to my steadiness in my connection to my body when I have been feeling the first signs of being anxious and overwhelmed.
In reading this blog this morning I realise how much more tender with myself I could be, not just at certain times, but all the time. Thank you Ruth.
Simple gestures that support our body in a far greater way and brings us back to simple basic self-care that is paramount in our movements that brings out the vitality others are looking for.
For much of my life I lived with no awareness of the low grade anxiety I was in. A few years ago I became aware of this and have supported myself to make changes. What I found interesting was recently when some things were coming up for me to look at, things that were quite uncomfortable and revealing, one of my coping mechanisms was to go into anxiety. I realised how I use anxiety to not feel and to check out.
Ruth this is a very beautiful and deeply healing way you dealt with your anxiety, rather than feel like the anxiety owned you you chose to take loving steps to heal this condition and bring a quality and a steadiness that has supported you immensely.
Ruth, I have also found that bringing awareness to my own body – being ‘consciously present’ in my movements and connecting with how my body is feeling is key, not only to anxiety or anxiousness, but any nervous tension whatsoever.
The simplicity of returning to feeling our feet walking on the ground, to being attentive to our posture and the way we are holding our bodies, the way we are breathing… is fundamental in holding ourselves in this world. Serge Benhayon’s teaching on this, inclusive of the modality of Esoteric Yoga, are invaluable in this regard. My life has also changed remarkably since applying these concepts – step by step – in my own daily living.
There is such a delicateness in what you’ve shared here Ruth – that in dealing with anxiety, we needn’t judge ourselves, or be hard on ourselves as if we’re ‘wrong’ or ‘at fault’… What you’ve shared here on building a ‘foundation of love’ is key, and how practically and simply we can all takes steps with this in our own lives.
Deeply inspiring, thank-you for sharing this.
Anxiety is not who we are. Love is who we are. Therefore when we feel anxious, we simply have to return to being who we are, which is love. This process of deepening the love within us through self-care feels simple, but it is very effective.
Serge presented today the possibility of anxiety being us bottling up our divine expression. It’s like heaven knocking at our door and us keeping the door closed.
This is a powerful metaphor which shows how ridiculous it is to choose anxiety over divinity
It is very much keeping my thoughts in line with what my body is doing at that moment and boy oh boy how easy it is to let my mind wonder and to get anxious over what might be going to happen, or going over all the possibilities how things could go wrong and how to control these situations. Pretty exhausting way of life. But like you share I have a choice to connect to my body and breathe my breath and to deeply care for the precious lady I am.
This is great what you share Ruth, deepening self love and care to bring a steadiness in the body and to be able to choose that anxiousness is a choice and we don’t need to choose it. Bringing it back to the body, really is a lovely simple way to reconnect to the self.
“Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.” I find this is the case with a lot of things – over eating, rushing, being messy, allowing abuse…when we work on loving ourselves it is amazing what simply falls away without even trying.
I love this technique of coming back to being aware of my body, as it seems to work everytime there is anxiety rising up inside. And it can be as simple as feeling my toes, or being aware of my jaw, or how I open a door.
Yes Shami, these simple practical techniques actually do work.
Such simple techniques yet so powerful in how they reflect our next movements.
It’s great to read another article that is basically let us know that the key to anxiety is to feel and not just to accept it or try and make it better. Once you are anxious it’s more difficult to see it but by taking care of yourself more and more deeply we are able to feel more of the subtle feelings of anxiety and not let things escalate further. We often fight, accept, distract, harden and suppress our feelings when in fact just allowing ourselves to feel what is going on in any moment is the key and the power to unlock what and how the feeling is there in the first place. The more we stop running from feelings the simpler things become.
This is so inspiring, thank you Ruth. Trying to fix the anxiety by wishing it wasn’t there or making it the entire focus absolutely doesn’t work, and as you say, learning to love and care for ourselves deeply, is what makes the change and re-connects us back to that steadiness we hold within. The more aware I become of my body and what it’s asking for next, the easier this becomes.
A very powerful sharing Ruth, on how you cannot just fix anxiety. I had struggled in silence for many years with intense anxiety, but now have realised that it is a symptom in which our bodies are signalling to us the fact that there is something missing, that something is not ok. It was for me about not living in connection to me and my body, honouring my essence and my love within. So what you have shared offers all a great insight on how anxiety can be healed by addressing not the symptoms and trying to make it go away, numb it of dull it down, but rather looking deeper to what the cause is and from within building a loving foundation where we are aware of our choices and so empowered to know that being and living the steadiness of our connection is our choice – where anxiety then has no part to play.
Wow Ruth – this is beautiful. The way out of anxiety is so simple and it starts with a choice to love ourselves.
This is very beautiful. Your sharing makes me realise that choosing to love myself simply means choosing to be with me, and for me anxiety is a symptom of me missing that presence, asking for it to return.
‘Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.’ Well said Ruth, by changing our choices we are able to change how things affect us.
I can very much relate to your blog Ruth, the more I love and listen to my body the more I am aware of what does not belong to this level of love I live. I can now observe behaviors instead of being taken emotionally by them.
Anxiousness is very crippling and has led me to not feeling comfortable leaving the house, although I was still functional on the outside, I sometimes really had to push myself to go shopping or go outside on days off work. There was a tendency in me to hide and crawl into my cave. I can imagine if I had not addressed this in time with the support from Universal Medicine it could have developed into more extreme and neurotic behaviour.
It is truly remarkable that in building a foundation based on love and care and of bringing focus back to your body when anxiety crept in, you have been able to heal such a debilitating condition… replacing your anxiety with a steadiness from the deep trust you now have in yourself is just incredible.
The more we confirm ‘what is’, the more the ‘what is not’ stands out and can be dealt with. In other words, the greater our foundation of love is in our life, the more understanding we have of what does not match that love.
Great point Rachael, I am amazed how subtle the level of anxiousness I carry can be, so subtle that I am not aware of it, only when I deepen my awareness and embrace more of who I am in truth, does it get highlighted and can be addressed.
There is a steadiness within that we all can feel when we connect to our body and this solidness can definitely outshine and surpass the emotional erosion that comes with the ups and downs associated with anxiety.
Thank you Ruth, what you’ve shared is so, so supportive for us. I am sure many of us have experienced anxiety at some stage in our lives. I certainly have to a certain degree. I feel to highlight this because it is just pure gold: ‘Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.’ Going to the root cause of our symptoms and healing from there is what will provide a lasting change, a steady improvement and quality towards our health and mental well-being.
I love this blog Ruth. I have just been painting my nails and could feel I had some anxiety running inside me. Reading about how you have healed your anxiety, not by trying to fix it, but by being more caring with yourself makes a lot of sense. I have just made a choice to focus on my breathing and the movement of my fingers as I type and the anxiety is already subsiding.
“Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.” Great to read how loving ourselves can support the reduction of anxiety – and many other symptoms too I might add.
This is a great sharing Ruth, it is real dissection of anxiety. I love this . . . “Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.” . . . trying to fix anything never seems to work for long if we do not remedy the symptom at the source. It is like plugging up a hose so the water stops coming out without turning the water off at the tap.
This is key – “Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work” this can be applied to anything, relationships food choices, work, family – anything outside of us, trying to fix things, doesn’t work, it’s actually exhausting and draining both mentally and physically on our body, well being and health. The only true thing that works, which I am learning, is building and living a loving relationship with ourself, then things naturally start to change, with no need, or not affect us at all, as we no longer react to them.
‘I have realised that anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction that I can have a choice over’. Beautifully said Ruth.
I agree Suse, this is profound and very inspiring – to know we always have a choice.
When we feed ourselves with an excess of emotions instead of love and nourishment we stay trapped within the vicious circle of drama and reactions.
What is interesting is that we can converse with the body back and forth in various different strings and not only in the one that is deeply familiar to us to the point that we think we are it. It is a self-created prison that we can leave at any time if so we wish.
I know what you are sharing here is true Ruth and yet a present situation in my life has found me living that anxiousness again so thank you for the power with which you express and the inspiration this brings.
Recognising that we have a choice in whether we react with anxiety immediately changes the dynamic and then we can explore how we move forward in life.
So true Helen – just knowing we have the choice, that we have the power to choose, is enough to dissolve the stress of feeling out of control with what we are feeling.
Until recently I had not been honest with myself about how much anxiety had affected my life and how draining constant low grade anxiousness was. Building self love has certainly supported me to have a foundation of steadiness that allows me to recognise when symptoms of anxiety appear and I too find coming back to my body is a great way to dissipate these symptoms. Thank you for sharing the details of how you support yourself Ruth which inspires me to re-visit my level of self-care.
“This steadiness is growing as I continue to build love and I find more and more I stay steady in situations that before would have completely thrown me: my trust in myself has grown so much”.
Attending my first presentation by Serge Benhayon, we were introduced to the Gentle Breath Meditation [http://www.unimedliving.com/meditation/free] and since then my inner foundation has continued to be re-built and is strong and solid within. I have also observed this in many others who attend these groups.
“When I could feel the anxiety rising I started to bring myself back to my body by feeling my hands and feet, how my body was moving, how my food tasted and felt in my mouth – just simple things that brought my focus back to me rather than the situation that was scaring me.”
These simple techniques have become my rock in life. It makes me wonder just how many people who live with anxiety everyday could benifit from knowing and applying them.
Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing. What you are sharing here Ruth is the power of self care and self love. No need to fix the stresses in our lives but by simply bringing more love and care in those stresses will begin to melt away. Beautiful.
“Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.” So true Ruth, trying to fix the anxiety just increases the pressure we put on ourselves but by choosing to treat ourselves with love and care there is nothing to fix but just choose to be who we are.
Food plays such an important role in the way that it affects our bodies physically, mentally and emotionally. If we listen to our bodies and learn to eat what is true for us we can improve any ailments such as anxiety which is so prevalent in our days.
I agree Franciso, I have experienced exactly this. I get affected very quickly by what I eat. My mood and how I feel deteriorate when I eat anything that doesn’t support my body. Now, I am paying more attention to what I eat and also the quantity I eat so don’t feel headachy, tired, and low in energy or in pain. So, this highlights to me how we can use food to nourish and nurture our body or use it to abuse our body.
Our world is a breeding ground of anxiety when we stop to consider our life styles and the way we choose to live. There is so much on offer to stop and take into consideration with the work of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine in bringing the foundation of care into our everyday that the quality we work and interact with others surpasses the levels of anxiety we have all felt in different periods of our life.
Simply bringing my focus to my feet on the ground helps me to stay aware and present instead of choosing to be taken out by any anxiousness that I might be feeling.
Thanks Ruth. How many of us have thought that anxiety is just part of who we are, and something we’ve just had to learn to manage? I would have absolutely sworn that I had zero control over anxiety in the past – it used to feel like it just happened to me and I would feel overwhelmed by it. Since having been introduced to Universal Medicine and simple tools like the gentle breath meditation and esoteric yoga, I’ve slowly started to build a connection to my body. With that, it’s easier to feel the anxiety is actually not me, but something – a type of emotion – that I allow in. And that in that, there’s a choice of whether or not to allow it in. It takes some work to start to turn it around but it is so worth it.
Thank you Ruth, “I have realised that anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction that I can have a choice over.” and building self care and self love in the body makes a difference to being able to tell the difference.
Thanks for sharing Ruth 🙂
Anxiety has been a huge part of my life but I was hiding this fact and the outside never saw how it had me in its grip, as I seemed so calm. Inside I was a mess and only recently I acknowledged how my body suffered from something I had a choice in and does not need to be part of my life. Building a loving relationship with my body is where the solidness and steadiness comes from knowing I am worth loving myself instead of being at the mercy of the dictations of the outside world.
This blog is a huge support for anyone who suffers from anxiety. To understand how it works and what is behind anxiety is a great start. The other point that stood out for me, was when you chose to connect back to your body, when you felt anxiety creeping in. By bringing our mind to focus on our body, allow ourselves to feel what is happening and how our body feels is an amazing way to connect to our steadiness, our power and our essence. Our body is incredible, we live in it every day yet often I feel we forget we even have a body and often choose to live in a way that is totally disconnected from it? With disconnection to our body, anxiety, frustration, anger, etc, can easily creep in and run us, creating disharmony and even abuse.
This blog is so beautiful to read. Anxiety had plagued me for many years and I too tried many things to get rid of it and had uncomfortably settled for thinking that I would have to manage it for the rest of my life. Enter Serge Benhayon and everything changed. I too started to take great care of myself and like this beautiful quote of yours – “my trust in myself has grown so much.” Steadiness is such the antidote to anxiety and this steadiness can come form a steady commitment to be with your body and to take great care of it. Thank you for sharing this.
Ruth this is one of the most beautiful blogs, thankyou. Reading through some of your symptoms I can see that I’ve had various degrees of anxiety most of my life. I find focusing on the anxiety itself (for example to attempt to fix it) actually inflames it. It makes sense to take time out, be nurturing with yourself and work on increasing self love.
“Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.” Surrendering to our own bodies connection is our natural way to be and release tension or anxiety we may hold. Changing our movements allows us to feel how truly spacious and lovely our bodies can be without stress and tension.
Great comment Kellyzarb, I love this part ‘Surrendering to our own bodies connection is our natural way’ this is so powerful. I only realised how powerful our bodies are since attending Universal Medicine courses and workshops. Previously, I wasn’t fully aware of choosing to connect to my body and had no understanding of how incredibility powerful it is. Now, I appreciate my body so much more, learning to take care and nurture it the best I can and allowing myself to deepen my awareness and connection to my body.
“Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.” how beautiful and simple it is that we can work with chronic anxiety by bring it back to our selves, by simply nurturing and loving ourselves.
I love what you share here Ruth that whenever we feel anxiety just focus on simple things that brings our focus back to ourselves rather that the situation feeding that anxiety. It’s definitely worth a try.
So awesome to share this article and express the changes and choices that you are making to enjoy being you more fully. And awesome that you share your appreciation for Universal Medicine, Simone Benhayon and Serge Benhayon.
Beautifully expressed, this is how I feel “I stay steady in situations that before would have completely thrown me: my trust in myself has grown so much.” This is the foundation from which I live, I have gained trust in myself, in my inner stillness, in my connection with God.
The physical sensation of anxiety, for me feels buzzy and unsettled, I loose connection with myself, my calm, steadiness and become less aware than I can be. If I allow this to continue it can be distressing, because I can’t feel clarity. So if I feel it come, I choose otherwise, anxiety is not my normal now and when I feel it in my body, I now know I can come back to a true, steady and still me.
I can relate to this, I do this still when I can feel anxiety coming into my body “When I could feel the anxiety rising I started to bring myself back to my body…”, Building a relationship with my body has been super supportive to my vernal state of being.
Love how you mentioned the ways anxiousness played out for you, I notice when I get anxious i tend to pay a lot of attention to obsessive tidying and cleaning!
“Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.” This line tells me what the root cause of anxiety is and how I can recover from that state of being I then am entrapped in it. I can now feel that when I leave my body unattended and live only from my head, anxiety is on its way. To me it is a way of my body telling me that it feels lost and not able to cope with the way I choose to be in life, I am in indifference with my body and instead only rely on the cobwebs I create in my mind. Anxiety is simply a way of my body to communicate that I have lost the connection with my body and that I live in a world of thoughts and images that in truth do not relate to what is actually happening in life and which my body is confronted with. Being in full presence with my body I know that I am prepared and can handle any situation that is being presented to me no matter of what is being asked of me, I am just there with all who I am.
Ruth thank you so much for your honest blog. I found it very helpful as at my workplace there are often patients with anxiety and your blog confirmed my feelings I have about it that: “Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.”
Wow Ruth what you have described is a miracle and also proof that it is possible to change such a strong behavior. How inspirational is that.
Going back to our bodies is definitely a way to stop anxiety, I have often tried the fixing of anxiety by sort of trying to eliminate all the stressors in my life yet it only worked short term and would not sustain itself when I did this. It would at least give a relief for a moment but not a true settlement in myself and I know it is in my body but still learning how to come back to my body and not get caught up in temporary relief.
Isn’t truth incredible, the fact we have a choice in everything. The freedom so many people would be blessed with, feel and be able to live in, if they knew that anxiety was a choice, not a given. The thing is we do all know this deep down, we have just chosen to override it or not feel it, as for some its a comfort and a way to not take responsibility for living our true divine light.
Imagine this was part of the health care advice prescribed by our amazing doctors ‘trust in yourself and your decisions’ the world would be a very different place to be and live in, there would far much more joy, simplicity and lack of anxiety and exhaustion.
I have been very aware of this recently “I developed an understanding of eating foods to support myself rather than feed my reactions and emotions, to really listen to my body and what I felt was right for me rather than doing what I thought was expected or that I should do: it’s amazing how these have underpinned most of my decisions and choices in life.” – when I trust myself and my body there is no anxiety.
Imagine you went to the doctors and alongside the awesome and much needed support they give, they asked you first ‘are you loving yourself?’ This would reveal the key to many ailments and diseases.
Ruth this is an awesome blog and I can very much relate to it. I’ve never had outward dipoles of anxiety, such a palpitations, shaking, sweating, feeling nervous or nautious but what I have come to realise is that there is a deep seated inner anxiety that I was never aware of until recently as it has come to the surface more and played itself out through my body, in particular my bladder. I was arrogant and dismissive of people before when they said how debilitating anxiety can be in their life, but now I understand this much more. And as you share it’s important to not identify yourself with this and think it’s something you have to live with your whole life. It’s your body telling you loud and clear that you are out of rhythm, mine is from fighting my awareness, and there are lots of thing we can do to support this, to eventuate in clearing anxiety completely from our life and body.
Anxiety is something I have chosen to participate in most of my life. I used it to not deal with situations, as a ‘get out of jail free card’, and to withdraw from life. Initially, when seeking treatment from Esoteric Practitioners the anxiety was what needed to be treated as it was in the way of everything else. Nowadays, I clearly know it is a choice and to be anxious or not is up to me. To see it this way is empowering as it takes the subservience to anxiety away, and as you shared beautifully Ruth, “I am now aware and can feel how it is a choice I am making and I can change that choice at any time, whereas before it just seemed to happen to me.” There is another way!
It is empowering to know that we are more than out anxiety, that through a simple connection to our body we can remain steady and solid through any challenging situations, this blog and the comments show us there is a different way that truly works.
So beautifully simple and do-able fixing anxiety with self love and care.
Ruth this is such an important article…anxiousness is rife in our society, and it runs deep, and yes, coming back to our bodies, as you say, is the foundation of returning to a stress free life.
Anxiety affects so many people. It is so common that most people think it’s our normal way to function and even think that is just part of our make-up but anxiety is definitely not normal. I agree, to be living with anxiety is a choice, so therefore we could eliminate anxiety as quickly as it enters our life. To make this consistent choice to live anxiety free means we need to take responsibility, make loving choices, care and nurture ourselves and learn to not absorb emotions and dramas but to choose to stay connected to ourselves as much as possible. Thank you Ruth for sharing your experience about anxiety and inspiring us with your wisdom and loving way.
I love the simplicity of being connected to who we truly are through self-loving choices as an antidote to our reactionary behaviour to life, and I can see the pattern that takes place in my life – in my disconnection I am prone to anxiety, therefore easily absorbing what is happening around me, and I would need to go into more motion in an attempt to make up for the insecurity that I would feel, exhausting myself in the end.
There’s incredible game-changing power in knowing that those things that have been derailers in our life have been merely choices we have made and that we can simply choose to make different choices. Sounds too good to be true, but it’s not. It’s just a question of choice. A choice between ‘eating foods to support myself rather than feed my reactions and emotions’ or a choice to feel what is ‘right for me rather than doing what I thought was expected or that I should do’.
Thank you Ruth, I absolutely agree, my life since first attending a presentation by Serge Benhayon has changed dramatically for the better.
For more about Serge Benhayon go to:
Self-love, self-care, self-responsibility and a good dose of honesty and courage are an incredible combination. When you start taking great care of yourself and having an honest look at what is going on around you and within you, anything is possible.
Beautiful to read Ruth, how the power of self love and self care has changed your life from one of feeling deeply anxious, to one of trust and steadiness in your body.
I like reading about how people cope with anxiety as its something that I have also suffered from in the past, and the most effective treatment seems to be self loving choices
Self-love has come to mean for me, one of those powerful phrases that brings everything to a stop. When self-love comes in to a conversation, it’s like we reach ground zero and everything has to be reassessed because in those words there is no doubt that you are worth loving.
What a beautiful testimony this is of the power of love, and how very accessible you have made it Ruth. Coming back to the body does not just apply when anxious – I have found I am supported in many situations when I open to feeling and being in relationship with my body.
I love your sharings Ruth of what you do during or after feeling anxiousness. I have also found this meditation a powerful support http://www.unimedliving.com/meditation/free/meditation-for-anxiety-and-stress/beating-anxiety-gentle-breath-meditation.html
Anxiousness does take a toll on the physical body in my experience, it is depleting and can bring physiological nervous tension.Ruth, to introduce something nurturing during and or after anxiousness to support yourself is not something I have actually ever considered so directly but it makes perfect sense.
Ruth it is superb how coming back to your body when anxiousness started to arise offers an anchor that seems so obvious when we try it but is so foreign to how we are raised and see others managing life. We are not shown, told or even role-modeled some of the most basic life skills and humanity is struggling and suffering in numerous ways as a result of this.
‘Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.’ – Beautifully said Ruth and a lovely support for anyone who experiences anxiety.
Ruth your sharing is inspiring for a person such as myself who also has suffered from anxiety and depression at times in my life. The consistency of your connecting to yourself through the Gentle Breath Meditation as taught by Serge Benhayon is important.
Hi Ruth, you have blown out of the water ‘beliefs’ around debilitating anxiety and that it can’t be changed, and that it has to be lived with. The power of choice is about accepting responsibility and this is what you have done. Absolutely inspiring and wonderful to have all of you, out there bringing your light and loving choices to the world.
‘I have realised that anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction that I can have a choice over.’ Realising this and understanding it is the first step towards true freedom, no longer at the mercy of the world.
This is helpful to me, as I often get a lot of anxious thoughts, but to keep it practical and be gentle and nurturing with the day to day things seems like good medicine.
Anxiety is not a natural state of being. It has to be re-created all the time. It is a way of being that may turn everything into a problem. Renouncing it is no doubt the key to accessing yourself. Leaving it behind is a healing program in itself.
Interesting Eduardo, ‘Anxiety is not a natural state of being. It has to be re-created all the time.’ Given the seemingly intractable hold anxiety can have over us, this is a revelation. Anxiety is something we need to constantly rework, if we learn to become aware of the constant stories in our head to keep generating the anxiety, and instead to connect to the stillness that resides always deep within, then anxiety is robbed of its fuel and loses any power to control us. this is the beginning of true freedom.
This brings the understanding that we are generating the anxiety ourselves when we make the choice to run with the stories. Thank you Annie.
It’s easy to have the belief and feel that the anxiety is something that just happens to us, especially when we have lived with it for so long, but like you Ruth I am finding that there is always a choice to let it run rampant or to gently dissolve it.
I love how you gently let the anxiousness go without even trying to get rid of it. Shows the power of just being Love
‘Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.’ We are capable of so much more than we think but the moment we go into our heads we are lost and anxiety can come in. The choice to be or come back to our body is a powerful one and the only one to deepen our awareness of what is at play. Choosing to love and care brings a confidence in all we experience in our lives and we can feel there is nothing that is too much for us to handle.
I agree Annelies, ‘we are capable of so much more than we think’ and unfortunately most of us still are stuck in the prison of thinking what we are think is who we are – this is only guaranteed to keep us in the misery and identification with self-defeating patterns. Learning that the power of true thinking comes from the whole body, and that honouring the body to live and move in its most harmonious way can bring back to us clarity, understanding and true self-empowerment to live unaffected by the vagaries of this crazy life here on earth.
Thank you Ruth, trying to fix any energy when all is energy will never work because the energy never shifts. “Everything is energy, therefore everything is because of energy” as presented by Serge Benhayon. In the on-line course described below an understanding is reached of how we can live with the anxiety that is not who we are, but is an energy that is always felt and this course presents the techniques of how to observe and not absorb the energy of anxiety, and how we live with that energy!
Understanding Anxiety in Men – ONLINE COURSE
http://study.coum.org/enrol/index.php?id=14
What you share Ruth almost seems too simple, it doesn’t involved high tech, sophisticated medical intervention or strong medication, and yet it proves itself to be profoundly effective and firmly places the control of one’s health and well-being back into one’s own hands – and from reading the comments it seems to have worked for so many others also – truly self-empowering and truly joyful to behold. Thank you.
Its true Annie, the revolution in medicine…. choice.
I agree Lisa, relearning our own power to choose, to have mastery over our innate ability to make a true choice, and remembering the responsibility that underlies that choice.
‘ remembering the responsibility that underlies that choice.’ well said Annie. Remembering that we have the ability to respond, that we can carefully make choices based on a response that aligns with humanities purpose for being here, returning to our soul-full state.
This is awesome to read Ruth, I feel anxious a lot of the time and are often not aware I am in that energy its so automatic it doesn’t feel uncomfortable! As I have developed more love and care for myself it has become more obvious and I love how you describe looking after you body after feeling anxious to soothe it and bring it back to centre. I love how practical it is and that is a choice to live that to make that a priority to love and care for the body. I am inspired by what you know live and know that it is possible.
Vanessa, it stood out for me how Ruth, with the support of self-love and nurturing, has gradually become so attuned to her body that the edges of anxiousness are now felt and calls her to go deeper into her body before it has the chance to get a hold. This is inspiring as I know as well I can also run low grade anxiousness that can go undetected.
Anxiety is that what can throw your whole life out of order, as it affects everything you do. I can feel it has and sometimes still does this to me. But building a loving relationship with myself helps me a lot to have something to come back to, fighting doesn’t work, having a loving foundation to come back to does.
This is an amazing way to raise the next generation, with the awareness of how to be love and truly hold a steadiness in any situation. Seeing that anxiety is now felt on some level by nearly every single person, the messages you have shared here are something everyone should hear.
I agree Joshua, and imagine raising the next generation to know who they are, and learn to hold true confidence coming from staying connected and present with themselves. How many ills in our society would this heal?
It would be a completely different society, where a lot of the ills and issues of our current one simply would not exist or exist in the same magnitude as they do now
It is fun sometimes to imagine that society, one maybe where we have already moved beyond violence, conflict and suffering and are instead learning what it is to live absolute brotherhood on earth, to be learning how to move together in harmony, to be learning the limitless expansion of love and the joy of deepening connection with each other to know the oneness we are all from.
Thank you Ruth, understanding that stress and anxiety are there for all us all of the time, we learn to live with them using the tools that are presented by Serge Benhayon and also the Understanding Anxiety in Men – ONLINE COURSE
http://study.coum.org/enrol/index.php?id=14
I can feel this so well, self-care builds a trust in our body, because we get to know who we are and feel this enormous beauty within without needing to get anxious about situations, or at least have the tools to not get lost in it.
“All the external views and opinions as opposed to what I was feeling within, along with a lack of trust in myself and my decisions.”
What debilitating tension and anxiety is caused when we take on external views and opinions. I love what you have shared Ruth; it is such a gentle reminder to be present and to trust our inner wisdom and knowing.
I have found coming back to your blog inspiring and very helpful. I have suffered from anxiety for quite a few years and appreciate how debilitating it is. Certainly by being conscious of our bodies and tuning in to what works for us is important. Finding the joy in life and seeing the love in all helps me so much, and thanks to Serge Benhayon and the wonderful Universal Medicine Practitioners for support and care over the past few years, I have been free of the extremes of anxiety I used to have.
I like the point you have made that anxiety is not you and when it does set in you take appropriate action to re connect to your inner essence
Anxiety is something that touches so many of us, I know for me it has been a constant in my life. I tried all the new agey things, thinking that if i just talked to myself everyday in a different way that would ‘cure me’, or learn to be ‘kinder’ to myself, the anxiety would diminish. Nothing worked, until i began to learn about reactions, what hurts am i holding on to? Learning to feel, allow myself to stop to feel, these things sound very basic, but were transformational. Beginning to self honour by choices I have made to be more gentle and tender with myself. These are what I have been able to do to allow the anxiety to leave my body, which as been really wonderful.
“I have realised that anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction that I can have a choice over”. This statement is so simple Ruth yet is very profound and wise. Although not always simple it is true that the choice is ours, always ours.
I loved reading your story and your amazing transformation, thank you for sharing.
How beautiful to have this marker of steadiness in your body that you can come back to when you so choose and also to allow the steadiness to deepen so the marker itself changes as you grow. Having seen you recently Ruth I can testify to this increasing steadiness in you and an ever increasing beauty that is a joy to feel.
“This steadiness is growing as I continue to build love” Ruth, this is such a powerful statement. I can feel the self-empowerment you have found in reconnecting to yourself and the beautiful woman you are.
It is beautiful to see the steadiness building and I suppose that is not quite true as its always there to connect to it just feels like its building when in truth it is we are no longer running with the anxiety and the what is not love, its a discarding and allowing ourselves to stand on the platform that already resides with in.
Building a connection with self and building it steadily so we can count on ourselves and learn to trust ourselves to walk in life is our best investment ever.
It’s a discarding of all the patterns and behaviours we’ve taken on to seemingly protect ourselves. Thanks for the reminder Vanessa that the steadiness is always there to connect to – and the way in which we live, making more loving choices, that supports us to feel this.
True Vanessa – it feels like a steadiness is building, but what is actually taking place, when we make choices to stay more still and less lost in the anxious spin, is more consistently choosing to connect to this steadiness and allowing ourselves to stay there.
I find Esoteric Yoga is a great way to help develop my ability to maintain the steadiness you speak of here Ruth.
Me too Lisa – Esoteric Yoga has really supported me to develop steadiness. Everything Serge Benhayon offers, in more ways that I can list, has shown me a sense of what it is to be steady, its magic, and how it changes the way I relate to life. This sense has helped me to value even more Esoteric Yoga and steadiness.
‘Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.’ The secret ingredient to anxiety. Being with ones self.
When you live with anxiety, you cannot access yourself too much. This is terrible since it leaves you with no real anchor to walk in life.
Very true Eduardo, in anxiety the focus is outside of yourself, anticipating the future, and so there is no access to you in the moment. And so you’re right, there is no anchor for the now, where you are, the mind is off in the uncertainties of the mental driven imagination.
So true Eduardo as anxiety keeps us in a state of doubt and we don’t feel prepared or able to attend to our responsibilities – so we lack the stability, the steadiness and consistency that a solid sense of value anchors us with.
So true, trying to fix things brings more stress, where as care and beginning to build a relationship with ourselves offers a true foundation and a way of being that offers another way to a life where we can stop living off emotions and start feeling.
Yes it is about bringing it back to self and not trying to fix it or deal with it in the moment, as that just creates a spiral of stress. Going back to simplicity of life of care and love, supports that true foundation, that allows us to feel and not get caught in emotions and reactions.
Yes, Esoteric Yoga has really helped me to bring the focus from the outside to the inside and to my body and to live from my body and from my movements and not from my thoughts and what people talk about.
From someone who was dogged with anxiety for much of my life, it is amazing to realise that it is what you say Ruth — a choice. Anxiety is something I call in from outside of me as a default of form of protection — a perverse form of protection because of course it does not protect me in reality. What it does is have me vacate my body and have my mind reign with one anxious thought over another to try and desperately fix something i cannot fix from this vantage point. What has been very supportive for me when anxiety starts to come on is to make a conscious choice to stay in my body. I can then feel the anxiety as an external force I’m choosing to take in and in that awareness I can say no to it, in the knowing that being in my body, feeling solid is the protection I’m seeking.
Thank you Ruth, what an amazing blog about a subject that affects almost everyone in some way. Living with anxiety and understanding anxiety is shown for what it is in the Understanding Anxiety in Men – ONLINE COURSE
http://study.coum.org/enrol/index.php?id=14
Great to read an honest account of dealing with this global epidemic, because that is truly what it is, a subsurface constant that is always there for people but we medicate it and ignore it … however it is still having its ongoing debilitating effect.
That was a powerful blog Ruth because through the way you chose to live you gave us such a good advice how to deal with anxiety: “Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.” Now everyone else who is dealing with anxiety can chose to stop it forever how great it that . . .
Thank you Ruth for sharing a really beautiful story, and showing by your experience how amazingly powerful, self loves is, in changing lives .
In the past I would of used cigarettes or alcohol to medicate my anxiety which would of only made me more anxious, however since coming to Universal Medicine I have been introduced to a self caring lifestyle which has dramatically reduced my anxiety.
Yes Linda, I liken it to a parent with a child – if we stop and give full attention to the child it feels seen and loved and does not need to produce bad behaviour to get our attention. So too, if we listen to our body and give it what it needs it does not then have to create symptoms to get our attention.
Thank you Ruth, you’re sharing here is priceless, as like you and many others I have suffered from many different levels of anxiety. For me the first choice was to become aware that this was anxiety that I was feeling as it had become such a familiar part of my being that for many years I did not clock it. Bring on Universal Medicine and the approach to being in my body and holding that body with self regard so that I could really feel this energy in me and like you have shared, from there it becomes a choice to be self loving and present in your body or not. I have become aware that it is simply another feeling that I can now identify so I don’t need to allow it to impact on my body as I used to.
Really simple the mountain has become a bump.
Sometimes we may not know why we are anxious. By simply asking ourselves, the answer may come. We don’t need to try to work it out or go into solutions but we can stop the anxiety from manifesting further by stopping the momentum we are in that feeds it. Bring on the gentleness, care and love that we deserve. Thank you Ruth.
Exactly, lessening the pressure by understanding ourselves and why this anxiety is playing out. When we turn towards love and understanding instead of fear and looking away, the anxiety will loose its hold over us.
This blog is very relatable for me as I carry tension across my shoulders and back most of the time, I just didn’t know to call it anxiety. It feels good to remember to just allow it and accept it is there and immediately the tension is released when I do this. Remembering it is a choice is so important too, thankyou for the reminder- it is actually very exhausting continually resisting presence, I am happy to let it go.
Ruth, such a great sharing, your comment about how much we can allow ourselves to be driven by what is out there rather than feeling what is right for our own bodies struck a cord, and reminded me of how key it is to stay connected to and feeling my own body, otherwise I can go off in the merry-go-round of out there in the world, with no real anchor in me. My body reminds me to come back to me.
Thank you Ruth, I have seen that anxiety can be a background noise for so many people without actually appreciating that it is there and doesn’t need to be. It takes a moment to feel what the body can feel like without it to appreciate that the anxiety is not us, but a reaction to something that is happening around us, or an anticipation of something that is going to or might happen. To learn to feel everything, to build self love, to know that you can be steady regardless of what goes on around you takes dedication and consistency. I loved reading how you have worked with that and the way it has changed so much in your life.
“I have realised that anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction that I can have a choice over.” Wow that’s a very empowering realisation. It comes back to choice once again.
‘Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing’ As you say Ruth placing attention on self lovingly, rather than on anxiety or weakened its power and enabled you to build an inner steadiness. We can all learn from this and apply the same to other situations.
“I have realised that anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction that I can have a choice over”.
Thank you Ruth for this lovely gentle reminder; I certainly need to remember that I do have a choice over my reactions. How easy it is to forget at times!
It is so timely re-reading your blog today Ruth as I have recently felt a little bit of anxiety creeping in around a certain issue and can feel how easy it would be to let it take over, as it used to in the past. But as you, and I have learned: “anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction that I can have a choice over.” So reading your wise words has given me the stop that I need to really allow myself to feel the truth of what I know and from this place very gently, and one step at a time, begin to bring the deepest care and love to my body, a body that is not innately anxious.
That’s beautiful Ingrid and an awesome claim for us all to make — our bodies are not innately anxious. Our bodies are designed to work and flow in harmony and when anxiousness enters the disruption is harsh and sharp — which is why anxiety is so awful. The more we can let ourselves see that it is not a natural thing, the more we can detach from it and not get swept by anxiety when it starts to arise.
When I stop, listen to my body and be more gentle with myself the anxiety reduces too.
I find going for a walk deeply nourishing and supportive – being in nature and moving my body is a great way to come back to feeling whole again if I have been racy, distracted or lost in my thoughts.
“I developed an understanding of eating foods to support myself rather than feed my reactions and emotions” this is really interesting to read, I have never considered that we eat food to feed our reactions, emotions yes. Imagine this being common knowledge which it is, our bodies all know – just our minds that override it.
This is something I’m going to have a little experiment with.
So true, Ruth. And it is not about being perfect, but about realising what is going on by observing ourselves. Whenever we feel like or realise that we have somehow gotten off track, there is no need for panic or judgement. We can simply observe with honesty what is going on, having love and understanding for ourselves and then look at why all this happened. These simple observations will help us stay a little steadier on track in the future.
Such a timely post for me to read Ruth. ‘Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.’ – This line is gold. You can’t fix the anxiety, because you/we are not broken to begin with. It’s managing ourselves, looking at how we look after ourselves and coming back to basics is the only thing that will have us return to the steadyness we once felt.
‘I can choose to feel differently, which I do by connecting to my steadiness, and it stops’ This is very inspring to read Ruth and I am experiencing the same, my steadiness in how I take care for myself is a key when it comes to anxiety. To not let my thoughts run through my head but being in connection with my body by being conciously present has been an amazing tool, the same with preparing myself for the day ahead, taking care for nourishing food, taking enough time to go out the door etc. Sometimes I wonder when something happens, I should be anxious now but it is not there at all. So Ruth time to appreciate how far you and I have come!
“Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally diminished.” Great confirmation of the power of self love.
Sometimes when I have been right in anxiety or depression it has been hard to see that helping myself is an option . Even though I have known that it is a choice , I found this hard to comprehend for awhile. But having help from Universal Medicine Practitioners and Serge Benhayon, I have been able to understand and bring about true change through committing to helping myself. Thank you Ruth for sharing a great experience with us.
Thank you for your blog, I too can get anxious at times and I have found what as been so beneficial to me in starting to deal with my anxiousness is to be honest when it happens. I found my instant reaction was to try and stop, telling myself I was being silly etc, where as now when I feel anxious I admit that I do and I ask myself why and give myself the space to not beat myself up for reacting, but instead start to come back from that anxiousness.
Understanding that my reactions are a choice was incredibly empowering. I was no longer at the mercy of life and emotions but now could choose whether or not I would stay observing what was occurring and and maintain my connection to myself. Definitely a game changer for me.
Ruth a beautiful blog, thank you. When we develop a truer connection with ourselves, we innately know what supports our body, from what to eat, when to take a walk, and when to rest.
A timely blog Ruth as anxiety is very common in our society. It would be wonderful if your blog was out there in every natural therapy clinic and doctor’s surgery etc for people to read. While some would dismiss what you have written, I believe others would feel the truth behind your words and so know that they have other options than to just put up with what is going on or go in endless circles searching for ‘cures’.
One of the greatest things I have witnessed in my life is through the tools presented by Universal Medicine and supported by healing sessions with the Esoteric modalities, I have come to experience a level of stillness in the body that I would not have known ever existed. It has brought a marker to the body that otherwise it would not know any different: so now raciness, nervous tension, anxiousness, hardening are all able to be registered as impacting on the body, rather that just living immersed in this, knowing myself by this, and not ever dreaming it could be any different. It also highlights the level of harm we bring to ourselves when we run our bodies this way, harm that one day will manifest in the body as illness and disease.
Well said Annie C, I feel the same, it has been a wonderful, life changing connection. The awareness of what is normal and what is not, brings greater understanding to what causes harm to the body and that if that harm is sustained the body will manifest that through illness and disease.
Yes Anne, these tools are invaluable to help us discern what is us and what is not us. I got completely drained by identifying with the nervous tension and anxiousness in my body and believing it was who I am. Now I see that I have a choice to let my body be run by this energy or not and it feels so horrible if I choose that instead of connecting to me. I can certainly feel now how harmful it is to the body which makes me less likely to choose that option.
Truly choosing to be with my body and love and adore it has helped me with my levels of anxiety. When I find anxiousness creeping in, I remind myself to come back to basics, walk gently, feel my feet, my fingertips, how I cook, how I clean. It really can be that simple.
I love how you have described when you have a pain in your arms across your shoulder, you know that you have an anxiety at play, you can then look at the cause and reconnect to your body, the pain will eventually disappear…
“Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.”
I absolutely agree Ruth all my efforts to fix the anxiety didn’t work either, but by choosing to take better care of myself and stay more connected to my body is starting to make a huge difference.
Very useful and great practical tips for living in a way that we don’t feel anxious, thank you Ruth for sharing your experience with this.
Thank you Ruth for this Beautiful blog! Your lived experience supports me in being more honest about my anxiety. I’ve become aware how draining anxiety actually is. Yet, I also see that it is a strong pattern of mine to not be with myself and let the anxiety take over. A few days ago I noticed that for me anxiousness was a mere word, not something I could Truly feel. This in itself has supported me to be able to be more honest when I do feel anxious. And that’s more than I would acknowledge in the past. Especially when I am around other people.
Agree Floris. That has also been my experience. Ruth, you sharing your lived experience is extremely helpful for me to be more aware of when it crops up. I know I live with anxiety, but I spend more time accepting it is there and less time bringing myself back, to me, to my body to settle myself down. Thank you for your post!
I’ve definitely experienced this as a truth Katie. If I am solidly in and with my body anxiousness cannot enter, because I’m solidly in connection with myself. That’s my anchor and the anxiety just doesn’t have an opening. It’s when I leave my body that the door is left wide open as it were. So building that connection and that solid foundation within my body that I won’t leave has been the key for me and something I consistently work on everyday.
‘I have realised that anxiety is not who I am’. Ruth, this is such a freeing insight which gives us space. We can then examine any situation with detachment and are less likely to dismiss our power, wisdom and clairsentience (our ability to feel). When we stay with ourselves we don’t get overwhelmed and anxiousness is less likely to be able to enter.
Totally agree Brendan – we tend to go after fixing things – to get the instant result, the quick fix. It never works and is the consistent application of loving care that turns our ailments around.
Agreed Lee. I have looked everywhere else for the ‘fix’, to prove myself, to get more and more done, to tick more boxes, to be the good daughter, employee, sister, housemate, neighbour. None of this works as I need to truly love me –it is all within me– rather than anxiously chase that love “out there”. That only feeds more anxiety.
The quick fix is what most of us crave, the relief from the tension of not just being ourselves, I love how Ruth’s blog shares the very practical tips on how to get back to the connection in you body. Consistent, dedicated choices no quick fix.
Absolutely Vanessa consistency and dedication is the key – a quick fix is not really quick in truth for it just delays the inevitable under its ‘fixed’ veneer.
Yes, it is a choice; A momentary choice to be aware of what is happening and let go of the thoughts that are causing the reaction. Choosing to come back to the simplicity of the body. It is amazing to feel the power we have when we are willing to take responsibility for ourselves and our state of being.
“I have realised that anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction that I can have a choice over”.
I loved what you have written in your blog Ruth and was particularly inspired by what you have expressed above. Such a simple succinct statement carrying so much wisdom.
Thank you for sharing your experiences and for expressing so honestly.
What you have presented here Ruth is the way mental health issues will be addressed in the future. In fact, many health issues stem from not caring for ourselves. It seems too simple, as we strive to discover the next pill that will ‘fix’ a problem, whilst all along the answers lay in the way we do the things that we do, every day.
Yes Matthew, both you and Bernadette Curtin have mentioned the needing to fix anxiety, and that is such a problem with how we approach healthcare today. The pill, the treatment, the fix. If we can have a focus on building a relationship with our bodies and self care as Ruth has so beautifully outlined in her blog, then we will have a relationship with the illness, pay attention sooner, even appreciate where we need to go for support and how to support ourselves so we take a responsible body to any practitioner medical or otherwise.
Thank you for sharing the ways that you built your foundations and steadiness Ruth, these ways are so simple and accessible to all. Trying to fix anxiety really compounds it doesn’t it? I love your realisation that it is a choice we make – to stay with ourselves and feel whatever is there to be felt, without judgement, very loving and powerful.
I really enjoyed your sharing with us Ruth. Anxiety plagued me for most of my childhood/adult life. I never really felt that I had the ‘know how’ into how to resolve this.
Always looking for outside fixes to take away this obvious (to me) problem. What you share is how with self-loving choices the whole situation can be turned around creating a firm foundation of the many ‘supportive simple things’ we can bring into our daily way of living.
Being self-loving helps us appreciate ourselves which gives us more confidence to deal with any situation. As you say Marion, the ‘outside fix’ is not the answer, it’s the simple self-loving choices that support us in our daily living.
Beautiful sharing Ruth – I can relate to your sharing very well. In the past I had to deal with anxiety and panic attacks as well. And I agree, connecting back to my body, when I’m anxious, it helps me to overcome the anxiousness.
Great post Ruth. I need to read and re-read this everyday at the moment as a reminder that my current state of anxiety in my new job is just a choice. I find it so hard to believe sometimes as I’m faced with tasks I often don’t know how to do, but can also feel the pull and need for sympathy which keeps me very locked into the drama. Every time I eat something at work, I’m noticing I’m eating really fast and with a tension/contraction in my body that makes it almost impossible to enjoy what I’m doing. I catch myself doing it and then try to bring myself back to a calmer state, sometimes it works, other times I’m so wound up it’s like talking to a brick wall. I know it’s a work in progress though, and starts well before I even arrive at work. One step at a time.
Well said Elodie, it starts before you get to those situations where the pressure is high and anxiety is completely in your face. The brick wall is one I have experienced, it is as if there is a part of our spirit that enjoys the drama, it has become accustomed to it to the point that one actually doesn’t know it will be ok without it. Perverse isn’t it, it is completely upside down!
That is really crazy – I agree Lucy. The fact, that we can identify ourselves so much with something, that we think at the end of the day, that’s me and I don’t question it at all. Thanks to Unimed and Serge Benhayon, who reminded me again, who I am and that all my identifications are not me.
“I have realised that anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction that I can have a choice over.” This is a huge realisation, and through listening to your body and making more self loving choices, you now have more control over the anxiety you feel.
Yes, I agree Peter this is a huge realisation – and yet so beautifully simple and something that we can all do in those moments of anxiety. Ruth has claimed herself so lovingly and an openness that is a joy to feel.
I felt anxiety leave my body just reading this blog, thank you Ruth. It is a choice – return to the body – love and care for it are such easy and great ways to reduce it and to know it is not me/us.
Really beautiful to read your journey Ruth, from one of crippling anxiety, to one of choosing deep love and care for yourself. Coming back to the body holds us in our steadiness.
This is beautiful Ruth. By making different choices your anxiety has naturally diminished, very inspirational. Thank you for sharing.
I love the simplicity in this paragraph; when things are put so clearly, it’s supportive to gaining the understanding being shared: “When I could feel the anxiety rising I started to bring myself back to my body by feeling my hands and feet, how my body was moving, how my food tasted and felt in my mouth – just simple things that brought my focus back to me rather than the situation that was scaring me.”
Agree Oliver. This sentence is exactly what I needed to hear and something I will find myself needing to do today. It’s so important to remind ourselves to bring it back to simplicity.
What that sentence reminds me of is that if we remain in our bodies and connected to ourselves through the tactile connections of how things physically feel it stops the mind running away like an express train with a story that creates a physical response in our nervous system. By being tactile and recognising the first signs of anxiety we can choose to not fuel the express train in our heads and be absorbed by its drama but stay in our body and observe.
I love this too, when someone talks of coming back to the body, often I can go into my head about it! But hearing it as a practical ‘feel your hands and your feet’ feels so simple and accessible, and is a lovely reminder of how we can support ourselves in any moment no matter where we are.
Yes Oliver it brings it back to a lived truth and a feeling of how the body is. Making it much more accessible for everyone. When I feel anxiety creep in I like to pay closer attention to how my hands are feeling and the way I place my hands on objects. It works a treat.
Your blog has brought to my awareness how much I live and construct my life from the ‘should’ or ‘should-not’s’, rather than feeling connected to my body and being impulsed by what is next to do. I also realised how much I react to all that is not right in the world, feeling powerless to not do anything to change things.
As I connect more to my body and feel a trust growing with this connection I realise I do make a huge difference to others simply in how I am and the presence I hold myself in.
Reading your blog Ruth had a calming, soothing effect on me, I felt everything is going to be alright, thank you for sharing the depth and wisdom of your experience about anxiety.
Learning to take care of yourself in order to build the love in your body is something we are never taught and so many people have some anxiousness myself included. Realising it is just a choice and that it is just a reaction is so helpful to know. Thank you.
There is an anxiety epidemic in the world and people are truly debilitated by it. It is amazing that we have so many testimonials of people who have recovered from it. This should be widely known. The world is crying out for answers and here they are. This is absolutely awesome.
‘I am now aware and can feel how it is a choice I am making and I can change that choice at any time, whereas before it just seemed to happen to me.’ I love this Ruth we develop all the time and get a real sense of where we are going as we connect deeper to ourselves. Not so when we are not in love with our bodies, stuff just happens and the victim mode kicks in.
‘I have realised that anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction that I can have a choice over.’ This is such an empowering line, Ruth. So often we think the emotion is us and we identify with it as our issue and it preoccupies us and blows up out of all proportion. In this state it feels impossible to overcome it. Yet with these simple self-loving techniques you were able to come back into your body which gave you that solid foundation, for when we are with ourselves it gives us an anchor so we cannot be uprooted.
It is really heartening that once we start loving and nurturing ourselves, we build a steadiness within, and I love that you felt this, and also how you weren’t reacting and were able to hold steady even when things happened that would normally put you into anxiety. I have come a long way from the constant anxiety in my body, and to be honest, I didn’t truly realise that I was anxious until the Gentle Breath Meditation became a way of life and stillness became something that I actually experienced! The more I practice these simple tools, the more it shows up what could be anxious moments or situations and I am able to stay with myself so much more easily now.
I have realised that anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction that I can have a choice over.” Anxiety can be exhausting and debilitating, creating a feeling of helplessness and restricting our response to life. Realising we have the choice whether to allow it to ‘run’ us or not is very liberating. As you say Ruth, in the steady commitment to self love and self care, along with the connection and communication with the body we find we are so much more than our emotions. In the fullness, the grandness of who we truly are, anxiety can find no place.
Returning for a second read these words really jumped out for me: “Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.” I too have found this to be the case and if I feel anxious these days I begin to make every movement with total awareness and love, and slowly but surely the anxiousness begins to subside. I am learning that every single movement, no matter how small or how big, and the energy that it is done in, has such an amazing and healing flow on effect throughout the whole body.
It is very empowering to know that we have a choice over anxiousness and it is not something that has control over us. We can change that by bringing more honesty and commitment to the lifestyle choices that we make at any given time, thank you for sharing.
This blog was a joy to read Ruth, so many people in the world with anxiety could benefit from reading it, as you have shown, it is just a choice. Although it does require commitment and dedication to self first.
This has been a life-changing world turning upside revelation to me also Golnaz, that all of our ills and humanities woes are the result of us losing connection with our natural essence, and attempting to live in that disconnection trying to understand life without the one essential ingredient needed to guide us true. This way is destined to fail and can be fairly evidenced by the state of the world today. How many people in the world live with constant anxiousness? How many hundreds of thousands navigate life as best they can with debilitating symptoms or try to control their life to not bring on situations where they are triggered… which deep down would just bring on a deeper layer of anxiousness. What you and Ruth have shared is a powerful way to truly heal so that anxiousness no longer has that tyranny over us. A way to return to ourselves, to remembering who we are and the tools to live in a way that can help us to stay strong within or to return quickly to that essence no matter how much life tries to take us out. This has the potential to help so many people move forward towards into their natural and true way of being.
“I developed an understanding of eating foods to support myself rather than feed my reactions and emotions” – I’ve found this too Ruth – I can now recognise when I’m at the that point or juncture and the difference it will make to how I feel depending on what I choose to eat.
Thank you for sharing how you are learning to heal anxiousness I am blown away by your commitment.
Trusting in ourselves and our own inner wisdom is definitely the way to go, as I have come to know my body knows way more than my mind can ever know, and the truth that is within me, is my absolute truth. Coming from this knowing and understanding, is a powerful tool indeed.
That is very true Julie, it is our commitment to develop our connection with our bodies and learning to trust the wisdom that it communicates to us all of the time that paves the way forth in our healing.
Another example of how powerful is what Serge Benhayon presents. Something that governs us ceases to be that and turn into a choice. Life, therefore, changes for us dramatically in a good way.
Absolutely Eduardo, who wants to be governed by seemingly uncontrollable ill behaviour anyway?
So many benefits you share Ruth from developing a loving and steady relationship with you. To have and awareness and understanding of when we are eating foods to either support us or to feed a reaction or emotion is huge. The body will always let me know if I am honest.
I love the point you make Ruth about the awareness you came to from truly listening to you body, how you could then feel what was ‘right’ for you rather than what you thought you should do or what was expected of you. This surely creates so much of our tensions and anxieties? I could sing the praises of presence all day long, as it truly does support us to feel what is needed in any situation.
Thank you Ruth. Some of these techniques you talk about seem so simple and almost a little unreal. But what I realise is that as I become more aware of when my anxiety starts to pick up the pace, I’m in a fog and don’t even consider these basic steps to bring me back. So what appears as basic, and a no brainer, is actually far more profound, as we often look for much more complex solutions than simply re-connecting.
It is lovely to see how you have made it simply about choice Ruth and how effective that is.
Gorgeous blog to read, thank you. What a treasure you are. I was inspired by the strength and solidness in which you have chosen to change your life and the power in which you write about it. “Its a choice Ruth”. So simple yet so powerful.
“Each day I experience how my steadiness keeps me much more balanced and able to deal with life, moment to moment. My energy levels are sustained and I get to enjoy the day so much more.”
This sentence stood out to me this morning and was a great reminder to me as I could feel myself going into anxiousness just thinking about my day ahead. I to have experienced when I chose consistently present and steady in my body moment to moment what needs to be addressed in my day just flows. Thank you you have reminding me of me to stop take a breath and feel and consider what I am choosing.
I so appreciate your article. I too have lived with anxiety and tension for all of my life, from a very young age. I love what you say that “Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work”. It never worked for me either and I too have found that by living in a different way, loving and caring for myself is what has made the difference for me. The love and support of Serge Benhayon and the teachings of the Way of the Livingness have turned my life around.
Ruth, what you have shared here is nothing short of amazing! Choosing to see anxiety as a choice is so very empowering and I can totally relate – when I find myself in a situation where I feel overwhelmed and my heart starts to race, or even more subtle signs like a growing tension across my shoulders, I know I have the choice to ignore it and try to push through (which only exacerbates the symptoms!) or simply acknowledge what I’m feeling in my body and take it as a sign that I’ve gone into “doing” or “being” and left myself behind. When I choose the latter it only takes a moment to catch up with myself again, to focus on my feet on the floor, my posture or what my hands are doing and the tension begins to dissipate. Like you I have found that ‘loving and caring for myself’ is incredibly supportive and builds a trust and steadiness in myself that is with me always.
That’s so true Hannah. Interestingly I skipped past the part about Anxiety being a choice. Of course it is, and WOW – I can say no to it when it starts to play it’s games on me.
Very pertinent to re-read this again Ruth. ‘Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.’ I can testify to this 100%. what I’m also realising is that when I don’t honour myself in full, when I choose to give my power away to another, this feeds the anxiety. Anxiety is something I bring in, when I’ve walked away from myself in the first place and then look for a fix to a perceived problem, to the tension I feel in my body. Whatever I seek will not work, even if it gives temporary relief the anxiety will still be there. Honouring myself in full with whatever is needed at that given moment is what helps me come back to me and in that — I choose the real me and not the anxiety.
Anxiety is so familiar in my body that I often don’t even recognize it. My study with Serge Benhayon has shown me a way to get aware of even the subtlest movements in my body so that I find it easier now to honestly feel what’s going on in there. And that is the main part of the healing. From there I know what’s the next step. This combined with a check up at my general practitioner to get my bloods done and doing some exercises regularly has helped me to heal anxiety as well.
‘Anxiety is so familiar in my body that I often don’t even recognize it.’ That’s true for me too Felix. Lately, I have felt as if there has been an enormous increase of anxiousness in my body but I realise that it has been there all along and I am just becoming more aware of it.
I love how simply you turned anxiety around in the end – all it took was choices and commitment to letting go of old patterns.
Super cool.
Amazing Ruth! What a testament to you and your choices. This shows that we are more than our issues, what ever they may be. This also shows the power of self love and nurturing and the effect that every single choice in our day has on our health. Thank you for sharing this inspirational story Ruth.
I’m deeply inspired by what you have shared Ruth. Thank you.
Ruth, a beautiful blog that shares your experience of you coming back to you. I also have had anxiety for most of my life, but funny enough I am only just realising it to be anxiety. The more open and aware I am the more I can feel my body talking with me. I will notice the slightest tension in my hands or shoulders that is telling me I have left my stillness, whereas in the past I would not have even noticed these signs. The more I look after me the easier it is to see and feel the signs. Our bodies are in constant communication with us, it’s just a choice whether to listen.
Ruth this sums it up for me “Each day I experience how my steadiness keeps me much more balanced and able to deal with life, moment to moment.” Taking charge and healing our hurts and consequently our conditions is a wonderful way to live, this life readying for the next.
Ruth I have come back to read your blog for a second time as I have been using anxiety to avoid feeling the tensions in my life. We can use anxiety not just to stop ourselves feeling what is going on but it also keeps us in a momentum of dishonouring ourselves and avoiding responsibility. This has been my experience of late.
I love that you have found that inside you, when you quieten the mind there is a steadiness in your body. This proves to me again that our bodies do know better, and they know how they are naturally meant to be. Anxiety is a debilitating disease for so many people, and you have given here the keys to the universe.
Thank you Ruth and Meg, what I understand is the anxiety and stress are always with us, and through the tools supplied by the presentations of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine we learn that anxiety and stress are not who we are, so they have little to no affect on us.
That’s a great way to put it, anyone can be stressed or anxious but it’s so important to remember it’s something external we take on, and never fundamentally who we are.
Absolutely Meg, we always feel the tensions in life, and through choice and aligning to ‘who we are’ we can easily manage their effects.
Great blog Ruth Ketnor and what a subject as most of the world have some level of anxiety that they live with on a daily basis. I call it tension in my body and I love what you say that it is a “choice” and if we focus on taking deep care of ourself then things can change as it has in your case.
I too have been deeply supported by Simone Benhayon who is truly incredible in the way that she can see the big picture and this has really helped me to get direction in my life but making my body and how I take care of it as number one priority. If my body is being loved and nurtured to the best of my ability every single day then I know that is my guarantee that I am equipped to deal with the day ahead.
I am forever inspired by the life and work of Serge Benhayon and its time the world studied this ordinary man who is simply extraordinary.
It is amazing that something so simple as building self-love with our selves can be so life changing. To start with it gives you place to stop and re-evaluate… to do something that feels so alien to how we have been living… to feel again! Every journey always starts with that first step.
I am still amazed at the transformative powers of self love and self care – they seem to lead to an unending well of treasure!
Yes Meg, the treasure we all have within! Interesting that we can spend so much time searching and striving for something outside of ourselves but the very richness we yearn for is inside us all along. Self love and self care are such simple, powerful tools to re-build this connection.
Totally -the never-ending richness inside me is also of constant amazement. It also amazes me that I have lived most of life completely unaware of it!
I know – it actually saddens me that I ignored it for so long, but now I’ve re-built this connection there is no looking back!
It can be so hard to forgive ourselves for all the mistakes we have made, but that is an awesome way to approach life – no looking back and no holding back. I love it.
“no looking back, no holding back” – I love it too Meg 🙂
Anxiety can be viewed as a tap on the shoulder, a reminder that we have left ourselves. We do always have a choice, and by building a loving relationship with us, as you say Ruth, we can remain present in the moment we are in. It is when we leave ourselves or get ahead of us that anxiety can slip in. A few gentle breaths can be a great support to bring focus back to the body.
Yes Victoria just to remember our breath and to breath gently does wonders, I am only just starting to feel the massive impact breathing gently and staying present has on myself and my interactions though-out the day.
Beautifully said Victoria. When anxiety is felt in my body it is a very clear sign that I have stepped away, no where to be seen. My body doesn’t like it at all when I am not there and neither do I.
‘Anxiety can be viewed as a tap on the shoulder, a reminder that we have left ourselves.’ So anxiety is our reminder to come back to ourselves and be present as you so beautifully express in this comment Victoria.
Hi Ruth, thank you for sharing your experience with anxiety. I too have suffered from anxiety for the most part of my life to which I have been healing over the past few years. This has been a process and its taken time to unpack and then understand where the anxiety was playing out, and that iz was and is as you say so clearly in your blog – a choice. I have used the same tools as you speak of, feeling my hands and feet, fingertips and chest movements as I breathe whenever I felt the anxiety at play, all the while building a foundation of love and care for myself that I could come back to in these moments. I feel responsibility is key in healing anxiety (understanding that we are not victims of life), which we each come to in our own time.
“It’s a choice”, a wise reminder for us whenever something is not light and simple and very supportive in choosing differently and feeling the power we have to change our lives with every single choice that we make.
So true Michael, we do always have a choice – when things feel hard we can fall for feeling like a victim of our circumstances – which is totally disempowering – or simply see that we have made a choice that is not so supportive and choose differently from that point to bring back the lightness and simplicity.
For years we had bandaid solutions for anxiety, things that half worked, things that numbed and left these feelings to be dealt with later. Now because of the teachings of Serge Benhayon and the work of the Universal Medicine practitioners we are beginning to understand the root causes of anxiety and that this all gets down to the way we love and care for ourselves. We have choices and knowing this has given us the power to heal.
Your journey and recovery is amazing Ruth. I know it is a work in progress but what a change from learning to live with it to the way you are now.
“We have choices and knowing this has given us the power to heal.” Exactly Amanda you have hit the nail on the head with that statement, It is when I feel like a victim in life anxiety can creep in, knowing I have a choice to choose this or not is extremely powerful and makes way for great change.
Hi Ruth, I came back to this blog to comment on the more awareness I have with feeling anxiousness since reading this blog – amazing! I feel it across the top of my chest too and this feeling can stop me from sinking into my body. I now remarkably have distinguished a choice to breathe my own breath, and fill my chest with my love and care more deeply each time I feel this. I realized every time I feel some sort of discomfort in my body, i need to take a deeper approach to nurturing and care for my body. If I can disregard and abuse my body with no thought of it at all, then I can have the will (and I do) to delicately take care of it in the detail that Love knows.
It’s amazing how powerful it is when someone shares their experience from what they live. Ruth’s self-healing is palpable and has inspired you to yours Rik which has then deepened and expanded that which came before. Exquisite.
Isn’t the body amazing how it is always calling us back to us, and then we make the choice to listen or not ? … as you beautifully share Rik, “If I can disregard and abuse my body with no thought of it at all, then I can have the will (and I do) to delicately take care of it in the detail that Love knows.”. God is in the detail.
I love how the goal was never to get rid of the anxiety and instead it was all about developing a greater love and support with self. Stopping the anxiety is only a minor bonus – the self love is worth more than anything and with it the whole of life appears different.
I really appreciate you and your blog Ruth. Lately I have noticed that I often wake up feeling anxious. It is not a great way to start the day but it is revealing that the way I have lived the day before was not supportive. It is wonderful to know that a simple commitment to loving yourself can help with anxiety.
Yes LS, it can reveal so much if we let ourselves reflect and not react to the anxiety — how were we with ourselves the previous day, the previous week, month, years. Instead of it being overwhelming, we start to see our momentum and our chosen behaviours, and therein is the amazing opportunity to choose differently, and live with a momentum that is far more loving and supportive.
Yes, I find this too. Anxiety can seemingly creep in from nowhere, but when I take a good look at how I have been living and get honest about what I have allowed it is then obvious where it has come from.
Ruth this is an amazing turn around of your life. This shows the healing possible if we make choices to honour, respect and love ourselves as inspired by Serge Benhayon.
I’ve always had an interest in why human beings think and act the way we do. I’ve read books on psychology out of interest, but until I came across the teachings of Universal Medicine and the Ageless Wisdom that the level of understanding was taken back far enough to understand why we think and act the way we do. My biggest realisation was that to focus on the issue of something only inflated the issue, but when I focused on the love within, the issue diminished and fell away. It seems most of the things, if not all, that I thought were issues have been addressed by developing self care. If I take care of my body, that takes care of my mind.
I agree Matthew. It is like the mind deliberately plays tricks on us to prevent us from seeing the truth of our issues and keep us looking for the solution. As you and Ruth have shared, developing awareness of our bodies and self care, nurturing and self love results in the tricks of the mind diminishing, bringing the focus back to our body and the way we live in each and every moment.
Great point Matthew. When we focus on something we are giving it our energy. The choice to focus on the Love within is a choice to express and expand the Love that we are, not the issues we appear to have.
If I take care of my body, that takes care of my mind, I love this Matthew Brown, so simple but very powerful and true.
This is awesome Ruth as it so clearly shows that with anxiety it is a choice, to me I found reading how you have made choices that are self-loving to support yourself to build a steady foundation made so much sense. Bringing ourselves back into our body, simply by feeling and connecting to it has always supported me to come back to myself when I too have gone into anxiety. Being present in the moment rather than choosing to go into the worry of the past or future. That has been a powerful support for me.
“Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.” One of the blessings from Universal Medicine for me has been the reminder that all of humanity’s ills and issues are because of our abandonment of our natural essence and lack of honouring of who we and the rest of humanity are at heart. So it is not about focusing on fixing, but the rebuilding of the love and care, and living in truth of who we are. And then as if by magic, everything else starts to fall into place. I too have found that as I deepen the level of love, care and responsibility with which I live, every aspect of my life has been turning around.
I find this statement very powerful also Golnaz, trying to fix anything doesn’t work, healing through self love and self care is the only path back to love.
So true Golnaz. Often we go looking for solutions to fix our problems but this only offers a superficial fix, if anything at all, then the issue reappears in another form. Caring, nurturing and loving ourselves, being aware of our bodies and the impact that every single choice has on it is an amazing way to get to the bottom of our issues. As Ruth has shared, the issue then just seems to diminish over time when we truly care for ourselves.
So true, ‘humanity’s ills and issues are because of our abandonment of our natural essence’ with lack of responsibility and honouring of who we are, and so the importance of rebuilding our care and responsibility, nurturing, love and who we truly are. It is that simple.
Very true Golnaz and the perfect quote to highlight from Ruth’s article. When we bring our awareness and focus to re-building love in our lives, in our bodies, in our relationships, in all we do, all the addictions, harmful habits and anxieties start to fall away, naturally and without effort. It is quite remarkable but absolutely true, when we make loving and caring for ourselves a true priority, we restore the magic to our lives once more.
Isn’t it amazing how our body in every moment does offer us a marker for what we are truly at and at the same time invites us to come back to ourselves?
Ruth – a beautiful blog to read regarding the re-claiming of your health through the way you are now choosing to live your life on a daily basis. From knowing you personally, I know what a huge shift there has been in your wellbeing and now not only working again, but in a completely new career is simply amazing! You are so inspiring.
Ruth – a beautiful blog to read regarding the re-claiming of your health through the foundations of love you are building within and the way you are choosing to live on a daily basis. I too, have been greatly inspired by the presentations of Serge Benhayon, the founder of Universal Medicine and how the reflection of love 24/7 for all to enjoy.
When we have those simple connections and relationship with ourself, it makes life so much easier and as you say less reactive. We know what we can come back too. Without this you are flying like a bird with no nest to land in.
Anxiety seems something we are at the mercy of, rather than a message that we need to pay attention to some aspect of ourselves that needs support. I find depending on how I am living and caring for myself the anxiousness changes. If I am hard on myself, I might be more anxious. Caring for myself also lets me deal with other work or family situations, such that the care is a counter force for the anxiousness.
It’s a constant journey I find to return to the fact that when I feel anxious, to remember that I have chosen this, instead of choosing to love myself. This article expresses this so well, Ruth, when we feel love for ourselves, knowing we are not perfect, the anxiousness disappears. We know we are enough.
‘…just simple things that brought my focus back to me rather than the situation that was scaring me.’ Ruth your article highlights for me how arresting these simple things are for each of us and that the choice to be committed to making these choices is all too easy it just takes love.
This is such an important sharing, as so many people have anxiety and some may not even recognise it as anxiety plays out in so many ways. Ruth you have shared in such an honest and supportive way, that this blog can be very supportive for many of us who suffer from anxiety. From what you have shared it is not about treating the anxiety or tackling it head on, as that is just dealing with the symptom and often this does not sustain. What you are presenting is that building a caring and loving relationship with you builds a steadiness so that when anxiety does surface, it is not something that controls you, overwhelms you but something that you can make a choice not to empower as you understand what it is. It is extraordinary how much your life has changed. Very inspiring and very loving.
Beautifully said Karoline – it’s like the anxiety can become a marker of not being with ourselves. If we are not present and aware of our bodies then how can we really feel capable of living life and dealing with what comes up along the way?! Through practicing self-care and love we can strengthen and connect with who we are and feel the potential of our ability to really live rather then exist and ‘roll with the punches’ so to speak.
Thank you Ruth, it is great to read how the more you commit to developing the relationship with you and know that everything in life is a choice the more things that used to affect you in the past don’t hold power over you anymore as you have now created a supportive foundation of who you are.
Beautifully articulated Francisco – natural, simple principles that support us to stay connected to who we are.
What you have presented here is so simple, yet so huge Ruth. With all the people in the world who are living with anxiety to varying degrees everyday, it is amazing to consider that the antidote is this simple: loving and caring for ourself and then choosing to feel our bodies in each and every moment.
I love what you share here, Katie, that we can choose to see anxiety as a request from our body to reconnect with ourselves more deeply. And what a beautiful request that is from the body – what a lovely awareness from the body, as though it is communicating, “Hey….you have left me.. please come back.”
Wow, Ruth! Realising that anxiety is a reaction about which you have a choice is enormous: so many need medication to begin to look at the antecedents that give rise to it. Your insight that this reaction is based on the prescriptive shoulds and should nots in the external world, I also found revealing. I absolutely love how you are able now to use presence and self love to address situations that formerly induced anxiety within you. Having observed the “shoulder response” within myself, I shall be emulating your advice whenever this occurs henceforth.
“I have realised that anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction that I can have a choice over”. When we get to this realisation Ruth, that we actually have a choice, anxiety can drop away if we are open to allowing and accepting that and do not continue to hold onto it as something ‘comfortable’ and familiar
Thank you Ruth for sharing your experience with anxiety. Many people can benefit from your honesty.
Simone Benhayon is an awesome woman and her dedication to humanity is incredible and truly inspiring. Simone brings truth and although this can be uncomfortable for me at times, I love it because truth exposed is an offering to grow.
I love this blog! I can very much relate to the ‘doing what I thought was expected or that I should do’ creating much anxiety within my body. Whenever I feel like this now I know I have lost myself and rather try and fix the outer I make a choice to come to me by focussing on me and doing whatever it is that supports me. What’s made me realise more after reading this article is that when I do get anxious to be extra gentle and nurturing with myself. Thank you Ruth for sharing your story.
Yes Caroline, this article has shown us that when we do get anxious we can be ‘….extra gentle and nurturing…” with ourselves. Building that in our relationship with ourselves is very supportive and anxiety becomes something that no longer controls us.
This is such a beautiful blog Ruth.
Of late I have felt a level of anxiety that is quite new for me, a reaction that I know is not truly me.
Your powerful message to self love is a very timely reminder to consistantly do just that; thank you.
Could anxiety really be a way of coping with the fact that we are giving in to outside the pressure and messages from the world on how we should live rather than connecting to our innermost and living from the inside out according to how we truly feel?
I agree Andrew. I can also feel that anxiety used to come up for me when I felt I didn’t have the tools needed to cope with the day ahead of me. I now realise that this was totally based on my reaction to the world and not my connection to myself.
When I feel a tension or any anxiousness in my body, I know I have got ‘a-head’ of myself and have imposed some expectation on myself. Bringing presence back to my body and re-connecting again is a great support in returning to steadiness. As you say Ruth, the more we build love and care for ourselves the more the foundation of steadiness holds us.
‘Bringing presence back to my body and re-connecting again is a great support in returning to steadiness.’ And, ‘the more we build love and care for ourselves the more the foundation of steadiness holds us.’ Simple and powerful steps that make a world of difference thank you Victoria.
Ruth, thank you for sharing this simple and inspiring example of how we can change a choice at any time once we begin to self-care and “build a foundation of love” for ourselves. Once we re-connect to self through self-care, our body tells us when an emotion is taking hold and we can as you say, “see it as a reaction that we have a choice over”. One of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves is to reach the “understand that how we live affects our health“ and it all starts with caring for self.
I find it amazing Ruth that our bodies are communicating truth to us all the time, and when we override this truth, we get an alarming signal of anxiousness. When we focus only on the anxiety, what we have actually missed is the fact that we are asked to honor the awareness the body is feeling, which Ruth you have so beautifully inspired through this blog, by bringing our focus back to the body and honoring it again with deep gentleness and presence.
Ruth I loved how your blog shows that we carry the tools with us for every situation. Our bodies are the most powerful tools to bring us back and show us our strengths, that never moves but only gets lost in cloud forever waiting to be discovered again.
Ruth what you shared could change many people’s lives. Anxiety can be so debilitating and throw one into a vicious trap that is hard for one to move out of. You are another testament to what self love can achieve, true health and freedom from our ill choices.
Ruth, what you’ve shared is a ‘show stopper’! Anxiety is a huge dis-ease amongst humanity and something that is on the rise – stress and not feeling capable of dealing with life can be very overwhelming. The keys you present here are so powerful for understanding this illness as a choice and not just something that happens or is part of us. You have lived through this and the knowing in your words is totally felt. Thank you.
I can really relate to what you are said about having anxiety for most of your life as the same has been for me up until starting sessions with Sara WIlliams about a year ago. It really isn’t until I experienced what it is like to truly not be anxious that I realised how much I had accpeted it as the norm. I lost my job last week, and I could feel the fear and anxiousness creep in. But I made the choice to not let it take over and could really see that I could deal with this either in an anxious state that would have had a knock on effect to my physical health, or I could take in my stride (gentle stride that is), stay with myself, and as you put it Ruth “choose to feel differently”.
I have realised that anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction that I can have a choice over. It is so freeing isn’t it Ruth when you have that realization that the anxiety isn’t actually us. So now if it does try to come in I can recognize it for what it is and send it on its way by simply breathing my breath and lovingly staying with me.
To simply call out when I feel anxious and state that it is not me is so powerful and indeed Julie, so liberating. As I come back to me by focusing on my body the anxiousness dissipates.
Thank you Ruth I so needed to read this. I felt anxiousness and contraction in my thoughts and therefore my body when I began reading your blog. I’m trying something new as I read your blog, and I realized only when I’m totally focused with my body completely present with the task at hand does my anxiety reduce. My breathing offers me strength in myself cause I can feel me; and slowing right down with my movements also gives me confidence to know what I’m next to do. I trust and honour what I feel to do next and give it my all.
Building from each moment to the next, and not worrying about the next thing or can I do it – I just do it. I have proved to myself over and over again I can do the most difficult things and very well too and I must appreciate and confirm every moment I feel me in my body. Great blog.
I have had a similar experience lately Rik. Noticing that if I stay focused and aware, then tension and anxiety go and a great clarity comes in. It does require a dedication but it is certainly worth it.
That is beautiful, Rik: building from each moment to the next and the realisation that you must appreciate and confirm every moment you feel in you in your body…inspiring – thank you!
It is clear that you have built a solid foundation of self-love within yourself Ruth. From that foundation you can feel anxiety coming and make the choice not to let it affect you. One of the world’s best-kept secrets is that Anxiety is a choice. When we are spinning in the maelstrom of anxiety we do not feel like we have a choice but we do. It’s the simple little things that bring us back and once we get a little bit of distance from the anxiety we can see that it is not part of us.
I love your comment Bernard, ‘One of the world’s best-kept secrets is that Anxiety is a choice.’ We do have a choice as you say, and that comes from building a loving relationship with ourselves which brings a steadiness.
Thank you Ruth. What you describe is also true for me. Rather than living life according to the external should and should not that used to rule my life, I am living life from the inside, listening to my body, feeling whether what I am about to do feels right. As you say we have choices and now we have the tools, thanks to Universal Medicine, to make the right choices.
Great point Patricia. There are so many external forces that can push us around if we choose to let them and also, if we choose to buy into them. When we choose the internal – listening to our bodies and our inner-heart – the choice is always simple and there is no need to go into the anxiety.
It wasn’t until the last maybe 4 or 5 years or so that I became aware of the anxiousness that I held in my body. I numbed it a lot with food and overeating, cooking and baking, shopping, people, music, travel etc. These days I still use food and overeating. What has helped me very recently is to be honest with myself about foods that I have considered “good” to have and assess if they support me to keep my connection to me or if they make me more anxious. Then its about actually making a choice to eat what supports me, knowing that no food is greater than my connection with me. Today I noticed my anxiety levels are quite low because of not reaching for snacks and also for choosing to appreciate and confirm me more.
This blog needs to be read by every mental health and medical professional. This is a testimonial that could help to change thousands of lives.
I second that Rebecca! It is truly inspiring to read about Ruth’s loving dedication to herself in overcoming anxiety.
Hear, hear, Rebecca, reading this article this could help change thousands of people’s lives, showing them they have a choice, they are not a victim and they have the power to heal themselves by how they choose to live.
Ruth how incredibly empowering, you feel so in charge of how you feel which is extraordinary considering how out of control people generally feel when they experience anxiety conditions. I, too have had compulsive checking through out my adult life and so too have I experienced a huge decline in my symptoms. I feel though that what you have shared will support me to further reduce my symptoms. Thank you.
Thank you Ruth for sharing this. I too have been an anxious person for a long time and, thanks to the presentations of Serge Benhayon, I have learnt to
1. Recognize that I was living in anxiety and
2. Begun to take steps to clear it from my body.
I am much more steady than I used to be, yet there is still more refining within the choices that I do make that can support reducing this anxiety even further. For example, I can feel that certain foods perpetuate this state including chocolate and sugar, and I can even feel now that the (unsweetened) drink of coconut water I recently drank has left my body buzzing and has taken me somewhat away from my stillness. This refining process is what has worked for me.
I have experienced similarly pernillahorne. I am noticing now what I huge effect eating when I am not really hungry and also eating too much have a huge impact. The foods I choose to eat and what I choose to drink are changing and being refined too. It is amazing to feel so aware of my body in this way and hear the messages it is giving me, in a way I never have before.
Thanks for this reminder Ruth, and sharing your journey. I have a very similar experience with my own foundations… a steadiness that has built up over the years and I have got to know and trust. But also you don’t hold back from the fact that there are things that still rock you, but instead of creating a big wobble, you can go back to the foundation quite easily and that settles everything back down. Again this is exactly my experience.
Awesome honest sharing Ruth. I loved how you clearly explained the process of how you overcame anxiety. What a great and inspiring article for others with anxiety, knowing that it is a choice, and that there is another way- a ‘loving’ way.
Anxiety was so normal for me Ruth that when I had my first healing session with a Universal Medicine practitioner I could not believe how different, calm and still my body and mind felt. Since making more loving choices myself I am now beginning to notice that it feels more normal in my body to feel calm and not anxious which is quite something.
That’s so beautiful fionacochran01! That deserves a huge appreciation for the choices you have made, and subsequently it is now your normal to feel calm and not anxious in your body.
This is so beautiful to read Ruth, ‘I noticed the situations would occur but I would stay steady. I may have wobbled a bit but I came back to a steadiness that was within me – it felt strong’, wow what amazing changes you have made in how you are, from anxious to steady and strong – you are a true role model.
Yeah I agree, it is amazing the changes you’ve made Ruth. It really does require such a steady commitment to come back to our steadiness.
‘I am now aware and can feel how it is a choice I am making and I can change that choice at any time, whereas before it just seemed to happen to me.’ This is part of the priceless wisdom shared by Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine showing us that we are not hapless victims but masters of our own lives by the choices we make.
Reading your blog this morning was timely for me as I had woken up feeling anxious. I could feel your steadiness and the truth in your words that anxiety is a choice I can engage with or not. I started to feel my body more as I was reading and after I have finished my comment I will take a warm bath to support me back to feeling me. Thank you for your honest sharing Ruth.
It feels so lovely that as you develop your foundation of love and care for yourself, your anxiety reduces. It’s all the little things that matter, the internal head chatter, making time for yourself in the busy day, simply being loving to yourself and honouring what you feel. It’s a journey for us all to take because there’s anxiety running in most of society today.
I find it quite incredible to read the way in which you have transformed your life by such simple steps Ruth. It is amazing that you have been able to develop the level of love and care that you give yourself as well as the level of awareness you have of your body and can notice how this actually effects your anxiety in the world, something for us all to learn here.
It is such a great lesson that Ruth has shared here. It shows that we are all teachers and that we all have such a huge amount of wisdom to share with each other.
Hear hear Oliver. That’s right, what Ruth has shared is so important to realise; that it is the little things we can do that make a huge, absolutely huge difference. We don’t need any specialist to tell us, we just need to start to listen to ourselves, appreciate ourselves and be willing to look a bit deeper than just wanting a quick ‘fix’.
Ruth, like you I had been choosing anxiety for many many years as a way to be in the world. It was like my great excuse to not have to take full responsibility for myself, to be in a lesser way with everyone, and to hold myself back. What I did not realise (or chose not to see) is how harming this actually was to all of my relationships, how imposing this way of being with people was, and what damage I was doing to my body.
Anxiety is like a silent killer, quietly doing away with ourselves through not allowing the true self out in the world, doing away with our relationships, and slowly our health as well.
Anxiety is something that definitely does not belong in the body but many of us are so used to it we don’t even recognise it as something out of the ordinary. It’s only when we really start to feel that anything apart from love in the body feels awful.
I once heard Serge say that anxiety is a form of doubt – and this made so much sense to me! Since then, when I feel anxious I feel into where I can deepen my connection.
Sandra, I have never heard that before but it does make so much sense. Working on not allowing the self doubt to creep in and deepening our connection is so freeing of the negative thoughts we allow.
‘anxiety is a form of doubt ‘, that feels true Sandra, it is just that. Not trusting, thank you for sharing that.
That makes sense to me too Sandra, as if we have lost connection and presence with ourselves we lose confidence to manage a situation, enter self-doubt …followed by anxiety.
True Victoria. When we give up our connection -and with that our purpose- we find ourselves in the need to control everything. But thats not possible – so we can just but loose here. No wonder that the doubt (and with that the anxiousness) come up – it is right here. We can’t make it that way.
Many people who get anxious are very identified by it’s crippling effects. I love how you realised that it is not really you but the end result of a way of living. It shows how much power we have in the choices we make and that we can heal the deepest hurts with the choices we make, once we realise that they are not who we are.
Your sharing Ruth is so inspiring and amazing. In the many gentle ways that you have approached your own healing with the support and inspirations of Serge Benhayon, Simone Benhayon and Universal Medicine – what a team, inspiring you to ‘build a foundation of love for yourself’ and turn your life around.
Ruth, I especially resonate with: “as I continue to build love … I find more and more I stay steady in situations that before would have completely thrown me: my trust in myself has grown so much.” I can also much more easily feel the anxiety as tension in my muscles, and can choose to let it go before even figuring out where it came from. From a clearer, more relaxed space, I can then discover the sequence of events and choices that led to the anxiety. By then they are merely facts, of much less account or significance than I had evidently taken them to be! The things that are my responsibility I can then act upon, and the things that are someone else’s responsibility I can let go of instead of taking into my body and turning them into tension. A much simpler, truer way to live!
Dianne, I feel the same that when we feel tense in anyway that we ‘ can choose to let it go before even figuring out where it came from. From a clearer, more relaxed space, I can then discover the sequence of events and choices that led to the anxiety’. Getting the order right is essential!
‘The things that are my responsibility I can then act upon, and the things that are someone else’s responsibility I can let go of instead of taking into my body and turning them into tension’. I have applied the same recently, when faced with communication that became emotionally charged, I stepped back, accepted what belonged to me and left behind what was not of my making, doing so released all tension from my body.
Healing anxiety with self love that’s the way to go. Any other way is just a band-aid effect and will never last. This would be great for those who suffer from anxiousness to read and for everyone, as most people can become anxious even if only subtle, like the example you have given Ruth, of being aware of feeling tension within your body.
This is true Katie. Anxiety has become such a normal way for so many that they don’t even realise that they are suffering every day. This was the case for me. When we introduce self-love what we knew as ‘normal’ is completely redefined. And that is only the beginning. The marker of what is normal seems to be ever evolving the more we develop and connect more deeply to who we are.
I love what you share here Ruth about now feeling anxiety as a tension in the muscles of your body, as opposed to full-blown panic attacks like there had been in the past. How awesome is it that you now have this body awareness, that can stop this situation from escalating and resulting in so much harm as it obviously had done in the past. This can be the power of reconnecting to our bodies, learning about how our body works, and choosing to listen to what it tells us. This is indeed true medicine.
That is so real and has the capacity to support so many people Ruth, trying to fix anxiety doesn’t work but really loving and caring for yourself does.
I would never have thought of myself as carrying anxiety but now when checking in on my body I have found my shoulders are tense or when I lay myself down I do a body scan and often there is a ‘holding’ tension that I then can bring awareness to and connect to that part and start to ask the body what it is showing me. Ruth this is a beautiful confirmation that self love and connecting to the body truly have health benefits.
Anxiety is something that I have felt a lot in my life, not that I really ever recognised or acknowledged in for a long time. I put it down to ‘being busy’, getting on with it, but my body was telling me for many many years that it was not happy, but I continued to ignore it. Trying to ‘fix’ anxiety really does not work, not if you’re not willing to go deeper and look at your choices. It took me some time to really sit with this and take more responsibility for my choices, learning to be loving when I didn’t make the self honouring ones and learning how important appreciation is to let go of anxiety.
Well said reagankcairney – I can relate to this feeling of ‘being busy’ and blaming the overwhelm on just needed to get stuff done. Perhaps that’s a sort of cover up for the anxiety to fester in our bodies going undetected? When I actually stop myself now in that mode of busyness, my body is telling me loud and clear that this is not a true energy to be living in, it is not our natural way. Feels like having a coffee!
Well said, Raegan. Taking responsibility for our choices and letting go of the ‘life is happening to me’ mentality is key in reducing anxiety. But as you say, appreciation goes a long way, and if we do make mistakes it is not the end of the world. We are still worth loving and appreciating and it is important to honour ourselves every day.
Raegan I love what you share about how learning the be the Love that you are and honouring this, and also the importance of appreciation. Such a big on the appreciation and one the really does support to drop the anxiousness that we can go into.
Yes, I kept my anxiety hidden by being too busy, it is only in the last few years that I acknowledged having anxiety and so was able to start healing this pattern.
This is such a beautiful blog Ruth. You highlight the simplicity of addressing this huge issue where anyone in the world with any amount of anxiety, be it a tiny amount to a real gripping debilitating struggle, a way to tackle this at a pace and in a way that suits him or her. One step at a time with self-love will perform miracles.
Yes Matthew, gently does it, one step at a time building the love with growing awareness… miracles do happen. Thanks to Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine I had the tools and support to do this.
This was really great for me to read this today, and especially to be reminded of – “I have realised that anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction that I can have a choice over.” I have something going on in my life at present that has triggered anxiety in me, not too bad but enough that I can feel it in my body and it feels very uncomfortable. So remembering that I have a choice around it was just perfect to read today and feel the truth of it.
Anxiety is debilitating Ruth and it makes people behave in ways that they wouldn’t usually. There are a lot of self-help books and strategies for anxiety out there but at best they control and manage the anxiety – I’ve tried many of them but with no lasting change. It was only when I came to Universal Medicine that I found by connecting to my stillness that the anxiety doesn’t arise, it is only when I get too busy or react to something that it has a chance to come in but I now feel it instantly and have the tools to bring myself back.
I love the way you got familiar with the tell-tale signs in your body that told you there was anxiety at play. What a great way to be reminded focus on bringing yourself back to you. Really powerful way to build your steady connection and so diminish the anxiety.
“Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.” This is very inspiring Ruth, and something that many could learn from. It really does come down to simple choices of caring for ourselves and connecting to that which we know is true. Once we do that our anxiety does not have a place to hide anymore and it simply disappears.
Wow this is incredible Ruth – “I have realised that anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction that I can have a choice over”.
Such an important topic Ruth so thanks for sharing so openly. Anxiety is one of the world’s plagues and it is so easy to just believe you are an anxious person without realising that it is just a reaction to what does not feel loving in the world – which is a lot, hence the huge amount of anxiety which most people have whether they admit it or not, show it or cover it up with other things. If we see it as a reaction no different from getting frustrated or angry then it becomes something far less imposing on us and far more changeable.
Great way of putting this Katie, anxiety is our body’s way of saying, ‘hey please connect with me, start to have a relationship with me that teaches you how to stay with me and support and love me”.
When I was a 13-years-old teenager I got very ill, I had mononucleosis (= kissing disease, though I didn’t kiss at that time) which has not been diagnosed. So I had to go through it not getting the care I truly needed. This exhausted my body so much, that I was not myself. I got anxiety attacks and I withdraw from life. It took me a very long time, over one year to recover, and this without knowing what illness I had. The only thing which helped me, was to listen to my body and acting on what it said. For example when I stood in a row at the supermarket and got an anxiety attack and started to sweat and my breath changed and my heart bumped loudly – I had to put the shopped things down and go outside in to fresh air and nature. Which calmed me. Anxiety for me was that I have not control over myself and the situation I was in. With time I recovered and as I did not know what I had, I just could do what I was able with my body condition. So actually listening to my body and not overriding when I needed calmness and rest, helped me to recover and with more strength also the anxiety attacks disappeared.
Thank you for sharing Ruth. You came a long way from where you were to getting in touch with your body again. Another Universal Medicine succes story and certainly not the last one. Universal Medicine offers great tools to deal with mental health problems big or small.
Feeling in our bodies when anxiety or anything that is not us is trying to sneak in is just an amazing support as it offers you the choice of not aligning to it, but observing what led to this feeling of anxiety and connect to the joy and power that we truly are.
‘Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.’ I love this reminder of the power of bringing it back to self love.
Anxiety can often run freely in our bodies without our realising it so it’s great that you were firstly able to see it for what it is Ruth and then make the choice to nurture yourself to bring you back to you.
I come back to your article, Ruth, as I also still have moments of anxiety. It supports me to bring a deeper understanding to my choices.
Ruth, that is so amazing that you were given the tools to bring yourself back from a overwhelming panic attack, and you do it!, and it works!. You’re a testament to what Serge Benhayon presents. Thank you
As I read through this blog it wasn’t til the end I noted “always checking”. I’ve recently noticed I’ve been doing this a little, doubling up making sure of things it’s been driving me nuts, so this was really really great to read and shone a new light on what I couldn’t see. Thanks Ruth
What you have shared Ruth is monumental. How many millions of people are there in this world who suffer from anxiousness? and then there is stress, overwhelm, nervousness, panic attacks . . the list is endless… So rather than ‘fixing’ anything you’ve turned it completely around to bringing healing to yourself so then the issue can be viewed from a whole different place.. The commitment to oneself and to building a strong foundation within can provide a steady platform from which life can no longer take us out and overwhelm so easily, and the foundation is there to help bring us back if we do get affected. This is a revolution in the unfolding.
I agree Annie this is huge, anxiousness is a plague, along with all the other aliments you have named. There are so many things out there that offer solutions, a quick fix, how to live with anxiousness, stress etc or manage it. Yet what is being shared here and by Universal Medicine is a way of living that completely changes your life and the ability to heal and clear anxiety ( as one example) from your body so it is no longer part of your life anymore.
When I feel anxious about something it is usually telling me that I have gone into my head about something and am over thinking it. Slowly but surely I am learning to stay with my body when things occur and to listen to the wisdom that lies within me. Part of my anxiousness comes from feeling that I don’t know something when in fact I do know and just need to re-connect with that knowing.
This is such a great point. The thinking we do not know often leads to an anxiousness, and I know in me, a controlling, in trying to deal with the situation ahead. When I reconnect with myself it takes away this feeling and everything just is, with no need to feel anything than just me.
‘Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing’. This has been my truth too Ruth, I often find that when I am more steady in myself and more present and claimed in what I am doing then there is less room for the anxiety to come in, with the focus, purpose and accepting of myself I am more equipped to deal with life.
Yes Kristy, I find this true for me too. The more I am with myself with greater presence, the more I feel steady and there is less room for anxiety to come in. Accepting myself on a deeper level seems to keep me calmer in more stressful situations.
Yes I’ve found that too Kristy. By developing how I care and nurture myself it has helped me to be more present in my body and in any situation and that feeling of being present brings a steadiness that dissolves anxiety.
I developed an understanding of eating foods to support myself rather than feed my reactions and emotions. I am learning this for myself at the moment. I’m learning what foods make me tired and others that make me crave sugar. It’s a process of elimination and a big step for me is allowing myself to stop eating the foods instead of justifying to myself I will stop eating it after the food is all gone. But the crazing thing is I knew in my body before I ate the food that it wasn’t supportive for me.
Well written Ruth. As human beings we all have issues…
We can direct our energy to the surface of then problem or focus on the roots.
Its like mowing the grass if you want it to grow back just cut it but if you want it gone for good pull it out by the roots.
I love the analogy Luke of mowing the grass, and to repeat your words “We can direct our energy to the surface of the then problem or focus on the roots.”
It gives a whole new meaning to time management. We can keep ourselves busy with maintaining the surface however the time is wasted unless we are using it to look at the root causes.
Its very true what your say, when we understand ourselves better the outside world seems a lot easier to handle. We then are not in reaction to it as much as we have a foundation of love to fall back on.
Building a foundation of steadiness is a great way to heal anxiousness. If we can stay steady and not go into reaction when things are not quite the way we want them to be and reduces the neediness to be right or expect others to conform to our way of being, anxiousness no longer has that crippling hold it can have on our lives.
Ruth, it is great you have written this as you have described so many practical ways to overcome anxiety. It feels like these experiences are there to be shared with others who are also suffering in the same way you did. Anxiety is often suffered silently when in fact expressing it as you have done here is a wonderful way to reduce the anxiousness we may feel.
I agree Stephen, Ruth’s blog is very empowering for anyone who is suffering with anxiety and not able to seek help or even talk to anyone about it. Unfortunately there is such a negative view or an aversion that people often have of another with anxiety or other mental health conditions. I wonder if this is out of fear that they may have one of these conditions too one day.
“to really listen to my body and what I felt was right for me rather than doing what I thought was expected or that I should do: it’s amazing how these have underpinned most of my decisions and choices in life.” I still am surprised at how old messages from my head,coming from beliefs held, maybe for thousands of years, can resurface and take me offtrack. Those expectations and ‘should’s’ are slowly being eroded and for me the biggest thing that is changing is my acceptance of myself in all of that. Accepting and appreciating myself for who I truly am and not seeing myself as the victim of these thoughts. When I appreciate and love myself it slowly builds a place where these thoughts cannot take hold.
Ruth I was really inspired by your blog and spent the last couple of days paying far more attention to the way I picked things up, the way I walked and feeling my body whenever I felt anxious instead of going into my head. The difference is very marked even in a short period of time.
What a fantastic medicinal combination you are writing about Ruth – self-loving care for the body and moment to moment connection to your body. Each of these feeds the other back, through self-love we can be alerted to feel more from our body and be present to our bodies and through feeling the body we can be guided to make a self-loving choice. Clearly Ruth found this a powerful and effective combination for anxiousness and I am sure it can be a medicinal support for all health conditions that the inflicted has some degree of autonomy and capacity to make choices.
What a powerful example you have presented Ruth on how we all have the ability within us to heal anxiety and other self manifested illnesses by simply building a foundation of love. Pills and potions will treat the side effects and reactions but love treats the cause.
“I have realised that anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction that I can have a choice over.” Remembering this is so helpful – thank you Ruth.
Well said Sue – when anxiety kicks in it can take over and consume every thought but it is not who we naturally are. Having a well known foundation to return to, and a simple toolkit for assisting that return, quickly dissipate this state of mind and allow us to return to the love we naturally are.
It is amazing the different things we can get anxious about and it seems to stem from two main sources – (1) did I do it right? and (2) have I upset somebody? When you look at it that way, it comes down to a focus on what we do, not how we are, and external things rather than our own innate wisdom. I am learning that how we are being is far more important than what we do and trusting our innate wisdom, because when we are connected and being Love, what is we do and say is just perfect for that moment, so there is no need to be anxious. We simply need to stay connected to our bodies and our innermost selves.
Well said Carmel, I have found that it is how we are that gives the source to what we do, and so if we are feeling a particular way or have been living a particular way then this is naturally expressed in what we do and therefore the attention needs to be put on our being rather than doing
I agree here Carmel, this relationship is vital and something that takes much commitment and an openness to being honest and a willingness to let go of behaviours that do not support this connection. One example I have is will getting a task done and not going into anxious energy is we are running late as this really does not support our own connection and can create a spiral effect for the rest of the day.
Well said Doug, we certainly do not want to think let alone admit that we are the creator of all our woes especially when we are stuck in them. But when we do it is so empowering and liberating as we are no longer simply a victim of events.
Anxiety is pandemic in the world and what you have offered as a support with this sharing is very powerful. I have lived and still do live at times with anxiety. Now, I also experience what you have shared – ‘my trust in myself has grown so much’ – and the anxiety is subsiding. You also touched on energy levels – anxiety is a major contributor to feeling low energy levels I have found.
Very inspiring to hear the living relationship you have built with you Ruth – when I feel anxiety for me it’s a reminder to choose tenderness all the way.
Ah I love this – to choose tenderness instead staying with the anxiety – awesome Amber, thank you,
Ruth, the simple techniques that you have used to come back to your body are gold and simple techniques that we can all apply. I know that when I feel anxious, every part of me does NOT want to connect with my body, but as you expressed Ruth, it is always a choice. It may take a little longer to make that choice, but it can always be made.
Well said Donna, and I absolutely agree. Ruth’s tips are gold. As you say, when we feel anxious or nervous the one thing we do not want to do is feel our body and re-connect… amazing how we’ve gotten ourselves into thinking that way, when as Ruth has shared maybe the BEST thing to do is connect to our bodies and realise we are actually making the choice to be anxious or get affected by things happening around us.
Yes Ruth, anxiety does debilitate us as it prevents us from feeling our own beautiful essence from which we can live and express from. It’s exhausting just stopping that natural connection from taking place. But I love how you found such simple ways to start that re-connection. Very restoring.
Exactly Doug this is what I found that is truly liberating to come to the understanding that every choice I make actually dictates how my life will be. That even if I think i’m not making that my choices I am allowing an energy in that is making the choice for me. Hence why when you are in a state of being that is perpetuating in on itself you don’t feel like there is another way.
“It’s a choice, Ruth. I can choose to feel differently, which I do by connecting to my steadiness, and it stops”.
Wow this is very inspiring Ruth; the level of responsibility you have taken to overcome your anxiety is awesome.
What you have written sounds so simple yet I know the commitment required to support this transformation.
Yes Shirl Scott and what if this steadiness is actually always there even in our most anxious moments?! This is esoteric healing at its best – from the inside out.
Absolutely Shirl ‘…yet i know the commitment required to support this transformation’
It is a commitment and it is this commitment that brings such a steadiness and healing…how amazing is it to commit to ourselves to build a caring and loving relationship…how can anxiety out do that!
Hi Ruth, What a great revelation, anxiety is not who I am, I can choose to react to it and get upset or I can choose to not react to it and to not let it bother me.
You have been your own medicine, Ruth. Bringing it back to some doses of self love. Beautiful..
So True Elizabeth, Ruth has been her own practitioner allowing her own healing to happen by taking a loving responsibility for her choices that lead to her anxiety. Ruth is really living proof that the way we live and what we choose can be our best medicine or not, depending on those choices.
I love how you have shared the simplicity and the practical way you have supported yourself to feel less anxious in situations. ‘Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing’
The world needs to hear this. Thank you Ruth. 🙂
Indeed I love this comment too. You cannot fix anxiety; one can only dissolve it in the body.
I like the concept of foundations that you share Ruth. This idea that we need to continually build and develop a deeper and deeper level of self care, so that our awareness can grow. The move from anxiety being a full on experience to something felt as a tension in your muscles… I have found those early warning signs are always there but I just wasn’t paying enough attention to them.
How true that is Joel, the warning signs are always there but we override, find a ‘good’ reason to push it to the side, to deal with our health later – after this job is done. I have been learning to allow myself to be more me and actually place myself near the top of the list…sometimes I even reach the top! What a difference it makes to everything when I stop forgetting about me and start listening to what my body is sharing with me loud and clear.
As you say Joel, Ruth describes layers upon layers that she has slowly peeled back, so she picks up more subtle signals of anxiety as she develops her awareness, therefore picking up on it earlier in the cycle so it does not have a chance to build up.
So very true Doug “when we are anxious the last thing we are likely to think of is that the anxiety is a choice that we are making, but of course it is just that, just as every thought we have is also a choice.” Everything you have said makes perfect sense.
wow, that was a powerful last line, in that trying to fix it didn’t work, but resolving the issue through how you being all that you are, did make the difference. Beautiful unfolding felt.
I have found that time and time again Ben that the more I focus on caring for myself, being tender with myself that ailments and ‘issues’ fade into the background, transforming with no effort but with acceptance and dedication to loving my self.
Totally agree Ben – I find it easy to go into ‘fixing’ mode, trying to make things better as fast as possible. But by resolving an issue by caring about yourself, although it seems like it may take a longer time, from Ruth’s experience it seems that it sets a much stronger foundation, and lasts instead of just running out when the motivation goes.
Your title says it all Ruth and then you unfold and share your personal journey so openly and with a depth of truth and understanding about healing oneself. Very healing for all thankyou.
How we live affects our health. This is the golden punchline. After a particularly challenging conversation I had yesterday, this line really confirms just how consistent I need to be in my own steadiness, so as not to continually doubt myself. Everything I choose has to be supportive of me and my body to develop this consistency and it’s certainly not always an easy task.
Awesome blog Ruth, thank you for sharing it is such a great realisation when we realise that how we live affects our health, and in this sentence you really hit the nail on the head “I have realised that anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction that I can have a choice over.”
Isn’t it amazing the power of focussing on the strength of your connection with your body and developing love rather than the problem. We do have things upside down! I loved hearing how empowered you felt now that you know you have a choice and anxiety is not just something out of your control, that is happening to you.
‘Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.’ The simplicity of what you share here, Ruth, is invaluable and so accessible. Imagine if this was part of the ‘treatment plan’ routinely offered by counsellors, GP’s, self-help groups ….. what a difference it would make to so many peoples lives.
What a difference Alison it would make a huge difference if GPs alone were supporting people with the importance of self care. Instead we have a case where there is no time for care, not even by the doctors as they are expected to see patients one after the other like a conveyor belt! Crazy. But with real responsibility for our health we could see a real change in the way we are and all the pressure on the health systems including mental health would be significantly reduced.
Absolutely Alison ‘Imagine if this was part of the treatment plan….’ To build a loving relationship with ourselves, a caring and loving one…dealing with the anxiety separate from the person does not work, if it did, we would have a world without anxiety.
“I have realised that anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction that I can have a choice over.” This understanding reflects your level of awareness of how our emotions affect our health Ruth. Thank you for explaining the simple and practical ways that you have used to heal, they are great tips on how to deal with anxiety.
I agree Bernadette, that simple line in Ruth’s powerfully healing blog is so freeing for so many people. From working as a health practitioner and experiencing anxiety myself I am realising how most people have some level of anxiety at some time. What is golden here is that Ruth has greatly decreased her anxiety by supporting the love that she is with more care and loving choices instead of trying to ‘ fix’ the problem of anxiety as if it was a part of her. As she was stronger in her love she could see how the anxiety was a reaction that she could choose to have or not have, that it wasn’t a part of her. Now that is a game changer for so many, thank you Ruth.
I wonder how many of us have anxiety in their bodies without even noticing it, because from early childhood on we have experienced it in us and around us, so much so that it has become familiar. What is familiar is felt like normal, what is normal doesn’t need to be changed. That is not true! Thank you for making us aware of anxiety and that it is a choice, Ruth!
I didn’t even realise or was aware that I had been constantly living with a low grade of anxiety (and sometimes not so low grade!) until this was presented by Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine and then I could feel the truth of this in my body. I love what you have written here Ruth ‘I have realised that anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction’. Timely for me to read and take full responsibility for my choices.
Ruth how incredibly empowering, you feel so in charge of how you feel which is extraordinary considering how out of control people generally feel when they experience anxiety conditions. I, too have had compulsive checking through out my adult life and so too have I experienced a huge decline in my symptoms. I feel though that what you have shared will support me to further reduce my symptoms. Thank you.
Ruth I really found what you shared to be such a familiar story for me. I too have felt high levels of anxiety within my life, leading to panic attacks and a sense of feeling overwhelmed and out of control in life. I know since I have been choosing to be more present and more loving towards myself this has lessened considerably. I’ve found bringing conscious presence to my body, really choosing to bring awareness to a part of my body, such as laying my hands on my thighs (as presented in esoteric yoga) has made such a difference as it brings me back into my body. I find when I feel anxious it is because I am choosing to live/be in my head – not truly being present in my body. The moment I acknowledge this, and bring my awareness back to the present moment, by truly feeling my body, there is no space for the anxiety to exist. By choosing this more and more I have found I am developing a more consistent steadiness within me, and trusting the true foundation of love I have built for myself, by choosing to be more self-loving in the way I live.
I agree Marika, this is something we have the power to do, is to make our own choices. This is very simple but I have seen and experienced thinking that we don’t have a choice in life and that things can never change, we just have to cope with what we’ve got. This is not the case, Ruth’s blog is a great example of how we all can make a choice to heal through choosing self-love. True change comes from us making loving choices, taking responsibility and willingness to be open to ourselves and people.
Thank you Ruth, this is an amazing blog. It is very inspiring what you have shared. As I was reading it, I thought to printout a copy and share this with a friend who just recently experienced anxiety. How you have chosen to heal this is extremely inspiring. It is an awesome reminder for me to continue to make loving choices and to know that I have a choice in everything I do and feel.
Thanks for sharing this Ruth and how simple you have made it about choice. Self loving choices. The choice to not go into the anxiety. The choice to surrender to the stillness in your body. Anxiety for me feels very much like something I have to hang on to. There is actually effort involved in this. The tightness in the muscles you have described, when i feel that in my body, it feels like effort – there is usually something that I’ve not wanted to feel, or fully acknowledge and if I come back to what it was, why it’s there, I then have the choice to let it go, to surrender to my stillness.
Brooke this is lovely and true. I found that facing the source of the anxiety really does help. When I stop to feel what lurks behind anxiousness I can say aah, that’s fear or insecurity or lack of self worth and let it go. To know that anxiety is not me, or a given and can be released with love and through choice was a turning point for me.
I agree Brooke, there is actually effort involved in hanging onto anxiety. It feels like my body is constantly asking for another way and that way is to be still, gentle and not holding onto nervous tension.
Thank you Ruth and Brooke, so simple but true. When we take the time to self-nurture with all the things in life that truly support us, our emotions, anxiety and nervous tension are diminished amazingly.
I wonder how many people live with a constant underlying tension and anxiousness without really feeling it – kept going by coffee and high sugar content food. It isn’t until we stop and really relax that we feel the exhaustion and racy tension in our bodies – is it any wonder people struggle to sleep at night? Your story is amazing Ruth – to feel and heal your anxiousness and commit to changing your life.
I feel that anxiousness on any level affects many more people than we care to know but very few people admit it to themselves, as you say Rebecca, preferring to mask it by getting on with life fuelled by sugar and caffeine. I know that when I was younger I’d get anxious in certain situations in reaction to life believing myself to be a victim of it. What is so inspiring by Ruth’s story is that although her anxiousness became extreme she started to honestly look at it and took responsibility for it.
I agree Michelle, often children can pick up on tensions and chaos and anxiety around them, which in turn can make them feel the same way. A little girl I babysit can sometimes comes to me very quiet and unsure of herself, having felt the tensions at home. And as we grow up that tension we can feel around us at school and then at work, is with us so constantly its hard to even pinpoint. I have found when I do something relaxing like go to a spa or a quiet walk, it gives me the space to let that level of tension go enough to realise I was carrying it around.
Yes – when we feel that tension as kids quite often we turn in on ourselves and blame ourselves for it because we are not taught how to observe and read life. It is no wonder that in taking it on in this way we become doubtful, foundationless and anxious. When these become absorbed as our natural way of living it is incredibly hard to see the wood for the trees as we end up feeling so hurt. As you suggest Rebecca taking time out to reconnect allows us the space to feel what is going on and to come back to observation.
Yes I agree Rebecca, how often do we run on anxiousness and nervous tension but don’t notice it until we stop and be still. It can be fooling because we think we have energy when we have nervous tension, but it is exhausting our bodies and is not leaving a loving imprint in everything we do.
Well said Harry – nervous tension is something that can ‘keep us going’ but is actually a massive drain on the body, because its not designed to run on that type of fuel.
Self love is the magic pill, the magic potion. Self love individually designed, like you , like everybody. We design our own personal ways to be at ease with ourselves, to develop that well being inside, be it through walks, through self caring nurturing massage, through cooking with presence…What I love is that you were not trying to stop the anxiety, you were growing your self love and it works. Like magic. Thank you ruth for sharing your healing. Lots of people I know can benefit, including me.
Thank you for sharing your experience Ruth. I am constantly amazed by the power of loving ourselves and trusting what we feel in our bodies. This blog and many others on this site report myriad conditions that have diminished or disappeared through self love and developing a connection with the body. This is testament to the necessity of self love in our lives.
Exactly Lee. You could go as far to say that self love and developing a connection with the body are universal medicines. They are the medicine that works on anyone who cares to apply it.
Ruth this is such an awesome blog, simple and your dedication to addressing your anxiety and how to support your body in a way to see the choices which cause that is very real and I love how you lay it out so clearly. With it I can feel how it really is a choice, thank you. Your line ‘I began to care for myself and build a foundation of love for myself.’ jumped out at me, and it’s that base in us we choose to build which supports us in how we are with anything.
Hi Ruth, your blog shows to me how building a steady foundation of Love really does makes a huge difference to our lives. I can see this turning into a very inspiring ‘before and after’ blog.
Anxiety affects so many people and it is great to hear your story Ruth, it shows there are practical ways to deal with this that allows anyone to grow into a stronger more confident person. I have never suffered a panic attack but certainly anxiety to varying degrees. It must be so great to build a steadiness that improves the quality of your life and not be so weighed down by the feelings of unease.
Ruth, to understand what consistancy is and which power it has was a great revelation for me. Thank you for sharing.
Ruth, this is awesome, showing how self care is about developing and deepening the relationship with ourselves. Bringing the focus and re-connection back to the body, is a tangible and practical way of building a body of love that is then able to support a person in those ‘wobble’ moments. Brilliant article Ruth, thank you!
“Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.” Thank you Ruth for sharing your experience. Many people are dealing with anxiety to different degrees. So how great to read the changes you could make to heal anxiety.
Inspiring to read that you did not fix the anxiety but instead started to care and love for yourself. What a completely different approach than what I see around me. We always want to fix something, but does this really change anything?
What you share is about making life about Love. Making a choice to Love ourselves and allowing Love to heal our choices.
I can definitely relate to this Ruth. Without the the foundation of ourselves – that can only be built through self love and self nurturing – we have no ‘leg’ to stand on, as you say. In order to stay truly steady ~ and a depth of steadiness I never knew possible ~ we need a constant commitment to our relationship with ourselves and a willingness to always go deeper with it.
And the choice to stop trying to fix ourselves is one very great evolutionary leap. The moment we accept we don’t need fixing it becomes clear that we already have it all, and are actually perfect as we are.
Thank you for sharing this Ruth, I have been making the choice to deeply indulge in anxiety lately. With the anxiety I feel pumped and have no need to feel anything that may be occurring inside myself. You offer how simple it is to make the choice not to choose anxiety by simply connecting to my body and it’s movements. This is a very timely blog for me to read, thank you.
Ruth you would not be alone with this. There are so many people out there that would benefit from reading your blog. Just to understand that what is happening with them is not really THEM and that they have a choice – that there is another way. Thank you for sharing your story – very courageous.
The steadiness we have within is so very powerful. I too have been able to let go of being constantly anxious through reconnecting to my steadiness within. Now, if I feel anxious I know there is something that I have felt that I have then chosen to withdraw from, so I talk myself back into my body to feel what is there to be felt. I experienced this today and I realised that due to my exquisite sensitivity when things around me feel heavy and intense I withdraw. But today I kept bringing myself back and walked away from this situation still very much feeling like myself. This is a miracle! In the past I would have ended up in a state of panic and would have had to leave and go straight home. Thank goodness those days are over!
Anxiety is far more prevalent than most would care to know. It wasnt until I started attending Universal Medicine courses and presentations that I realised anxiety was running my whole life. I had covered it over so well it had become a normal part of my life but it was constantly running in the background, and was the basis of all my decisions – and exhausting.
Like you Ruth, by making more self-loving choices, taking the time to nurture and truly care for myself by listening to my body, gradually a confidence in myself has built, a knowing of what is true for me or not, and with that a steadiness develops that doesn’t sway when the outside world tries to impose…and I have more energy than I did in my teens!
A very inspiring story Ruth…isnt it amazing how much our lives can change when we connect to our body and honour what it tells us – the choice and the responsibility is ours, in every moment.
Lovely – this blog brought a stop moment to me this morning as I felt my shoulders and across the top part of my back and having my awareness there the tension releases. A great reminder to keep checking in. Thank you Ruth.
Thank you for your reminder that it is a choice to feel overwhelmed or not. We do have the power to choose the energy we want to live in.
Another powerful example of what you are saying about choice Ruth is the way by choosing the self-love and building that, the anxiousness then didn’t have a chance to take over – there was no space for it to be as you were not giving it any energy, you were already choosing self-love.
Beautiful Ruth! I love the steadiness and the foundations you talk about. To have the surety of the body’s presence is a very precious gift to have. You simple words ‘it’s a choice’ are so powerful. so often we can feel that there is something that is bigger or more powerful than ourselves and that we have no choice over it. But the truth is as you have said, ‘it’s a choice’ . . . always.
This is a wonderful and inspiring blog, thank you Ruth. I have had one panic attack in my life and it was such an awful thing to go through, I thought I was having a heart attack but looking back at the way I was working at my job it all makes sense now, the complete disregard for my body. I love your words “Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.” how liberating really, the responsibility is ours to deeply care and nurture ourselves and our body responds.
What an amazing turn around for you Ruth with the support of Serge and Simone Benhayon and Universal Medicine. I have noticed with some people that come into my life that they have severe cases of anxiety and panic attacks. This is such an inspiring blog for everyone either with a severe case or a middle case. For me it was a great reminder how important it is to come back to the body and caring for it really makes an enormous difference to our quality of our being.
I too had been a victim to my anxiety since very young. After having some sessions with Serge Benhayon I realised that I did not need to spiral into anxiety, that I could make a choice to connect to my body. I learnt to take care of myself, to not feed the negative thoughts that were associated with the anxiety and to not identify with it. I also saw that I was using the anxiety to not have to take the responsibility for what ever was presenting for me to do next. It was a huge revelation to see how I was letting anxiety control me and my life.
Yes Marylouise, I had this too, I had fear of being responsible for my choices in life incase I got it wrong or of the outcome, but the more I focused on and continued to build love the more my confidence and responsibility grew and the fear subsided. The chattering voice in my head of ..’ what if this ‘ and ‘ what if that ‘ quietened. I agree it is very important not to feed those negative thoughts.
I find these to be wise words indeed: “I have realised that anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction that I can have a choice over.”
Thank you Oliver, yes this was such a turning point.
Wow Ruth, your experience highlights the true power of presence with the body, and the profound changes possible when we stay connected. Your story is inspiring. I agree a foundation built on love and care supports us to remain steady in life. We do always have a choice, we can either react or respond in any situation.
There are lots of external psychological behaviour ideas explained to help anxiety, but none of them explain that when we love, care for and value ourselves more, the anxiety naturally reduces. You have explained it beautifully Ruth by your lived experience.
A beautiful presentation, Ruth, of the power in every little choice we make in the day, whether it is in a thought, the way we move, or how we regard ourselves. We are the masters of our reality, which can be incredibly connected and steady, or at the mercy of everything that is going on in the external world around us.
Hi Ruth, this is a great example of how anxiety issues are to do with our choices,
knowing this we are able to free ourselves from being a victim of societies labels.
Thank you Ruth. Anxiety is often seen as a problem to be fixed, rather than a result of our choices and essentially, giving our power away to what is outside of us. In my anxiousness, I know I am feeling it because I have tried to control something that I can’t, and to try and fix anxiousness does nothing to heal why I am in that state. But to look at my role, my commitment, what I take on and how I am living based on my choices, means my steadiness and commitment is far stronger than external factors that are not me. Although I still have the occasional wobble, I am, like you, slowly building this up and confirming more and more in my body. It is an amazing place to be.
This is beautiful and I had to come back to it as I love the real understanding you came to and the foundation you have built for yourself, so tangible to feel and the steadiness from this is a gift as is your sharing of it.The true power of self love as the start of Ruth healing ones life is simple and amazing thank you.
A beautiful sharing Ruth and one that I can certainly relate too and feel sure that many others can also. Anxiety was running my life for some years building a constant momentum, feeding this energy was leaving me to feel that I was existing and not living life in full. Knowing now as you share “It is a reaction that I can have a choice over” and over time with the amazing support of Serge Benhayon and the amazing Esoteric Practitioners and students themselves showing that there is another way to live. Allowing a return of self love into my life has gently brought about big changes – this being a more constant pattern now and one that has opened up so many new opportunities. Now joy is my regular visitor. This sharing with us Ruth will certainly inspire many – thank you.
What a beautiful and powerful story Ruth, sharing with us how by building a foundation of selfcare and self love in the body a steadiness grew, which allowed you to not be overcome by feelings of anxiety as in the past. Very inspiring especially for others who may suffer from panic- attacks.
Realising “… that anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction that I can have a choice over” is so liberating. this applies to any emotional, mental or physical condition we have. By perceiving it this way we see that the condition is the consequences of our choices and we can now make different loving choices to enhance our well being, as you demonstrate Ruth.
What came to me this morning is the extra-ordinary power of self love and nurturing to heal many conditions, behaviours and addictions or prevent them happening in the first place. The market is rammed packed with courses, self-help books endless routes to growth and happiness. For over 30 years, I worked in this industry, learning and development, and witnessed businesses invest millions of pounds every year on endless courses designed to help people ‘develop and grow’ Most did not even touch the surface, because the focus was always on skills and changing behaviour. They were not programmed to asked deeper questions like ‘ How do you feel?’ ‘How is your relationship to yourself?’, ‘How do you live your life?’ Whereas The Way of the Livingness, as presented by Serge Benhayon, does this. It offers the choice to connect, nurture and love ourselves and others, and live in brotherhood with humanity and when we do we find that often the rest takes care of itself.
I can recognise so much of what you have written about here Ruth, as anxiety has never been very far away within my everyday situations. Especially when it comes to dealing with people and situations, like you have said we have a choice and what I am finding is the more I commit to dealing with situations the easy it is getting and the anxiety lessens.
Ruth this is so lovely how you write about this and your way and I love how you came to build this foundation, grew trust and went from panic attacks and all these symptoms back to feeling your body and came to steadiness. Truly inspiring.
I have come across a number of people who suffer from panic attacks who feel totally overwhelmed by them and feel like victims to them. What you are sharing here Ruth is so inspirational and powerful because you are living proof that these attacks are a choice, whether consciously or unconsciously made in reaction to life. You have proven a living way that can turn things around on so many levels. Without wanting to over do things I really do want to say how much I applaud and celebrate the inspiration you are offering to humanity – the choices you have made and the way you are turning your life around is so huge. This is for all. A really big thank you!
Everyone in the world should know about this Ruth. Anxiety is rife, and so often we do not know how to deal with it… The simplicity and power of what you have shared is everything that is needed to truly deal with anxiety forever.
What you’re sharing Ruth here is profound to me. I’ve been caring for myself better than I have ever before. But I can feel and see myself struggling with really being nurturing with myself. The permission that you’ve given yourself to listen to yourself is inspiring and on the same hand confronting. It’s like an invitation to connect more deeply to myself. I can still find myself judging myself for any pains of anxiety. The picture that you’re describing about the shoulds and shouldn’ts I can very much relate to. I can feel the resistance of going deeper, but your blog is confirming what I’ve allready seen in myself. That only a Loving approach towards myself will Truly deepen the relationship I have with me. Thank you Ruth.
I used to be very anxious aswell and still am from time to time. What I like is that you bring it back to surrendering to you instead of stopping being anxious. That simply doesn´t work, because you try to convince yourself by your mind, which is the “problem” in the first place.”It´s a choice”- I love this empowering phrase and will remember this, when I tend to get tense in my body.
Reblogged this on florisvanderschot's Blog.
A very inspiring blog Ruth to help us all in those scenarios in life when we almost stop breathing, to remember to breath and come more into our bodies to support whatever may be happening.
Very true Michelle. Our breath is an immediate reminder of being out of rhythm, especially if I am not even aware of my breath, then I know i’m two steps away and time to draw a line in the sand.
Ruth what a powerful and simple antidote to anxiety – to understand and be aware of how reactions act out in your body and making choices to connect back to you.
I used to get even more anxious because I was anxious, and then judge myself and everything would go even more downhill from there. Re-connecting to my body and feeling my steadiness and strength inside feels more natural now and the other going into anxiety not only feels unnatural but leaves me shattered like I’ve been hit by a bus! Thank you for sharing another way to see anxiety as it is such a huge topic and the awesome reminder it is a choice.
It is crazy when you think of all the imagined external things that we have attracted to our self’s as we move through life. We become a large magnet for everything that is not us. Over time the weight of all of this rubbish cannot but have an effect on our physical body from the weight that we have placed on our self. Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon has never told anyone how to live eat or be… but allowed us to remove all the rubbish we have been carrying and feel what and who we truly are.
Thank you for this Ruth. As someone who has also been very anxious in the past it is a great blog to read. The deeper truth you express here that trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work but being more loving with yourself did, is gold. Anxiety is showing us that we need to choose differently and what I love about this is that there is an innate knowing that anxiousness is not our true way.
“I am now aware and can feel how it is a choice I am making and I can change that choice at any time, whereas before it just seemed to happen to me.” I can relate to this Ruth, the more I become aware of what is happening around me and in my body, the more I can observe and make a choice. Instead of before, like you, not even noticing that I had a choice. This is amazing!
“I have realised that anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction that I can have a choice over.”
I love this Ruth, so empowering and absolutely true.
For me anxiety has been about giving my power away to situations that I have deemed out of my control. Whilst most things in life are out of our control I have come to know that it is never about that. It is about developing a loving relationship with myself so that I no longer choose to make excuses, worry or continuously apologise for being me.
Gosh Julie, you’ve hit the nail on the head on this one! For me anyway. Apologising for being me – what a killer. That’s enough to keep us in separation from the world for lifetimes.
‘I no longer make excuses, worry or continuously apologise for being me’. Love that Julie, sorry must be one of the most over-used words in the english language, and it creeps in to almost everything we do, to the extent that it can insidiously influence us to be sorry for just being who we are.
Great point Julie, anxiety was about giving your power away to a situation, this shows how when we are not in self love we are blinded by how capable we are in all situations.
This was so beautiful to read Ruth and super powerful. The commitment you made to working on yourself is inspiring and I love that the steadiness you have built, holds you through what would have normally rocked you and when it doesn’t… a quick reminder that it is only a choice, supports you back to this connection.
I agree Samantha, it is awesome to read that Ruth is now so much more steady in life, able to face things she perhaps wasn’t able to before with a strong connection to herself – amazing!
Wow Ruth, how amazing for you to finally have the answer for treating your anxiety and with such a simple approach. I loved the quote “Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.” I have also noticed when I’m experiencing a lot of stress or anxiousness just simple tasks of caring for myself greatly reduce the impact and restore me back to a state of harmony. With rising rates of anxiety we may indeed need new approaches like the tried and tested one you have found that worked for you.
Without a doubt Melinda. How is this not an evidence based approach. I certainly notice the difference when I take more care for myself. It’s when I let that slip, that I notice how much quicker it is to get side tracked and turn small things in to dramas that then lead to anxiety.
I could feel my muscles were tight at the start of this blog and slowly the more I read I felt myself letting go. Greatly appreciated what you have shared Ruth as I am still dealing with a mild anxiety at times and hearing the detail of your story is supportive and a generous contribution, many thanks.
I also have benefitted so much from the teachings of Serge Benhayon and the Universal Medicine practitioners and the courses I have attended Ruth. As you have explained, the tools to building a foundation of self love are so practical and simple, and they work!
A very inspiring story of how you healed your anxiety and panic attacks by looking at how you were living and treating yourself. I especially like your insights about food and how we tend to feed our emotions and reactions rather than our physical body and its very real needs.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the medicine offered by Universal Medicine. The simple tools and techniques and philosophies presented by Serge Benhayon are so, so helpful in really allowing issues and ills to be understood and resolved. Both Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon are a God-send.
Anxiety has not been so visible in my life but it has been – and still is – present nonetheless. It’s good medicine to be honest about these things! Learning how to feel past whatever traumas, hurts, reactions and ill-choices we carry by re-connecting to the body first is a solid way forward. I can feel how much that helps me.
I appreciate your honesty here Victoria. I have lived with a lot of anxiety, more than I have realised as to others I can appear quite calm. I agree that supporting our body is really key. I have considered myself to have a very ‘healthy’ diet – gluten/dairy/sugar free etc. and I receive comments from colleagues about how what I eat is so healthy, however I am having to see that I am eating some foods that do not serve me to stay connected with me or sometimes just eating too much which can literally ‘feed’ the anxiety.
I love what you share here Ruth. By keeping it really simple and returning to our body’s own connection we can make such fundamental changes to our health and wellbeing. Anxiety is such a major health issue today and your words will inspire many. Thank you.
Since studying and trying out in my daily life the simple and practical suggestions presented in Universal medicine courses and healing sessions, I have found like Ruth that I have been able to let go of trying to fix anxiousness or lack of confidence in the usual way, based on ‘self improvement’. instead it has been amazing to simply bring a depth of loving care and attention to my lifestyle choices. Since such dramatic health and wellbeing changes have occurred so simply, it becomes clear that the old habit of seeking fulfilment in life, can only be anxiety producing unless we first make it a daily practice to connect with ourselves.
Ruth, for this very healing and revealing blog. I once knew a lady who had very similar experiences as you in reference to your level of anxiety – I had no understanding way back then as to how one may assist another to overcome such deep and traumatic behaviour, to the point that, when this person refused to travel by air with the family to a celebration across country, for fear that it would be her fault when the plane crashed and all the family died that my compassion for her disabling behaviour dissapated and frustration and irritation took its place as I tried to ‘reason’ with her. I now know I would have been more lovingly supportive if I knew then what I have learned along the way after meeting Serge Benhayon, and attended the presentations of Universal Medicine. How awesome that you felt in your heart to look a little deeper within, meeting with Simone Benhayon and transforming this seemingly love-less and debilitating mode of expression into the amazing woman you truly are within, letting go the old beliefs and patterns to emerge as the beholder of a wisdom now being shared with others that they may grow also, from the centrepoint of divine love held deep within us all. Thank you for sharing your story.
Ruth your blog is a superb example of how incredible and healing self care can be. The way that anxiety is treated is usually via the head, treating the mind with psychology or pills, but treating the body is the way. When we treat the body, the mind follows. There is a conscious effort to care for the body that is required to start as the patterns we live in are often out of our natural rhythm, which will inevitably cause a disturbance (like shock waves from an earthquake), that will find its way to the mind. Once the conscious effort to care becomes a new normal, the body can harmonise, therefore sending less disturbances throughout the body that reach the mind. The choice to self care and listen to the body is vital in our journey to heal ourselves. When we put ourselves back into a nurturing rhythm, we connect to our essence and the capacity to allow stillness into the body.
Ruth it’s wonderful to read how you’ve dealt with anxiety. I love the taking a warm bath and feeling how nurturing and loving you are with yourself.
I am starting to choose to stay with me rather than run away with the anxiety I may have – usually a not wanting to be found at fault. Staying present with me is also me choosing to accept myself. It’s choosing being open to learning, that no matter what I observe about my choices and perhaps how harming they have been, they are not who I truly am. The more I stay with myself and accept myself, the more I am willing to see those areas that I am choosing -like anxiety- that have no place within my body. It’s wonderful to even feel this is a choice.
Anxiousness is an energy I am very familiar with in myself. One thing that I have noticed is that I often feel and am aware of things on a very deep level and don’t always know how to handle what I am picking up on. Sometimes it is simply enough that I am aware of something such as if this person carries on behaving in that way they will have an accident or wow that thing that everyone is raving about is very, very harmful etc etc but I think I have to do something about it and that gets me anxious. The other thing that I have discovered is that often I simply know something such as I don’t need to worry about xyz because it will be fine, but my body does not know that as in the past xyz was not fine and so my body gets anxious even though my mind thinks there is no issue! Like with pretty much everything else what most supports me is to always come back to my body as you have described and to bring awareness and understanding to the situation.
Very important blog Ruth – Thank you. I love how you pointed out clearly that : “I have realised that anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction that I can have a choice over.” This makes all the difference and I can remember this for myself when I used to be anxious at times, that I also would be able to say this to myself and then work on reconnecting to my self by reconnecting back to my body.
Thank you Ruth. The more I have addressed my anxiety the more I have become aware of it. Years ago I would feel so anxious after a day at work it would hurt to breathe. This was my normal and so I didn’t pay a lot of attention to it. In fact, at the time others I spoke to said they experienced the same thing. My anxiety levels are now the lowest they have been yet I am more aware of my anxiety than ever. Your blog allows me to appreciate the steps I have taken to build a loving relationship with myself. “…..my trust in myself has grown so much.”
What you have written is absolutely wonderful Ruth and very practical and supportive for everyone. Unimed Living recently published a free audio of the month on “what causes anxiousness” – http://www.unimedliving.com/voice/audio-of-the-month/what-causes-anxiousness-2015-07.html so it is certainly a current topic and one that almost everyone lives with to differing degrees.
Reading about your steadiness Ruth I had a visual of your change, like that of a frail and thin tree, becoming a majestic and grand oak. The oak would never doubt its steadiness no matter that weather that may come. All your growth seem to stem from the understanding that in truth, anxiety is a choice.
Gorgeous visual, Joseph.
‘It’s a choice, Ruth.’ Such a simple sentence, yet such a profound stopper. Once we realise we’re merely making choices in each and every moment, then we can choose to take responsibility – or not – for our very next move.
I remember years ago Serge saying he loved marmite on toast but he loved connecting more with people something to that affect, I remember being struck that this was actually a choice, a choice between what we may want with our heads and the impact that has on our ability to feel and be aware of everything. It is liberating and confronting/exposing all at the same time!
Simple, and true. Knowing we have a choice in each moment, and that that choice paves the way for the next, automatically brings an awareness and a responsibility to all that we do.
Absolutely true, Cathy. To know that we have made a choice to withdraw which has allowed space for anxiety to come is revealing the fact that we are indeed responsible for how we are feeling and that we can make a different choice in any given moment.
So often it’s easy to blame the outside world for how we feel and how easy it is to not realise that our reaction to life is a choice. You are right Cathy, we can either take responsibility for the next moment or not.
I agree, we need to be aware of how every second we are making choices and when we are being responsible with them then that’s how we can change our life.
The belief around ‘trying’ has been around forever and still is. So often I hear parents say to their children ‘Try’. The word ‘try’ falls into the same category as ‘Judgement’ and just compounds a situation. I loved your comment Ruth – ‘Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing’. Time to stop being our own harshest critic and to know the loving and beautiful beings we are. The moment I acknowledged that some behaviour’s I was living out in my life were there because I wanted to protect myself, was the moment I was able to acknowledge the harm they were doing and to gently and lovingly let them go. Great Blog Ruth, thank you.
ch1956 trying has been one of the downward spirals throughout life. I’ve come to understand the more I’ve tried to do or fix certain things the more it doesn’t work. Yet focussing on deeply loving and caring for myself and things heal themselves. It’s a challenge as my default pattern is to try and to fix yet I am constantly amazed that the less I try the greater life unfolds.
Wow, Ruth, what a great and exposing blog this is for me. It is only now that I realise that I actually had anxiety symptoms for most of my life too. Thank goodness, now looking back, I can see that I have not had those actual symptoms for quite a number of years now, since I met Serge Benhayon and began working on myself and building a body of love, through the work of Universal Medicine.But I now realise that for most of my life, my way to try to alleviate my anxieties was to go to the kitchen tap and have a glass of water. Especially when, as a very mature age student I can remember when I was trying to write an essay e.g., I would make innumerable trips to that tap to have drink of water. It seems quite funny now, but it was not at the time, it was a continual drive in me. And the same scenario whenever there was any disharmony in the family. Back for another glass of water. I certainly had no problem in drinking enough liquid in those days. Now I just have to watch that I drink enough water in the day, I feel so much more equanimity in my body, but of course quite a way to go yet. How amazing it is to be living more and more, The Way of The Livingness, it is so healing.
Having been a practitioner of Universal Medicine Therapies for over ten years now I have come to see that many, many women and men live with at the least a low level of anxiety and for some quite a high level and are not even aware that they are living with this energy. I know this was the case for me and the healing began when I realised that I had been in anxiousness for most of my life but because I was not deeply connected to my body I was unaware of the anxiousness and the harm it was causing me.
Hello Ruth Ketnor and this is a great simple blog and a “how to” deal with anxiety. It is very inspiring to read how you bring this simply back to your body (connect) and from there support yourself. This paragraph says it all for me, “I continue to work with this and now my anxiety is at a level where I feel it as a tension in my muscles, for example in my arms and across my shoulders. When I feel this in my body I know there is anxiety at play and I am then able to look at the cause and can stop it pretty quickly by bringing myself back to my body. I am now aware and can feel how it is a choice I am making and I can change that choice at any time, whereas before it just seemed to happen to me.” So we don’t have to live in anxiety, in fact it’s not natural and we have just settled for it, settled for less than who we truly are. Great to see how you are nailing anxiety Ruth, a moment at a time. Again as you say, “Each day I experience how my steadiness keeps me much more balanced and able to deal with life, moment to moment. My energy levels are sustained and I get to enjoy the day so much more.” Thank you Ruth.
Ruth this post is so great, your lines here so inspiring they are post it notes (!): “eating foods to support myself rather than feed my reactions and emotions”.
And
“to really listen to my body and what I felt was right for me rather than doing what I thought was expected or that I should do”.
This is beautiful, Ruth. I too experienced anxiety, but had decided it was a ‘bad’ thing to feel, so rather than support myself, I tried to block it out. This just exacerbated the tension and felt awful. I am learning to allow myself to feel the anxiety and that allows a deepening of my connection with me. Acceptance has been my key.
I can relate to seeing anxiety as a bad thing Carmin and trying to push it down. I would judge and be hard on myself for being anxious which in turn would leave me even more anxious. Doing this I can see how much I missed out on the clue of what was going on, why was I choosing to be anxious, what did I not like feeling or reacting to or what did I not want to be honest about that so obviously needed to change.
I agree Carmin, accepting things, situations and people (including myself) as they are really supports me in dealing with anxiety. The more I tell myself I shouldn’t be feeling whatever it is that I feel, this only serves to exacerbate any anxiety.
Yes Carmin I too struggled with anxiousness from time to time and it was usually from my drive to get things done. I usually just wanted the feelings to go away so I would work harder, this seems crazy now but once I started to accept why I was going into drive and support myself, the anxiousness melted away.
Thank you Ruth. Your experience shows that the way we live can either harm us or heal us. It is very interesting to read that when you chose to take more loving care of yourself your life changed. This shows the power of bringing self-love into our lives and it also shows the affects when we don’t.
Thank you Ruth for this great blog on how anxiety is something we have a choice over. Imagine if this was taught more by mental health professionals… it could really revolutionise the way we support people.
So true, what a revelation Annie that would be. We put so much effort into trying to control and fix the symptom, but all the symptom is telling us is that we have lost true connection with ourselves. Focus on building the connection, the symptoms diminish, clearly evident in the way Ruth has re-claimed herself and moved on from the anxiety without coping strategies or medication.
This is so true Annie. Anxiety is very common, we may have all experienced it to some degree in our lives but for people who suffer this on a higher level and on a daily basis it can be debilitating. The way Ruth has chosen to heal anxiety should be shared with as many people as possible, it is remarkable, inspiring and it is the answer to healing anxiety. This blog empowers and inspires us, knowing we can also make the same choices to self-love.
Thank you Ruth for sharing your personal experience with anxiety. I feel this is what the world needs now (I feel like breaking out into song) another way for healing anxiety. It would be great if it was up on all billboards for everyone to read. Anxiety in today’s society is an epidemic and most people are living with it and using self talk strategies to cope as this is the only way people know how to treat anxiety. How exhausting must that be for the body to be in such a heightened state with no resolve. Ruth, you have shown us beautifully another way of healing anxiety and not just coping with it but by having an understanding of why you were anxious in the first place and realising you needed to live in a more loving way with yourself. You are very inspiring.
Yes, Anne – how exhausting this must be for the body to be in such a heightened state! As you said, the self talk strategies are what are traditionally used to cope – but these strategies require even more effort than the anxiety itself – so in essence all we’re doing when we use these is putting the body into a further heightened state. Seems crazy when I write it like that.
So true annebroadbent58. Reading your comment it feels like the self talk approach would actually add to anxiety rather than reduce it. It is lovely that there is another way that Ruth has presented, and that she has a lived experience of this, not just a theoretical proposition.
What an important realisation Ruth that you were not your anxiety and that by caring for yourself in way that supports you, you could feel that you are so much more. It’s very beautiful that we can feel this, the quality of our own presence and what we bring through the way we tend to ourself and that this continues to develop with out depending commitment to ourselves. Thank you Ruth.
So true Jennifer. We are not our issues or illnesses and when we connect to the truth of who we are this connection can be nurtured and become a foundation for us. The issues that we have then seem to diminish or disappear as Ruth has shared.
Great blog Ruth, very inspiring and really supportive. I have lived with low grade anxiousness nearly all my life although I would not have admitted it, and was great at covering it over by making my life as comfortable as possible by avoiding situations that would take me out of my comfort zone. Anxiousness can be so debilitating and stops us doing some of the simplest of tasks, suddenly everything is difficult and complicated and there is a real panic that takes over everything. Knowing we really do have a choice whether we want to stay in the anxiousness or not, and stopping it before it takes hold can make a huge difference…. it has certainly change my life. It can still catch me out but I now have the tools and awareness to bring myself back.
Wow Alison. I love what you have added here and can feel how I do the same – make my life as comfortable as possible to avoid the situations where I am out of my comfort zone. It feels like living with a security blanket, never venturing too far away from it… but in truth, all I need is to come back to what is already there, steady and still, inside me.
This is so powerful Ruth. Thank you for sharing your beautiful return to who you truly are. I have experienced intense anxiety in my life and can understand how this debilitating feels. So what you have shared is so inspiring as you have shown that there is another way. That by beginning to care for yourself and building a foundation of love you developed a new marker of who you truly and naturally are. In this place of love that is within us, who we essentially are, anxiety does not exist. And with this we build our confidence in knowing that this is who we are and knowing we can choose to return to this should we waver from the steadiness of our love. Thank you for sharing that there is another truly empowering way to live.
I love this Ruth — trying to fix our anxiety doesn’t actually work — all we do is put on a band-aid, and a flimsy one at that. Whereas when we build a foundation of love within ourselves from self-nurturing and self-care, this loving foundation naturally erodes the anxiety away. So simple and true.
I agree Katerina, imagine how many anxiety ‘fixes’ would go out of business if we all understood this basic principle of connection and self-care first.
Yes well said Katerina, it’s the foundation Ruth has established that cares for the anxiety, so to speak. I can really feel how solid this is, steady and that this (self love, self care) as the focus rather than any of our issues is what will support us.
Beautiful Ruth and I love this sentence “Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.” One could put an X where the word ‘anxiety’ is, as its so true, when we put our attention to loving ourselves, feeling our body, truly nurturing ourselves, many, many conditions seem to slowly diminish. It must feel immensely freeing to have realised that feeling anxious is a choice, not a handicap you just have to endure.
A great blog Ruth. It’s simplicity enhances it’s message.
Ruth, this is a beautiful article, so well written because of the honesty as well as the realness and practicality that is shared. Anxiousness is an underlying issue for so many of us and yet because it might not be so obvious to most, then we tend to brush it aside and not really deal with it until it grows into something far bigger that that stops us from our ‘normal’ daily things. I recall having panic attacks in my late teens, but at the time did not have the tools of the gentle breath to support me. Luckily they did not last long and never came back – perhaps due to choices I made, I am not sure. But having had them means that I can now relate to a person when they share about these debilitating experiences. What I love about what you shared is that it requires a simple choice and a change of focus – choosing the gentle breath says no to the anxiety and allows us to bring us back to a connection with ourselves that offers us the feeling of being held and being safe with regards to the energy that enters our body by our own choice. So simple yet so incredibly powerful. Choice is in our hands.
Thank you Ruth for this beautiful real sharing and for the understanding about severe anxiety and panic attacks and the way you changed your life .By doing self loving things for yourself to bring you back to you this is so beautiful to feel and do and is inspirational. Hundreds of Thousands of people suffer from this to varying degrees and do not know what to do about it and mainly resort to medication and drugs and you are offering a real revelation by your choices and persistency to bring yourself back lovingly. So powerful and joyful to hear.
I so agree Tricia, such a beautiful sharing about anxiety. It is a something I am sure we can all relate to in some way, feeling anxiety in our lives at some point. But perhaps not always being willing to admit that to ourselves. Either that, so go into denial, or get themselves on medication, which can help initially, but does not address the underlying cause of why it was there in the first place. Very powerful indeed to hear someone’s story of how they have brought themselves back from such things as anxiety and panic attacks, very inspirational.
Thanks Ruth for a very relevant blog. Since I have realised that I have a choice in each moment as to whether I will give in and allow the emotions to send things spiralling out of control or alternately, to re-create steadiness, I have been slowly developing more control over my life. It isn’t up to random outside forces: what happens next is my choice. This isn’t always easy to do as it can take quite a level of discipline at times to pull myself away from wanting to hide in the emotional reactions, but the steadiness is a precious feeling that I do value, and hence I know it is the true way.
I love that word ‘steadiness’. It is surely one of the most useful characteristics in life! Steadiness, constancy, consistency – music to my ears. I’m married to a man who has these qualities in spades and I’ve learnt a lot from his calm ways. He’s not perfect, but the consistency is there. The more we can be surrounded by people who embody these traits the better for those of us in development.
Victoria I agree. The world ‘STEADINESS’ represents solidness, grounded, consistent and stillness.
Ahhh beautiful and truly inspirational characteristics to have and observe in a person.
I like what you have written about discipline gilesch, as it does require commitment and discipline to change old patterns of thoughts, emotions and behaviours. I have a different relationship to discipline now, it is much more gentle and loving.
I love how you shared you brought your loving care and attention to your body when you felt the anxiousness rising and realised it was just a choice. This is a really helpful tip.
I agree. And actually allowing yourself to feel the anxiety – rather than numbing it with food, alcohol, drugs, etc – feels like a very necessary first step too.
Ruth thank you for sharing your experience of anxiety which I know many people struggle with in varying degrees. I love that everything you did when you felt the anxiety rising was to make choices that supported your body. Serge Benhayon shares that the way we can connect to our inner selves is through listening to the wisdom and caring for our bodies and your story is a testament to the truth of this.
Ruth thank you for sharing your experience. Your commitment to self healing is greatly inspiring. “Each day I experience how my steadiness keeps me much more balanced and able to deal with life, moment to moment.” By ‘staying together’, that is, body and mind aligned in the moment, we are able to observe, discern and make wise choices. The door to healing is opened by awareness and understanding add love and commitment and miraculous things happen.
Thank you fro sharing Ruth, it is great how you have empowered yourself, through the techniques and principles offered by Universal Medicine to come to understand where the anxiety you had lived with for so long was coming from. Now you no longer need to try to control it but can let it go altogether!
Yes James, ‘understanding’ ourselves and our conditions is great medicine in itself and Universal Medicine brings, through it’s presentations, that understanding very simply. This often brings the first steps to truly healing.
What I love about your blog also Ruth is how you state it was not about fixing the anxiety but loving and caring for yourself. We so often try and fix what is ‘wrong’ with us and in that we simply keep confirming we have to be different than we are. Loving who we are for what we hold inside instead is a complete opposite approach that does fix or offer a solution but that offers true and lasting healing.
I was just having a conversation about that very thing Carolien. We can often go into fix it mode when we think there is something wrong or we desperately want to make something go away. What I have found interesting if I go into what’s wrong or fix it mode, there is an anxiousness there, but I also stay there, I feel locked in. If I just stay with my body and just observe and then curiously ask myself questions, it feels quite different. It comes from knowing that all my body is doing is communicating with me. This way does not impact on who I know myself to be.
I can relate to that Jennifer, when I am in the mode of ‘something is wrong’ then the wanting to fix it only consolidates that. In my body there is all of me and when I connect to this then what I had perceived as ‘wrong with me’ just becomes something to look at and therefor it is not me, in other words I can no longer identify with it.
Ruth it’s great how you share you choose to focus on simple things that bring you back to your body and not put the focus on what scares you. This is a very wise and powerful suggestion for living connected to each moment and not get lost in thoughts, thank you.
I agree sandrawilliamson there is a great deal of beauty in that simplicity, if we choose to live in that way and Ruth is a living example of this.
Ruth thank you for sharing your healing of this now so widely spread problem. Around me I see the levels of anxiety rising and few people have found a way out of this imprisoning reaction. There is no true answer to this problem out there and therefore your sharing is so hugely valuable as it shows that by connecting back to ourselves and the essence that lies within, by building body awareness, we can heal even life long anxiety.
Our body is so powerfully medicinal. It’s all in the quality we are with it in each moment. The more I feel the quality I do things in and make that quality gentle and loving, the more my body responds back in confirming my own natural sweet essence. This in itself takes away any anxiety that is lingering.
What an incredible healing you have given yourself Ruth just by choosing to be with you, no longer identifying with the anxiety as part of who you are. Gently and tenderly caring for ourselves is simple yet very powerful medicine we can employ from moment to moment throughout the day.
I always find it amazing to read how people have changed their lives through the simple things like making different choices. So often we see ourselves as powerless against life, and do not realise that it is our life and we can choose how we live in it. Beautiful, Ruth. Thank you for sharing this.
This is true Naren. Being at the mercy of life and feeling powerless as you say is a very different story to one that is based on a conscious choice to make life about love. Interesting thing though, is that the former is still a choice.
Yes, indeed Sara. We are constantly making choices, we just seem to sometimes have a selective memory about the choices we made which end up with something we don’t actually want in our lives. Then we tend to ask, “but why is this happening to me?” conveniently forgetting the dominoes that we set up for ourselves.
Yes this is so true Naren. It is almost like we think that life is run OUTside of ourselves so when we realise that we have the choice and the power to make it different we begin to understand that it all comes from withIN.
Yes, Kathryn. And that viewpoint of life bing run out there beyond our control is one that we are fed right from the get-go. But the truth is demonstrated by what happens when we change that focus to our inner wisdom and being to live from that.
I agree with your words and feel to repeat them Naren “So often we see ourselves as powerless against life, and do not realize that it is our life and we can choose how we live in it.” There seems to be such profoundity expressed in these words – I sense the true power they have if we but choose.
It always comes down to a choice, Roberta.
Beautiful Ruth. What you say here – “Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing”, is medicine in itself. A great confirmation that how we choose to live can and does affect our health and wellbeing.
Thank you Ruth for sharing. This is such a beautiful example of the power of choice and how empowering and transformative it is when we truly apply this to our lives. What really struck me was the power of simplicity. The simple choice to connect to your body, to take loving care of yourself and to treat yourself with delicacy and preciousness. I love how you describe how your anxiety simply diminished once you began to choose self nurturing and self care. We spend so much time and money trying to fix ourselves when all that is truly needed is to connect to the stillness and preciousness that we already are. So beautiful Ruth. Thank you.
So beautifully expressed annemarie00. This is very healing to connect to who we truly are one of stillness and love. Once we are able to feel this the anxiety becomes obsolete.
Ruth, this is a remarkable testimony to how truly taking care of yourself can literally change everything. I still get anxious sometimes, but interestingly do not see it as a choice and something that I have control over, more as something that just happens – this has really made me think about some parts of my life I may have more choice over than I think I do – thank you.
Caring for ourselves and daring to appreciate ourselves is so fundamental as it is breaking the constant belief that we are not enough and by that opens the door to a totally different approach to life: one of love and responsibility.
A great reminder for when something does not feel right in my body to go back, go underneath to my steadiness. Focusing on the unsettled feeling only feeds it, trying to fight it only keeps it hanging around. Thank you for this Ruth.
So true what you have shared here Leigh, “Focusing on the unsettled feeling only feeds it, trying to fight it only keeps it hanging around.”
Beautiful Ruth, i can feel your steadiness and how this supports you everyday. It feels like a deep knowing of who you are and standing behind it all of the time, also in moment where anxiety can kick in, we can choose to re-connect to our body and feel our steadiness again. This is a wonderful tool. Knowing of who I am, I can handle all things in my life. This blog truly supports me and I feel even a stronger commitment to make sure once I feel reaction or tension in my body to go to my depth of connection and strong steadiness I already have inside, that is just so much better then trying to figure things out (and actually silently continuing this angst).
Anxiousness is so normal for many today that the rich solidness in the body that comes from living who we truly are and honouring that through simple loving choices each and every day is not there. It is instead replaced by a constant angst and raciness that only true self-love and care can cure.
What becomes so clear when reading your blog is that it is never about trying to change the things that do not work in our life full frontal. But that through supporting ourselves in the areas that we are strong in and by being more loving with ourselves and deeply looking after ourselves, through literally taking ourselves by the hand, things, that might have appeared as big issues before, slowly diminish as we do not need them anymore to protect us from the world, because we are starting to stand more firmly on our feet.
Love how you express this Esther! So often we (or at least in my own experience) try to tackle the symptoms or the specific problem as a individual item, but it often requires an approach that considers the whole body and how we are in ‘all’ of life. It’s such a simple thing to look at supporting and caring for ourselves, but the results are so much more than this in the healing it offers us…
So true Esther. By appreciating our strengths we can build on our self-worth and self-love. I love your expression – taking ourselves by the hand. It is this kind of support for ourselves that helps us make more loving choices in our lives. Any issue we have is the outcome of poor choices we have made, so if we live more lovingly it would make sense that they diminish.
I can relate to feeling anxiety as a tension in my muscles – and I do the same to bring myself back, like what you describe here Ruth. I focus more on my body, my breath, supporting myself to let go and surrender with each step I take and each move I make. To feel that I am there for myself is an incredible support as is to work with Simone Benhayon, she is there with you 100%, at times she is more behind me than I am.
Wow, it’s amazing to hear someone with such a background of anxiety claim that it is in fact a choice, not something that just happens randomly. At school, there is a growing amount of people, girls and boys, with anxiety and a lot of them struggle with understanding why it’s happening to them, why it won’t stop, and what you present here Ruth is gold in changing the way we think about anxiety being a monster and us it’s victims.
Yes Susie being at school creates a lot of anxiety within students especially in the finally year of school due to all the pressures placed on students by parents and the school system to do well and achieve high grades. Wouldn’t it be great if along side of studying there was tips on the importance of ensuring you were making loving choices for yourself. If schools really cared for their students this would be a priority and open conversations could then be had resulting in less anxiety.
Very true Anne. I’m just about to enter my last year of GCSEs, and in May/June next year I have to take around 25 exams… The pressure to do well in these is quite intense, and as you said it definitely contributes to a lot of teen anxiety and nervousness. If you think about this, AND the emotional social dramas that happen at this time; it’s pretty intense.
Great point Susie – the understanding presented here by Ruth is a game-changer. What else do we have choice in that we think we don’t?
Yes, Susie, it seems everyone’s awareness is increasing but many people are not equipped to handle what they are perceiving. This applies to all age and equipping yourself so you CAN handle what you are seeing seems to be the way to go – coming back to our body, gaining more trust within ourselves by taking care of ourselves and so on.
That’s a great point Christoph. People’s awarenesses are definitely increasing, but when you take a really close look at the state of the world, it’s not the hardest thing to become overwhelmed by it… For someone to work in the media, and then actually open their eyes to the corruption reading between the lines of every issue, publication or press release – they would have to take responsibility for their part to play in the evil before they could do anything to change it. The first step is sometimes the hardest.
This is a great way of describing this Susie, and this article really highlights how we always have a choice no matter what the situation or illness. Given that we are not educated on this in school and inmost cases at home it really is a God send to have had these teaching presented and lived by Serge Benhayon, Simone, Benhayon and all of Universal Medicine’s practitioners.
So true Susie I too have learnt that we are not a victim to our anxiety that it is a choice to either spiral into it or come back to the body and feel what it is that is being presented for us to do or be that we think we may not be able to handle. Problem is that a lot of people use anxiety as an excuse to not take responsibility for their lives.
An amazing blog Ruth and what a testament to your dedication to you and to what Universal Medicine offers, it is truly life changing. I can feel how wonderful it is proclaim “my trust in myself has grown so much.” What a difference your choices have made.
That is very impressive, you live and describe the science of ‘non-anxiety’, re-building and coming back to the very foundation that doesn´t allow for anxiety to have any hold on you and with further healing and steadiness will not have a cause anymore. Holding yourself with love and presence is not just the cure for, but healing, the cause of anxiety.
We may give up on our body but our body never gives up on us,
Bringing our focus to the body and being present in our body and allowing ourselves to feel what is there rather than escaping it is the antidote to any rumblings of anxiety.
This is what I am finding too Deborah, ‘Bringing our focus to the body and being present in our body and allowing ourselves to feel what is there rather than escaping it is the antidote to any rumblings of anxiety.’
Thank you for sharing, anxiousness is something that can affect me deeply in some times, and I also feel how growing self love and care, does bring a steadiness.
So beautiful and so simple understanding that there making choices can change everything.
Ruth, this is so simply written and it is such a simple message and yet it is so powerful in its humble delivery – thankyou for sharing this, it has left a deep impression on me. I have numbed my feelings so I don’t notice my anxiousness until it is causing painful tension in my shoulders and back – your blog has reminded me to feel it sooner. Connect connect!
The more I have gotten to understand anxiety and its affects, the more I am noticing that almost everyone seems anxious. Some people seem to be better at hiding it than others, but more often than not it tends to be there. I grew up with a Mother that was anxious and I didn’t know it at the time. This state had become so normal to me that I too was not even aware of my own level of anxiousness until attending workshops presented by Serge Benhayon. I can’t image what my experience of anxiousness would be like now had I not started to make the choices to be more present and aware of my body and how I am feeling.
Thanks for this Ruth. What stands out for me is the moment where you not only started taking more care of yourself as part of managing the anxiety but as a way of living. This seems an essential step, to be willing to nurture ourselves NOT because we are unwell but because we are worth nurturing.
Beautiful Joel, we are often so caught up in results that even self care can be “because of what we will get out of it”. I love that you are bringing it back the truth that we are worth nurturing.
This is great sarahraynebaldwin, naming that sneaky part of ourselves that is only willing to put effort into self care to ‘make life better’ or avoid a discomfort eg” “what I get out of it”… its still a selfish approach and so will have limited deep benefit
That is exactly right Joel, it is the false mask of self care, I was a master of it pre UM. I would do all health driven activities with an agenda or to get something out of it come to think of it I used ‘Health’ and held it to ransom when it did not deliver what I had in mind, never stopping to realise that connection may come into play.
Ruth in a few paragraphs you have shared some amazing and practical ways to handle anxiousness. I have had low grade anxiety from a young age, quite constant and so familiar I did not even know I was anxious and I also found ways to avoid triggering it. The most obvious behaviour I had was pacing up and down the hallway of my home, this did not happen too often and when it did occur I was too anxious to feel I was anxious. I mostly use anxiousness to avoid being honest about what I am feeling, it was Serge Benhayon that shared this insight into anxiousness and I have put it into practice and found it effective to ask myself what it is I am not wanting to feel – as soon as I feel it I find the anxiousness dissolves. I also like the practical and body focused approach you have used Ruth of connecting with your hands and feet – this could be done anywhere and at anytime -pure gold- thank you.
Thank you Ruth for sharing how you have been truly healing anxiety, not pushing it down to re-appear in another way or time.
And how treating the underlying issue that caused the anxiety is so pertinent to permanently healing anxiety. Most treatments available nowadays focus on the anxiety and don’t go deeper to find the root cause, therefore not truly healing the choice to be anxious. This is what turned things around for me, going underneath the anxiety and making changes to the way that I was living, bringing in more loving choices and care for myself.
Amazing Ruth this is a very valuable insight into how we can cure anxiety. By making loving choices and building them more and more into our days, we develop our loving way.
This morning I asked someone how they were and they answered “I’m all right. It’s all the others”. I have heard this several times and although it is often said jokingly it pretty much sums up how we tend to live. To begin to put the focus on how we feel inside and honour that is a big turn-around. As we begin to see our emotions and reactions and realise that they are not who we are, we can begin to make choices that support us. Your simple continued self-care has created a foundation that has anxiety hardly making a show and it is beautiful to feel this in your blog Ruth.
Ruth I really love what you have shared here and I can relate to the anxiousness as I used it often in the past and it became a vicious cycle where I was constantly feeding it with either my thoughts or how I pushed and drove myself in nearly everything that I did. You could say I was addicted to stress and used it to side step responsibility in my life. Now that I am learning more and more that it is simply a choice that I am making to take myself into stress when there is really no need, as the situation is not asking me to do that at all. So if I start to into it, I just call it out and tell myself, my soul wouldn’t take me into stress, that’s an old way of being, come back to love.
An amazing story Ruth – many people suffer from anxiety, and it is something that they just put up with, often it is an almost constant companion. What you have described is simple and yet amazingly effective – thank you for sharing.
Great sharing Ruth. Only this morning I was having a session with a wonderful esoteric practitioner and we were discussing my levels of anxiety and how I keep going back into old patterns, and we came to the same conclusion, it is not a matter of fixing it but beginning to make loving choices and being gentle with myself, in other words to stop bashing myself because I am not perfect! Being anxious is a choice, and once we get to the realisation that this is the case, then there can be no stopping us making the simple day to day choices to claim our power back and begin to initiate the little everyday things to love, cherish and respect ourselves for who we truly are, and to stop living under the illusion of who we think we are. Thank you Ruth Ketnor, your blog has been very timely in supporting me, and I am sure many others, in our return to love.
Great blog, Ruth. Thank you for sharing. I love the insight you came to:
“I am now aware and can feel how it is a choice I am making and I can change that choice at any time, whereas before it just seemed to happen to me.”
It completely changes the whole ballgame when we realize we are in the drivers seat 24/7. Nobody and nothing to blame left, just us and the choices we make.
Anxiety has been a major issue for me and some days it has it’s event and struts it stuff – as you say Ruth the condition no longer owns me and I no longer chase the fix. What my body needs is more love to build more steadiness and strength – knowing this is a choice and with the guidance and support of Universal Medicine it feels like there is more and more improvement to come.
Beautiful Ruth. Anxiety is something that has plagued most people throughout their lives and for me there was never a true solution until I also started working with Serge Benhayon and the practitioners at the Universal Medicine clinic. Building a body of love is the key to understanding and getting on top of feelings like anxiety, and also learning to understand where anxiety comes from and how it affects our day to day life. I can now discern when I am going into anxiety as the changes in my body are noticeable and as you so beautiful shared Ruth, we have the tools to bring ourselves back to our foundation of steadiness that we have built through loving choices.
Thank you Ruth for writing this blog. I have allowed myself to be dominated by anxiety and nervousness for most of my life. Through attending Universal Medicine workshops and Esoteric practitioners I have come to understand what anxiety and nervousness are. I have also developed a foundation for myself that supports me in those moments when I feel anxiety arising in my body. Having an understanding of what anxiety and nervousness are, combined with the foundation I have built for myself, are changing the way I live. I have come a long way with much more to come. I no longer fear anxiety and yes there is a choice to be made when it is there. A choice for me, that now comes from me.
Wow, to come to a point of knowing “I have realised that anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction that I can have a choice over.” is so beautiful to hear Ruth. Such a sweet sound to my ears.
It is a very powerful statement, Suzanne, one that is full of taking responsibility.
Thank you Ruth for sharing your journey. It surely is an amazing one and one that I am sure continues as you deepen your self care. I know a few people who suffer from anxiety and have seen how debilitating it can be. So well done to you for making the choices you have. You are an inspiration.
‘Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.’ This has also been my experience Ruth. Although I have not experienced the same anxiety as you, choosing to look after myself and take more care of me has had a diminishing effect on my stress, work related anxieties and issues with time.
Thank you for sharing this Ruth, I feel that from this sharing you may help many people to understand that anxiety is not part of them and that your lovely practical tips will also help them rid their bodies of it also. I used to constantly work in an anxious state when I had lots to do, sometimes I think I almost enjoyed this form of stimulation. Now thanks to Universal Medicine practitioners also I have come to grips with why I have it and how to avoid it. It sometimes creeps back in but I notice it very quickly now as it definitely feels wrong in my body.
‘Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.’ Deeply connecting to, and loving and caring for ourselves, brings powerful healing as your inspiring blog reveals. Thank you Ruth.
What a super supportive sharing Ruth. I had a patch of a month or two in my early 20’s where I experienced panic attacks and had there been an article like this available it would have been the hugest gift. I love feeling in your story how ‘fixing’ the anxiety is not it – and that there is an ever deepening body awareness for you to keep choosing and settling into. Inspiring.
This is just so lovely to read – as the simplicity in purely loving & caring for yourself can help bring steadiness & balance back into your life. Thanks for writing this Ruth – just to show that we are not the anxiety but it is simply a behaviour from not feeling we can deal with life, which simply brings it back to our bodies, to care & nurture ourselves.
“Anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction that I can have a choice over” – this is amazing. This is what I love about esoteric healing – it is always about bringing out who we truly are. Thank you very much for your beautiful sharing, Ruth.
Ruth, I feel what you are sharing here, the commitment you made to choosing to make different choices that supported you, rather than feeding your reactions to your anxiety further, is something that can equally apply to other ‘behaviours’ that we may struggle with. The more we build and add to our foundation of love, we will feel the steady warmth from all our loving choices, giving us stability when we’re challenged.
‘I am now aware and can feel how it is a choice I am making and I can change that choice at any time, whereas before it just seemed to happen to me’.
I love this sentence, and the power in it. Ruth shows us that it isn’t just about saying that it is a choice to be anxious or not, but knowing that in an absolute way, and living in a way that makes it true.
Ruth, I feel that there are many people (myself included) who experience anxiety in varying degrees, often not debilitating but nevertheless still present in our bodies. What you have shared is medicine for all of us who at different times feel anxiousness in our bodies.
Thanks for your candid sharing Ruth, and some supportive tips for changing our relationship with anxiety. I’ve learned so much about what anxiety is from Serge Benhayon and had some great support from the Gentle Breath Meditation for dealing with an ongoing low level anxiety that was ever present for many years. This link is to some gentle breath meditations that have proved invaluable for me http://www.unimedliving.com/meditation/free/meditation-for-anxiety-and-stress
Ruth, I hope you can appreciate just how much you’ve achieved here. I loved reading how you very gentle and lovingly started to change your life through making different choices. You didn’t allow your anxiety to define you, instead, you realised that it was something you could change, as it isn’t who you are. Your commitment to yourself is just beautiful.
‘Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.’
Enjoy feeling so much more of gorgeous YOU, Ruth.
Thank you Alison and Ruth, I agree, our anxiety or nervous tension, is dealt with by simply making ‘loving choices’, and not being caught in the drama of our emotions.
Anxiety can be a debilitating thing when we hand our power over to it, it’s something that I have learnt doesn’t define a person however, when you feel it it’s difficult to see outside to the bigger picture of what is happening. It’s truly beautiful and deeply worth appreciating the difference you have found in self love, so that you are not just managing life anymore but rather living more fully in it ~ as your natural self and without the heaviness of the ideals. So so lovely!
That’s great Cherise, it is true how when we are in it, it is hard to see another way. Having the tools to just come back to who I am have been amazing for me and as I deepen this connection to myself, it is easier and easier to catch anxiety before it really gets going. Understanding and living this from the presentations of Serge Benhayon, this is the truth of Universal Medicine.
Ruth, you are a walking, breathing, living example of how with honesty, love, and responsibility, anxiety doesn’t have to be the state of daily being that most people accept. Unfortunately, most people tell themselves and are told that anxiety needs to be fixed and to fix it you need to to fight it. This approach doesn’t allow us to feel what it is doing to our bodies, nor does it allow us to feel who we truly are underneath that all and how it is therefore a choice. Thanks to Universal Medicine and all the people choosing to live with more love, there is a way to live without the abuse and harm. I love how your choices to build more and more love into the way you are with yourself has supported you to not have anxiety in your life the way you did before.
Really cool to read your blog Ruth, thank you for sharing.
‘I have realised that anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction that I can have a choice over.’ This is an incredible realisation to have come to and thank you for sharing all the self loving choices you have made to get there. I can feel how I still hold onto the belief that anxiety is something that happens to me and that there’s nothing I can do about it. But I’m more and more aware of how it is something that I choose. Building a foundation of love for myself is so supportive in not experiencing anxiety.
Ruth, the steadiness you describe, is palpable upon reading this article. I can completely appreciate and relate to how these self nurturing choices help develop a strength within which soon becomes what you make following choices from. Now when I look back I realise how far I have come and how much has changed without actually really changing anything itself other than a further commitment to the way I choose to hold and look after myself.
Ruth, it’s AMAZING to feel how far you have come from the way you describe yourself before you had support from Universal Medicine. I am sure we all experience anxiety to varying degrees, I know I have and do! To support ourselves with self-care and self-nurture is not generally an angle discussed when dealing with anxiety, but from my own experience this approach has also worked wonders.
So very beautifully timely Ruth. I have returned to university and old patterns have been knocking at the door asking to be let in. So familiar it is for me to get anxious. I was a terrified child, and used to go through the house three and four times before bed checking the locks. Insomnia ‘struck’ at age 7 after the death of family members. My family simply did not know what to do with such an anxious child.
As an adult I learned to cope and get by- barely. But since becoming a student of Universal Medicine I have learned that there is such a depth to me, such strength and grace that I cannot give in to the ragged desperation of anxiousness any longer.
If and when it strikes I know what needs to be done to support me.
Your blog has confirmed that truth, holding a mirror up to the beauty of my life today and where I came from.
Hi Ruth, I too have suffered from anxiety for many years on and off. It is only over the past couple of years where I can say I have it under control thanks to Serge Benhayon and the Universal Medicine Practitioners who have supported me through this. Much like you I started to focus on the gentle breath or take myself for a walk. I have since found that recognising the signs I can deter it from happening, also believing in myself and learning self loving and nurturing techniques and appreciating the amazing person I am has changed how much I value myself. Thank you for sharing Ruth.
Great sharing! Anxiety, oh the story of all of our lives. The feeling of anxiety/anxiousness is incredibly disempowering and is so distressing and tiring. Anxiety used to be underneath everything that I did or said, I had thought it was me. I always felt anxious because I couldn’t feel me, I had developed a way of being where I was constantly in reaction to everything I felt happening around me. This ‘steadiness’ that you have mentioned is so beautiful because I have found that this is the way I have let go of a lot of anxiousness as well, feeling the steady feeling of me and that I am actually okay. Anxiousness is still present in every day, but I have a different relationship with it now, because I have been developing the ‘steadiness’ of me. Building the trust in myself and accepting that I am steady, joy-full and amazing has helped me see what I may be anxious about and that the anxiousness is not me, but it is instead presenting something to me.
Ruth that’s truly inspiring and just shows the true power we have. I loved reading this part “to really listen to my body and what I felt was right for me, rather than doing what I thought was expected or that I should do: it’s amazing how these have underpinned most of my decisions and choices in life.” I agree, it’s amazing for me also to look at how many decisions were based off my ‘supposed to’s’. I also loved reading the part where you talked to yourself “it’s a choice, Ruth” .. You do it so gently.
What I understand from your blog Ruth Ketnor is that the quality of my inner connection gives me the steadiness that does support me in life. Any anxiety that I experience is then because I have lost this inner connection and am trying to fulfill any requirement from the outside world through the ideals and beliefs I have taken on. The last is what I have done for a great part of my life and I have experienced a lot of anxiousness. I can now see that what you so clearly have presented is the way to go and by by making the constant choices to care for myself and for my body will make me more connected with the love that I cary deep within. The love that will not allow any anxiety to be in my body as it is harming to me in many different ways.
This is what I have found too Ruth to focus on caring and looking after my body the mind and it’s games diminishes and the feeling of love inside and the steadiness grows. This kicks into touch the visualisation/ positive talk ways of trying to fix anxiety rather than taking it to the body. So simple!
Ruth this is such an incredibly supportive blog and a true testament of the commitment you have to live life lovingly empowered. Awesome. The bit that really got me was when you share ‘my anxiety is at a level where I feel it as a tension in my muscles, for example in my arms and across my shoulders”. I know that I do not pay enough attention to when this happens to me and you have inspired me through your example to do so – to say to myself “Michelle – this is just a choice!” Thank you.
I love this Ruth. It’s so great to read of the way you have cared for yourself and uncovered the underlying pattern of anxiety. The steadiness you speak of is present in your writing, and feels like an amazing foundation that you now live from. Very inspiring. Thank you.
Thank you Ruth, how powerful is the simplicity of living our life in love with ourselves. I have wasted a lot of energy by going in anxiety and trying to fix it. Just like you being inspired by Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon I now know I am in command, I have a choice, anxiety is not who I am, but as you say always a choice. The more I build this foundation of self love and care for my body the more I choose to not go in anxiety and choose the steadiness.
Thank you Ruth for sharing so openly, it feels so supportive to hear of the ways in which you have introduced more and more love and understanding into your life and the impact that has made on how you live, very inspiring!
Lovely inspirational blog thank you Ruth. I have anxiety too and really get what you are saying about building love in your body from which trust in yourself comes – it really feels great to realise I can influence how it goes when I feel it coming – it’s very empowering.
This is so powerful for us all because most people have felt some level of anxiousness in our lives. The understanding that we have a choice to go into it is so helpful to me too, to know it is not me, it’s a reaction I can chose to go to..or not.
I love the practicality that is shared throughout this blog. It makes it relatable for many people as anxiety is a big issue through life. I didn’t realise how much I was using anxiety to not feel my body until a few years ago and since then like you, Ruth with the support of Universal Medicine practitioners, I have discovered self love and care is the antidote. Thank you Ruth for a deeply inspiring blog and wonderful to see you fly 🙂
Ruth it was really great reading your blog as I’ve also been an anxious person that would often be on edge about different situations, meetings etc. It’s also incredible to see the changes that you’ve made and through the love and care you take of yourself the big difference that has made. The simple fact of coming back and feeling the body when you start to notice you get a tension in the body. As you summed it up so clearly “Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.”
Indeed all of our choices affect our health and our body, each choice is either harming or supporting our body. For me, in the past all my choices were harming my body, and I was in a constant state of anxiety. But now that I have learned to be self-loving, (having attended Universal Medicine courses) all my choices are now geared to support my body lovingly…. Self love can heal anxiety, self love is the healing ingredient.
Thanks Ruth, this is a beautiful and very clear example of healing… anxiety is a very debilitating condition and what you share makes sense. Most of us take for granted the foundation you talk about, but reading your blog gives an appreciation of what this means in a practical sense and what it can look like to truly heal something. What I particularly like is that you are the one empowered with your own healing.. something Universal Medicine and it’s practitioners excel at offering.
The phrase – we are our own worst enemy – has a lot of truth in it. When I have had to speak or sing in front of groups, I have felt the anxiety build up in me. Heart palpitations and shallow breath. It does show how strongly we influence the body by the bleiefs that we have. The anxiety is the body is giving us a signal that there is an ill belief to be looked at and let go of. The ill belief is there because we stopped loving ourselves and placed that belief in that love shaped hole. I am getting that everything is in the relationship with the body. Without deeply inhabiting it, we are lost like leaves in the wind, being blown whichever way.
Thank you Ruth, for sharing your experience of anxiety and panic attacks, Heartfelt congratulations on your tender loving journey back to the true you. Anxiety and panic attacks were part of my life for many years, less so now. This was partly helped by a workshop I attended with Tanya Curtis last year which helped me to understand myself more and the roots of anxiety. But also my commitment to consistently love and care for myself has built a steady foundation, making anxiety and panic attacks almost a thing of the past, but not completely.
Last night at 12.45 am, I woke up with a panic attack. When I reflected, I saw that doubt had planted a seed in my mind about my capacity to meet some unexpected changes the following day. It was helpful to feel this again as it taught me to be more self loving in the present and not be lurching into the future. I observed that as I wrote my blog comments early yesterday morning, the panic subsided and eventually cleared. My fears about myself and how I would meet what was ahead of me, were unfounded. All there was to do was to be myself, and meet all that was presented with openness and love. When the day ended I had baked a delicious almond and cherry cake for my client.
Your simple description of how you have diminished your anxiety and increased your
steadiness simply by bringing more love and care to your self will be a great support to readers suffering from anxiety and panic attacks, Ruth and, let’s face it, many in our society do suffer from these. Your answer is clearly outlined and very do-able. Awesome insights and learning.
Ruth, I am sure that your wonderful blog will be so supportive for anyone suffering from anxiety. I for one would have loved to have discovered its wisdom, back in my 30’s when I was suffering from severe anxiety and occasional panic attacks. At that time I didn’t consider that the anxiety wasn’t me and that I did have a choice, I simply thought it was out of my control. Now, like you, with the shared wisdom of Serge Benhayon: “I have realised that anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction that I can have a choice over”. What a life changing understanding it has been for you and will be for many others.
Yes, this blog is truly healing for so many people everywhere who are open to taking an honest look at the responsibility of their own choices. Labelling ourselves as anxious holds us back from uncovering how amazing we really are and the power we are yet to bring to a situation.
Yes Ingrid, the point Ruth makes about the anxiety not being her is crucial, since we can identify with it and just accept its how we are. When we realize it is a reaction we have a choice over, then everything changes because now we see we are in the driving seat.
Beautifully empowering sharing. Although we may not understand it at first, the fact is that anxiety is a choice. Of course it may not seem this way to someone who has experienced long term levels of anxiousness but that is only because we have slowed our body to be configured in such a way that it no longer knows any other state of being. The key with anxiousness is not to judge when we are in such a state but to build a relationship with it – a relationship that is built on observing what is going on and allowing ourselves to get comfortable with just feeling what is going on. In time we start to see that the anxiety is a choice that we make in order to stop ourselves from feeling other things that by comparison we feel we are ill equipped to cope with.
Great point Adam that anxiety is always a choice. Could it be a choice that we have made over and over again to not truly shine, to not truly be all of ourselves, to play small in the world. Now this is a different take on anxiety. As I write this, I can feel that these are the choices that I have made to be less when I choose anxiety. Remembering this and looking at anxiety in this way I can see it is much easier to make a different choice when anxiety creeps in. The anxiety is another way to keep us individual and to not feel the whole.
Thanks for what you have added here Adam, firstly, understanding that it is in fact a choice, perhaps not a direct choice to be anxious, but the choice to not feel what is going on, so this comes back to all of the small choices we make – moment by moment. Secondly, the automatic judgement/reaction to what we are feeling which takes us further away from being able to feel what is happening. As a long term experienced user of anxiety, I can see clearly how my lack of love for myself led to choices that numbed me from feeling and that allows the space for me to be anxious, amongst other things. Many thanks to Serge Benhayon for showing there is another way.
‘Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.’ Summed up beautifully Ruth.
I also loved this Kehinde2012. How what is not truly us simply falls away and diminishes when we connect to our preciousness through self care and nurturing.
Ruth – I love the simplicity and practicality of your article, this is very supportive to read. It is gorgeous to read about the turnaround you made in your life from living with anxiety to feeling steady and enjoying your days, the power of caring for ourselves and listening to our bodies is amazing.
Your new found understanding and nurturing moments are gold and something most people (well, I can only speak for myself..), could learn to benefit from, anxious or not.
You’re starting at the right end, ~ loving yourself, instead of ‘attacking’ the anxiousness.
Thank you for an inspiring blog about coming back to steadiness and building love for ourselves from within.
A truly supportive and inspiring blog Ruth. Anxiety is an issue that is prevalent in society and a bill board of your blog would be a great turning point for many who feel overwhelmed with the grip they allow anxiety to have. I relate so well to what you share here and know the truth in what you share as this has also been my experience.
“Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.”
For me in the ‘trying to fix it’ the anxiety actually became enhanced as I created more anxiety with in the ‘fixing’. In making loving choices and caring for myself the anxiety has most naturally diminished. A beautiful and profound sharing.
“In making loving choices and caring for myself the anxiety has most naturally diminished” as it withdraws the breeding ground for anxiety – the absence of being and hence trusting oneself.
Indeed Beverley, Anxiety is everywhere today. Many are trying to have things look and be a certain way and so can get so anxious if things don’t quite go to plan, or even if there is a chance they won’t we start to worry. It is a vicious cycle. Trying to fix it definitely does not work, whereas what you have shown is that by being more loving and caring with yourself it goes away. It is something many of us can learn from and do more of ourselves.
“I have realised that anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction that I can have a choice over.” This is HUGE. We are led to believe – or could it be that it is comfort or a convenient excuse for a lack of responsibility / self responsibility (I know this to be true on my part) – that anxiety, stress or whatever it may be, e.g. anger issues ( I often hear people refer to kids having this) etc. are not true – it is not who we are, it is what we knowingly choose. Wowser and a potentially big pill to swallow for many. I love it, it’s asking us to be accountable. It is so easy to play the ‘it’s not my fault’ game.
Having a choice over anxiety is my favourite part of this blog. I know from experience how strong anxiousness can be and it can feel like it has a grip physiologically as well as emotionally and I would still say it is something I have a choice over. Ruth you propose some great ways to choose where you put your attention – with your body and this especially addresses and can transform the physiological raciness. I agree Gyl that anxiousness can be used to play the ‘it’s not my fault game’, used as a convenient excuse to avoid being self responsible, especially self responsible to what I am feeling and what I may need to speak up about.
It is already revolutionary (as presented by Serge Benhayon) that reactions and emotions are NOT who we are. Hello ?! This revelation sets humanity free from the stranglehold of identification with the intensities of life and the emotional rollercoaster we so often feel to be the victim of without having a true say in it. It is taking away the ‘watertight’ excuse of not having a choice and therefore responsibility.
With so many people experiencing anxiety this is a really important blog Ruth so that we can all see that anxiety isn’t normal and we don’t have to live with it. This is important for children to be aware of as well as adults as anxiety often starts when we are young and can go unchecked for many years as we learn different strategies to try and mask and control it. As you say, which is also my experience, attempting to control anxiety doesn’t work but understanding it does.
I agree shevonsimon, anxiety is rising and becoming more and more extreme. This blog by Ruth shines a very needed light on what can empower anyone to let go of thinking that being anxious is ‘normal’ or something they have to put up with.
It blows me away how much the world would change if self love and love was the foundation of everything, imagine medical systems, education, governments, families, homes, work places, relationships, levels of health and vitality … everything would change.
Yes Gyl, and at first glance that may seem pie in the sky or utopian but the truth is, if we ever want change, it has to begin with each of us first… and without self love and love as our own foundation… we will just keep producing more of the same.
Yes Jenny Ellis, having a solid foundation Of Love (in the body) cannot be pushed over. A foundation must be completely true (equal for all) with no stone left unturned. Transparent to the bone – open to the world. Be willing to see everything. Not holding back for anyone – having a go and discovering your power-in-truth and equalness. Anxiousness drives from not being your power.
Yes spot on Rik… it changed a lot for me to discover that was the underlying reason for anxiety.
Everything would indeed change, but let’s not forget that it takes only one person to be self- loving for many many others to get this reflection and way of living… how many people do you inspire in your life Gyl or in my own life and all those students as we all make more self-loving choices….. a lot of loving reflections…..
Gyl I totally agree we would have heaven on earth. As above so below. As within so without.
Dear Ruth, I appreciate so much what you have done for yourself, and that you share it with the world. What you have revealed is able to change the world profoundly. From feeling anxiety to trusting yourself, knowing that it is your own choice and developing trust through feeling your body. Very revealing to realize, that anxiety is not something that comes from the body, although it seems to feel exactly like this. But the body is “just” in reaction to an energy. So anxiety is an reaction to energy, but the reaction of the body is a marker for its ability to feel everything. This itself is beautiful and learning to trust the body brings a truthful new life for ourselves and humanity.
Even before reading the blog I smiled, “Healing Anxiety with Self Love” because I know this is true. Self love is the key to everything, from there love then grows.
So true Gyl, self-love and building conscious presence, heart and mind in union is the key to living the love that we are.
When I am steady and strong within myself anxiety is nowhere to be found. If I lose the steadiness that I have built for myself or disregard my routines and rhythms that support the steadiness I can find myself feeling anxious in situations and circumstances that I would normally feel fine in.
This is an interesting article because it shows that we are programmed to believe that problems or conditions like anxiety come to us from an external situation, however they come from us and we choose how we want to be in each moment, it is always our choice. It is such a beautiful reminder in self responsibility and that we don’t have to be a victim of our emotions or indulge in them. We can choose how we want to feel at any time. A very empowering blog thank you.
This is a beautiful article. So simple, inspiring and accessible. I have manifested many behaviours in my life as reactions, and in the years preceding meeting Serge Benhayon they dominated my life. Nowadays they are whispers that cut across my view, but I am in the driving seat and developing the authority to be there!
‘Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.’
Thank you, Ruth.
Yes I have never been able to think myself out of anxiety no matter how hard I tried. But loving myself has slowly been the only medicine that has ever worked. Admittedly it has taken time to build it (and in seemingly small increments) yet every fraction has been worth it and continues to transform my life beyond belief.
Thank you so much Ruth, I especially loved reading the part about when you speak to yourself, saying it is a choice. There is a definite quality of care and tenderness in your words, but most of all an understanding of who you are.
There is clearly a choice that sets in to vacate or to remain with our body. When i leave my body (check-out) i am not equipped to cope with anything before me for i am not with me and i am not present nor allowing myself to connect to what i am feeling. When i choose to remain with me and love me more, i feel connected, equipped and there isn’t a whiff of anxiety.
Thank you Ruth for sharing how learning to love and care for yourself and build a steadiness that you can easily return to if you recognise symptoms of anxiety has transformed your life. I have never had a panic attack but feel that prior to attending Universal Medicine presentations I lived with a constant level of low-lying anxiety that flared up whenever I was presented with a situation that I felt unsure about which was pretty much a daily occurrence. As I have built a foundation of self-love for myself with the loving support of Esoteric Practitioners this has gradually diminished and I feel I have so much more to offer now that I am not consumed by self-doubt and anxiety.
“…When I could feel the anxiety rising I started to bring myself back to my body by feeling my hands and feet…”
I totally relate to this Ruth because I do the same. My job in aviation can be quite anxiety provoking, and I have realised that the more connected I feel and actually am with my body, in that I’m not thinking about something while my body does something else, then the less I feel anxious about what the future holds. I have experimented and know without doubt that it is indeed a choice to experience anxiety or not, no matter the degree it affects the person. It is being present, my mind and body operating together that does not allow the energy of anxiousness to get a hold on me; this I have learned from Serge Benhayon and the world of difference in my life now is astonishing.
I do just have to share here too, because I love this blog so much! that being in my body and not the mind really is the key to not being in anxiousness. In my body there is a solidness and a steadiness and a knowing of who I am that I can hold in any situation, past, present or future and I don’t have to worry about anything when I give myself the permission to embrace this as totally me and totally normal.
I too have to comment again Cheriseholt (and I love this blog Too), why, because I felt to and now I am anxious. Why am I anxious? Because I felt to comment again from my body, and I “thought” I cannot because I commented recently above. Crazy when we go against ourselves and what we have to offer. I feel my power now – a whole lot better than anxiousness.
“This steadiness is growing as I continue to build love and I find more and more I stay steady in situations that before would have completely thrown me: my trust in myself has grown so much.” This is beautiful Ruth, thankyou for sharing so honestly. To understand that anxiety etc is not us, and that we have a choice is pure gold.
How amazing is it to bring our love and compassion to ourselves in a situation, surely this is how life is meant to be?! Never about being hard on ourselves or in disarray over what we think we should be like or should be doing. The more light we are with ourselves as we learn more and more about who we are throughout life, the more we allow ourselves to just breathe and just be in life and this to me is something truly precious and beautiful.
I’d like to say I’d always lived this way but it’s just not the case, anxiety and panic attacks were something that I used to hold myself back in life from truly being glorious but it wasn’t like that when I was a small child (beaming with love and joy) and it’s not a label that has to define me these days either. Super cool!
Thank you Ruth for this beautiful blog as anxiety and feeling anxious is such a big thing. “It is a choice, Ruth”. These words stood out for me and I will take them with me every time I feel anxiousness in my body. It just shows me that I made the choice to no longer be present and this also means that I can make the choice again to be.
Wow Ruth what a blessing your article is! Anxiety has such a strong influence on us and our life if we let it flow. Lovely to read about your journey to let it go and that everything matters – especially our everyday little and big choices like what food we eat (love your way to express your realization: I can eat “foods to support myself rather than feed my reactions”!). It does not make sense to focus on ‘the problem’ so to say, like on anxiety in your case, because then we are all the time with the same energy working – we have to go to the root cause of it. “Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.” We can let our ‘problems’ dissolve like snow in the sun by connecting who we truly are, accepting and expressing us.
Thanks to Universal Medicine, its Practioners and Modalities who and which support us here and are leading the way. And thank you Ruth for sharing.
Right on Sandra “Thanks to Universal Medicine, its Practioners and Modalities who and which support us here and are leading the way.” the profound deep healing my body and expression have experienced, and my utmost trust in God again is nothing short of miraculous – this quality will continue to the end of days too. I am now Universal Medicine; a Practitioner; and many (walking) Modalities. I am also One leading the Way.
Oh yes you are Rik. And the natural lovely authority in your words are a balsam for all of us. Here speaks a well claimed loving being which makes sure his life is a universal medicine for the world – no space for doubt or anxiety here. Love it.
Thank you Ruth. A beautiful example of how the presentations by Serge Benhayon and healing sessions with an esoteric practitioner can support us in reconnecting to our body and understanding the underlying cause of our problems. I can feel the strength in your words “my trust in myself has grown so much.”
Congratulations Ruth for your healing journey. What you share is both practical and inspiring. You powerfully share that it is not by focussing and working on the issue that resolves the problem but reconnecting through your body to what you are truly feeling within – your innermost.
An amazing testimony of the power we have to choose differently. The simplicity with how you eliminated the ground on which your anxiety was acting on is groundbreaking and an amazing example in a world where medication is the norm. The world is so much concerned with fixing problems that the understanding for the bigger picture is lost. As you say “trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.” If we choose love and care as our way of life then this is the reflection we are getting on a daily basis and anxiety or any other ailment has no fertile ground to maintain its existence.
I love this line: “Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing.” I have found this too, deeply caring for and loving myself has naturally healed many issues with anxiety and confidence that were there before without trying to. Thank you for sharing Ruth.
“How I live affects my life” – this is something we don’t often pay much attention to. We can get caught up in the doing and making choices without really reflecting on what choices we are making and how this affects our lives. I know I used to be one of those people. But things have now changed, since I met Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine, I now work on my choices to take care of myself and love myself. Just simple loving choices can transform one’s life, it did mine.
‘I developed an understanding of eating foods to support myself rather than feed my reactions and emotions’ this sentence caught my eye – food is a challenge for many of us – we are so used to eating for comfort when we are anxious or, for some, not eating because we’ve ‘lost our appetite’. Eating sugar can bring us down, can even cause panic attacks, but sometimes we eat sugary foods (including fruit) to ‘lift’ our mood, forgetting the crash that will always follow. Breaking that addictive cycle can be difficult and nurturing ourselves rather than tackling the problem head on is a great way to start.
Yeah food, thats a big one Carmel, I think we can all relate to the strong links between being anxious or nervous and using food to try cover it up. It’s not even the food we eat but the way we eat it.
Yes definitely agree Sarahraynebaldwin, food is an issue I contend with daily.. I also feel, throughout the day, how people are living and what comes through their actions and expression. I can feel how sensitive they are, and what they choose by harming themself surprises me. This force can take me away from feeling good. You wonder why we ALL suffer from some grade of anxiousness because of what we have to feel from each other.
With anxiety being such common place, Ruth there are thousands of people who would benefit from reading your blog. Anxiety can be debilitating, but before Universal Medicine I had never heard of anyone talking of self-care and self-love being the remedy. Imagine how much less medication people could be on if they all practised what you have shared. Learning to truly connect with our body and love is the key to healing.
It’s very true Donna, the somewhat simple philosophy of learning to love ourselves and make loving choices begins the healing process on so many levels in our bodies, and it brings awareness to the level of anxiousness that most people have just accepted as normal. It isn’t normal of course and once we have developed a foundation of love as Ruth shares, anxiousness becomes something we can actually choose not to go in to. Life changing.
Thank you Ruth and Donna, I agree self care and self-love is great start, also go to!
http://www.unimedliving.com/meditation/free/meditation-for-anxiety-and-stress
This is GOLD Ruth ~ “Trying to fix the anxiety didn’t work, but by loving and caring for myself it has naturally been diminishing” How often do we try and ‘fix’ things and keep coming up against a brick wall. The key is in connection and building a loving relationship with ourselves.
Agreed Sara, it is absolute gold, and the steadiness that Ruth writes about is palpable in her writing.
Absolutely Sandra my experience are that all those strategies like checking or over preparing and worrying are our mind’s solutions to not be able to deal with what is happening in the moment. So indeed connection to the present moment is the key
‘Trying and fixing’ basically are an attempt to get control over something without truly changing anything and definitely not healing the underlying root cause.
I was under the illusion that anxiety was not a problem for me! Then I began attending presentations by Serge Benhayon and it wasn’t long before I was sweating like I was in a sauna, my hands would be sticky in no time after washing, I needed a change of clothes if I was going to be somewhere for a long time, it was in my face and I had it bad. Fast forward a few years and I can still feel when I am anxious, but it is much less than previously. As you write Ruth, it was never about fixing my anxiety, it has only ever been about being more of who I already am and that allows less space for the anxiety and everything else that I am not.
‘it was never about fixing my anxiety, it has only ever been about being more of who I already am and that allows less space for the anxiety and everything else that I am not.’ I agree Mark, the foundation of self-love which Ruth writes about supports us to be more of who we are and not react and take on everything we are not. When we choose self-love there is naturally less space for anxiety and everything we are not.
Exactly Mark, it only makes sense that until there is no longer any separation from the enormity of who we already are there is bound to be some space for anxiety.
‘When I could feel the anxiety rising I started to bring myself back to my body by feeling my hands and feet, how my body was moving, how my food tasted and felt in my mouth – just simple things that brought my focus back to me rather than the situation that was scaring me.’ This is a great way to deal with anxiety. I love what you have shared here Ruth. You have shown we always have a choice and that everything is connected to how we choose to live.
Katinka, what you say is true. The moment anxiety arises, make a conscious choice to focus attention away from the concern and towards ourselves or being fully present in activity often helps to bring us back into balance.
Ruth thank you for writing this – the timing is perfect – I often get anxious just before the full moon and right now I am in one of these ‘dips’. I don’t normally consider myself an anxious person but there are definite times when I am feeling very low, I react to the smallest criticism, feel that I’m rubbish at everything I do, and although I know it’s not me, I have great difficulty pulling myself out of this black mood. Your blog reminds me so beautifully not to tackle the anxiousness but to be very nurturing, gentle with everything and to go for a walk in nature where I can stop and listen to the birds.
You know, this is amazing Ruth. Over many years I read stacks of books on personal development, spirituality, religion and whatever else I could find to ‘improve’ my life. And yet, a humble man from Goonellabah NSW (Serge Benhayon) has been the catalyst to show many of us how we can turn our lives around by simply loving and taking care of ourselves. Yet self-love was never mentioned, let alone highlighted, in all of those books I used to read.
Would any of the thousands who have made remarkable life changes as a result of Serge Benhayon’s presentations and inspiration believed it was possible by adopting such a simple approach to life? Probably not.
So Ruth, maybe your story is not so amazing after all, because perhaps you have shared with us what a ‘normal’ life should really look like. What is amazing is why humans have resisted love for far too long.
A great point Rod. We invest endlessly in finding an answer to our woes – perhaps looking for the fireworks and sophisticated theorems and fixes yet how many of us walk straight by the common sense we all know and the wisdom of our body which is very clear in showing us constantly the choices we are making and have lived.
It is interesting that it has taken one man – Serge Benhayon, to present the importance of listening to our body, of nurturing ourselves and self-love for us to return our awareness to the fact we have a body let alone one to deeply honour and future. How is it possible that our natural way of being has become foreign to us? And how have we become so dismissive of the importance of our body – a body with us for a lifetime.
I love that Rod, as it is true, we look in all corners and find all these complex techniques, courses and stacks of books and yet nothing has shown us what Serge Benhayon did. It is that simple….loving and taking care of ourselves is the best medicine in the world.
Yes. It is so simple isn’t it. Take great care of you and recognise that it is about choices – and supporting yourself (and appreciating yourself) to make loving choices which connect us to the incredible steadiness that exists within us all.
Well stated Ruth “I have realised that anxiety is not who I am – it is a reaction that I can have a choice over.” It is so empowering to realise that most things are in fact our choice. I recall the moment I realised that I no longer needed to be a victim of my anxiety. It was a huge relief even though I can still pinpoint things that still tend to bring anxiety to the fore I understand and appreciate just how far I have come and know that I am constantly in development.
Reading your comment Kathleenbaldwin I realized I was holding onto a thought that brought up anxiousness. I then made a choice to be with me first and allow what is there to be a feeling in my body. I discovered through a choice, and a movement (physically) away from the thought, that was feeding the anxiousness, was enough to discard that empty feeling.
That’s great Rik, I have had similar experiences with anxiety and have found that it can be as simple as changing my posture.
Hello Kathleenbaldwin, I still get very caught in the throws of anxiety and when I am in the thick of it, I feel as if I do not have any choice at all. I know this is untrue but what I have found is that if I catch it in its infancy stage, like you mention in your comment below, my posture, then I am less likely to be completely ‘taken’. You do not get super anxious out of nowhere, it is a build up of choices that lead you to breaking point.
So true Sarah, anxiety is the result of a series of choices that allows us to be taken into the drama of the mind. It is for us to observe the patterns we go into that result in the anxiety and catch ourselves with little things like the changing our breathing and posture. This is what self care and self responsibility is all about. It is also about getting to understand and know ourselves well enough to be able to make the changes. These changes develop a truly loving relationship with our body and with ourselves.
Very well said Kathleen, I agree with all that you have shared. Making the smallest adjustments can have a huge impact, as I recently discovered swapping around the order of how my morning usually run and showering before I did anything else eliminated all anxiety from my body, just giving myself a shower without the stress of being late has been life changing.
If that works for you Sarah that is truly healing anxiety with self love. Very inspiring.
Love your article Ruth and loved how loving you and being present with your body helped you to overcome anxiety. It’s great how the body talks to us. I had extreme anxiety with exams at school and with events like 21st birthday, weddings etc and even with trips to unknown places, but for me I discovered that preparation and giving myself the time to do what needed to be done without rushing makes a big difference, as the moment I get racy or in my head too much, then I can feel the body tension, just like you, in the shoulders and neck. So anxiety can manifest in many ways, but our love and care and delicateness with ourselves, self respect and giving ourselves the time to be prepared without rushing can make a huge difference in how we feel. Love how the body talks to us everyday. Thanks for a great posting 🙂
When I read your blog Ruth, I can really feel the dedication you have brought to yourself and the changes you have made to heal the anxiety. I find this inspiring, as I know it takes true commitment to heal a pattern that is so entrenched. This blog will help so many, because anxiety is a common theme, the level of anxiety may differ but I would say it is a rare person who is entirely free of it. I also noted your insight into eating food to support you rather than feed your reactions and emotions and thoughts, that’s a great way of putting it, very clear. Thank you.
This is a great gift to so many Ruth thank you. I work in the health field and so many people suffer from anxiety and feel it is part of who they are. What you have learned and lived is the truth that it is a choice and to do with whether you are consistently connected with your body or not. This is so freeing for you and anyone who reads this , you are living proof that how we choose to live and what we think has a direct affect on our health. This blog is one for humanity’s archives.
Thank you Ruth for sharing how simple you made it to overcome your anxiety, I love your closing words: ‘Each day I experience how my steadiness keeps me much more balanced and able to deal with life, moment to moment. My energy levels are sustained and I get to enjoy the day so much more.’
Yes I agree Ruth and it totally resonates with me too – “Thank you Ruth for sharing how simple you made it to overcome your anxiety, …” only when you come back to the one thing does all your body align and join you. Stopping and knowing your body is the next thing to do if I become anxious. The more I purposely do this I train my body this is the normal way. As Ruth says you can come back easier and remain steady. Love this blog!
Thank you Susan, yes once I became aware of the choice and making the choice involved with anxiety it became really noticeable the impact it was having on my energy levels and my body.