Sitting here, about to write this, I feel the all too familiar signs of anxiety creeping in – sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, chest tightening, heart racing, dry mouth, palms beginning to sweat, nausea, shoulders rising up towards my ears as my shoulder blades draw up and closer together.
Realising that I’m using only the top part of my lungs in short, increasingly rapid breaths, I understand fully that if I choose to let these feelings run rampant within seconds they will develop into a total stress-out and if still left unchecked, a panic attack.
The beauty of this is today I’m observing these symptoms rather than being enmeshed in them, for in truth what I have described was how I have lived most of my life, in varying degrees.
In the past I would use alcohol, marijuana and binge eating to relieve these pressures I daily placed myself under, which brought only temporary relief. As the effects of these wore off I would find myself back in the worry and doubt of my ability to cope and resort once again to self-abuse to rid myself of these unwanted feelings.
I have begun to feel the enormity of the stress and strain I have placed on myself, and those around me, living this way.
It’s the hurts I don’t want to feel, – that when left unchecked develop into fear that what is about to happen in the next moment, next hour, week, month, year or even years, – and is the same or similar to what has happened before and has left me feeling the pain of what I have believed to have been ‘wrong’ choices made by myself and/or others. In this case it’s reminiscent of being in school writing an essay that will be judged by my teacher on being good enough or not, and herein lays the kicker.
Anxiety is this perceived pain that we freak out about because we are terrified of doing ‘it’ wrong and humiliating ourselves in the process. ‘It’ can be making dinner for a friend, a job interview, walking into a crowded room, climbing Mt Everest, talking to one of our children’s teachers or someone we deem more important than us, a staff meeting, boarding a plane, buying a packet of mints, joining an on-line meeting; in short, anything and everything that a human being can do on any given day.
I have chosen anxiety because I have beaten myself up about ‘wrong’ choices made and then felt that I have ‘suffered’ as a consequence.
A wise friend recently shared how appreciative she is of all the choices she has made in her life that had brought her to the present moment. Fully hearing this was a massive weight being lifted off my chest as I realised that my choices have and continue to be opportunities to be more gentle, understanding, appreciative and loving with myself.
I choose now to go into a gentle breath meditation that I learned from an audio presented by Serge Benhayon. This supports me to bring focus to my body as I choose to let go of these unnatural symptoms that do not belong.
This allows me to return to the stillness that I have discovered permanently lays within through the Esoteric Yoga modality and more specifically, the Esoteric Yoga Stillness Program for Women. This along with my commitment to not accept anxiety as something that controls me, has seen a transformation in my daily living beyond recognition of how I once looked and lived
Thanks to the teachings of Serge Benhayon, Universal Medicine, its many practitioners and the support of the Student community, I am steadily building a new foundation: one of knowing that within me I have all I need as I let go of the past and take care of the future by bringing focus to the present.
That I have within me true power of what it means to live in this world, my unwavering commitment to be solid in my relationship with myself – with God.
By Julie Ferguson, Mackay
Further reading:
Beating Anxiety Gentle Breath Meditation
Anxiousness – The War Within
The Truth about Serge Benhayon 
Appreciation is exactly that we understand we are “with God.” And as an equal Son how ‘could-we’ get-in-a-flap about anything! Then why are we not taught this in our schools, as this is a simple Truth? Could it be to keep us from this simple Truth? So as you have shared Julie, “transformation in my daily living beyond recognition of how I once looked and lived” is True for you and can be the same for everyone!
The thing is we can’t be perfect as life is about learning, even the concepts of right and wrong already label and judge instead of allowing us space to be where we are at, and simply assess what’s next.
Do we think that anxiety is only within a small majority of our society? Perhaps because we think that anxiety has to look like panic attacks, we think that only a few of us have it. But perhaps if we brought down the bar on what’s normal, we’ll see that a good proportion of our fellow citizens have anxiety – the anxiety many feel as they walk into the office, the anxiety children have on the bus in the morning before school – how many of us adults have looked at children and been annoyed with them for being loud on the bus? But how many of us have actually seen through that and realised the anxiousness in those bodies and the insecurity as a result of the pressure they go into every day? When we bring an understanding, we cannot get frustrated.
I can relate to so much of what you have written and the many symptoms you describe used to rule my life too; I simply didn’t know how to fix them. Coming to know that any fix would only be temporary and that it was the root cause which needed to identified first, slowly began to make sense of this very challenging way of life. These days, like you, I have come to a place where, if the symptoms arise, I am now “observing these symptoms rather than being enmeshed in them”. Yes, being able to be the observer and to know what to do next, has changed my life.
Anxiety can bubble up when we focus on imagined outcomes.
There is a huge amount of anxiety in the world today. So much so that you only have to hear or read the word anxious and you can almost tap into it as we all pick up on each other’s emotions. I used to have a lot of anxiety but rarely experience it these days so it is good to know that we don’t need to be anxious and there is a way to let it go.
Anxiety is huge, I have noticed it is a real problem with teenage girls in schools at present, they would benefit from some of the support tools mentioned in this blog.
“I have chosen anxiety because I have beaten myself up about ‘wrong’ choices made and then felt that I have ‘suffered’ as a consequence.” Julie what an fantastically honest observation. Beating ourselves up is so unnecessary. We need to be so super loving, kind and compassionate with ourselves, if not, all aspects of our life suffer.
I find this a very important sentence “I am steadily building a new foundation: one of knowing that within me I have all I need as I let go of the past and take care of the future by bringing focus to the present.” It is more than just ‘being in the moment’, it is about clocking where our mind tries to take us into a story about the past or the future and recognising it. Then choosing to bring a quality to our movements that honours the tenderness of the body we have been offered to carry us through life.
“Being in the moment” is such a hugely important way to be, although not always easy to maintain. It is those ‘stories from the past and dreams of the future which have the power to take us away from now and when we let them, we open ourselves up to anything that life may throw at us. But being in the moment, we can catch ‘it’, and then ‘throw it back’, so to speak.
The simplicity and power of the Gentle Breath Meditation is a wonderful tool to alleviate and reduce any signs of stress and anxiety, a beautiful way to re-connect to our body and feel the stillness within that supports the way we then move and express in the world.
The Gentle Breath Meditation is a great tool to support us to not allow anxiety to run our bodies, ‘I choose now to go into a gentle breath meditation that I learned from an audio presented by Serge Benhayon. This supports me to bring focus to my body as I choose to let go of these unnatural symptoms that do not belong.’
What an amazing turnaround shared here in how someone can come from anxiousness to being able to understand the ways they can slide into it, and have tools to support them to stay with themselves … we are not any of our conditions or symptoms.
Anxiety is the body communicating to me that something is going on that I am not dealing with correctly. It is my body telling me I am not feeling something, that is important.
I have spent my life choosing to not feel the feelings that were coming up. With support from Serge Benhayon and Simple Living Global, I am understanding that my body can cope with whatever is going on at the moment, I just need to stop, and feel it. Not as easy as it sounds if you have been running away from your feelings. But it is the only way. When I feel the feelings and sometimes cry, yawn, sneeze, or cough, the anxiety goes away. Amazing!
better than the word cope – we are never given more than we can handle and the more we accept that the even more we can handle!
I like the idea Julie of what we have inside us is everything we need to be equiped with what is in front of us. Connecting to this can subside the emotion of anxiety.
I really like your take on anxiety here Julie and it makes complete sense to me that it comes literally from that ‘pressure to perform’ in life, rather than simply living from who we are and being content with that. I would say the moment we choose to stop just being ourselves and disconnect from that we are joining in with the world that constantly tells us you have to do things in a certain way, and this is when the uneasiness first begins for we know we are going against what we know and feel inside is true. And this applies to every aspect of our lives.
Yes, we know we are going against what we know inside to be true we simply don’t know how to deal with that – or at least we think we don’t!
Understanding of ourselves is huge and accepting of who we are and where we’ve been is deeply healing and the more I understand the choices I’ve made and how they have or haven’t supported me, the more I can feel and see what is next … I’m learning it’s always about how I’ve been moving, and if I bring it back simply to being with me in my body, there is so much more clarity in how I am and how I live, and a huge joy as I embrace more of who I am.
As you described the situations that would bring anxiety it is clear to see it is all about moments we ‘fear’ the future, in other words when we are not present in the moment. It is about bringing ourselves back to the moment and feeling the quality of how we move our body is a great way to do this, just like the gentle breath meditation.
Maybe one of the reasons we fear the future if we do is because we are control freaks and have an idea that we want it to be a certain way?!
The tools mentioned in this comment support us to stay free of anxiety, along with a commitment to not allow anxiety to control ourselves, ‘with my commitment to not accept anxiety as something that controls me, has seen a transformation in my daily living beyond recognition of how I once looked and lived’.
Having that moment to actually feel and nominate anxiety in your body is super powerful. Yep we can certainly just go to numb it – but feeling it allows us the space to know that it isn’t truly us, and from there we have a choice to looking at things differently.
Hurts left unchecked totally do run away with us and make us fearful about many things. And if that is left unchecked again, the fear can get bigger and bigger and bigger. It does pay to check in, otherwise we check right out and we are left at the mercy of these fears. And that can feel super over whelming and quite scary. The Gentle Breath meditation is a super simple, free, quick way to learn how to check in.
Panic is the peak of you submitting to an energy that grabs you by the hands and grabs your body and brings you to a point where you no longer have an anchor, something true you can hold on to. You have embarked in a race so deeply against you that you got to a point where you cannot recognise where you stand. All you can feel is a body in total dis-order: a body that has been experimenting with disorder, pushing the bar of now a familiar landscape that is always unknown as well.
It feels like we are constantly looking ahead, in anticipation, wondering what the next moment is going to unfold and how that is going to look and feel like, right beside our hurts and desires and the past experiences, and that feels rather precarious. What Universal Medicine presents has been a great support for me as well in bringing understanding and healing to how I experience life.
Anxiety I think it is something that everyone either has, even a mild anxiousness constantly running in the body, or has experienced. What I did with this was to ask myself why am I anxious, what is it that I do not want to feel … the answer was to feel just how lovely I am. It is like I am using anxiousness as a dam to stop me just being me. It is a lot better but I have still not completely let go of this yet.
How amazing that you are able to observe anxiety and not get caught up in it and feed it. That is so awesome and should be deeply appreciated in the current state of the world – where anxiety is a normality and we just learn to get on with it. But shifting it to knowing that anxiety is not us but something we choose and something we can also observe is a huge healing.
I’ve found myself in a vicious circle recently of feeling anxious then in an exhausted state withdrawn from others which increases the anxiety. Connecting to myself helps keep me more centred, less exhausted and more willing to connect with others.
Being gentle and loving with ourselves, in all the ways we move and go throughout our day, and appreciating the little things – even the tiniest choice to do something more gently, more lovingly, than we did it the last time – the more we do this the less anxiety has something – the self-doubt, the uncertainty, the wobbliness of when we don’t trust or know who we are – to grab onto, and it starts to slip away by itself, almost unnoticed. It’s amazing how the anxiety deals with itself, without us having to deal with it, when we focus on self love, self care, and expressing what we know is true for us and can feel.
When we allow ourselves to observe rather than get caught up in the emotions of what is before us we are so much more prepared to cope with what is actually being presented to us.
That is very true. We seem to not be able to handle the situation due to our level of reaction we have endured due to the emotions we absorb, so if we learn to observe, our actions thereafter are completely different and collective.
Observing, and not getting caught in the emotions at play, is so much healthier for us.
Anxiousness can easily creep in when I choose to disconnect from my body and go in to the drive of getting things done. When I take a couple of steps back I notice it is the disconnection that then leads to anxiety.
The Gentle Breath Meditation is such a powerful tool to use in any situation in life, it supports us to re-connect back to our essence and to let go of any anxiety or stress that creates a lot of mental thoughts and overwhelm.
It’s interesting because when we get anxious we perceive that we are not prepared or not enough for what’s ahead of us, but perhaps this is simply because we are bringing the future or the past into the present rather focusing on right here and right now and trusting this moment is everything we need to prepare us.
Anxiousness totally holds our potential to ransom.
Thank you for not choosing to go into this anxiousness you’ve described but instead writing this blog and taking us with you on your path of unfolding anxiety. I just love your statements at the end about the foundation you are building; ‘one of knowing that within me I have all I need as I let go of the past and take care of the future by bringing focus to the present.
That I have within me true power of what it means to live in this world, my unwavering commitment to be solid in my relationship with myself – with God.’ Beautiful, it is all about living this quality.
Thank you Julie for a great blog on anxiety, something I have lived with most of my life but kept well hidden until I had a mini nervous breakdown and panic attack, all this unfelt stuff came up. Like you i too have come to understand i am not the anxiety, I have a choice to not be taken over by it, the gentle breath is a great way to come back to my body ‘knowing that within me I have all I need as I let go of the past and take care of the future by bringing focus to the present’
When we focus on our anxiety, the anxiety feeds the anxiety. When we focus on our gentle breath, the gentleness breathes gentleness into our body.
When I look around me at work and also when I listen to the stories about school and university the pressure we put ourselves under and which we accept as normal keeps getting more and more resulting in burn-out and exhausted people everywhere. Great to realize each of us have a choice here and our body supports us with communicating what supports and what doesn’t.
When we have a long time gone to a certain movement in this case feeling anxious it takes time to feel again that there is no need to be anxious as we are here with ourselves. I noticed I get anxious when I am thinking about the future, and this can even be a couple of minutes away but it is when I am not with myself that I am getting anxious beyond control. So it is about feeling that I am with myself and I just have to be here with what I am doing.
I recognize that, Lieke. Almost like the movement is so familiar that we have to give ourselves the space to re-imprint with a different movement.
Anxiety is easy to spot. Easy is also to clock what we do when we are anxious. Life can stop there and in fact the circuit we pay attention to is between the feeling of the ill-being and the behavior we engage in to mitigate it. What is usually obscured (and badly needed) is to understand what feeds the anxiety and how. A reduced version of life always helps to entertain a reduced version of ourselves.
In developing a loving relationship with ourselves, we can feel how precious and divine we are in essence, as it is through this connection we come to understand and know that we are already everything we need to be, we only need to embrace it and allows ourselves to be guided by our loving essence. This has been the antidote for my long-lived anxiety I struggled with – connection.
This is powerful Carola and yet so simple. When we truly connect to ourselves anxiety, stress, overwhelm and others harmful thoughts cannot creep in. When we live knowing and trusting that we are already everything, life is no longer a struggle. The antidote you’ve shared here is accessible to everyone and easy to apply.
It is incredibly liberating when I realised anxiety is a choice, that it doesn’t just appear, I have to choose to run with it for anxiety to be affecting me.
It is such a strong experience isn’t it and yet it is so common for hundreds of millions of people all around the world… How bizarre that people are not taught how to connect with themselves from kindergarten on.
Thank you for sharing Julie ” I am steadily building a new foundation: one of knowing that within me I have all I need as I let go of the past and take care of the future by bringing focus to the present. ” This is an important key for anyone to move forward. Its so important to break the attachment we have to past issues or situation. In simple terms, ” what is was ” and with no attachments the issues and situations become memories and have no influence on the present from an apprehensive point of view.
‘The beauty of this is today I’m observing these symptoms rather than being enmeshed in them, for in truth what I have described was how I have lived most of my life, in varying degrees’. Such a great moment to stop and appreciate the enormity of moments of observation.
Beautiful as this blog asks us to be more understanding and loving of oneself. That anxiety is an emotion that is not our core of our being, but an overall sense of when we miss that understanding and loving of ourselves. Beautiful wisdom shared here and the expansion now here offered for us to tap into and walk along with by our own choice..
We are being asked, constantly pulled up by the love of God to be true to ourselves and others. When we do not accept our greatest beingness (love) we will stumble with anxiety.. Which is the absence of our divine love. When we unfold our beingness (our connection to our body) we can only let go of anxiety that we might have carried.
Appreciation, I am discovering can make a moment one of awareness, learning, understand and evolving. There is actually joy in a mistake when what energy or experience that lay behind the mistake is seen, as the loving understanding this brings allows us to readjust and become more aware of our choices as we continue on in our life.
Thank you Julie, sharings of honesty are those most touching ones!
I like the sharing of your friend to be more appreciative of her choices in life, and how you responded, ‘I realised that my choices have and continue to be opportunities to be more gentle, understanding, appreciative and loving with myself.’ This is a lovely way to be with ourselves.
Its completely ridiculous to hold ourselves in the past, to reprimand ourselves, to look back with regret, and yet many of us typically do just that. The ridiculous part is it keeps us held in that past, not allowing us to move forward and develop the inner appreciation for who we really are.
‘Bringing focus to the present’ is the most amazing gift. Being able to maintain this focus in moments of unrest is challenging, but a learning I am committed to.
Appreciation is our responsibility as it holds us steady. If we appreciate where we are and who we are, fear of getting it wrong doesn’t have a way in.
I too find Esoteric Yoga is a great support in connecting more deeply with what my body is feeling and sharing, this really helps me to be present.
Anxiety is huge in our society, and can be brought on as you say by not wanting to do something wrong or by being uncertain, lacking confidence, in a certain situation, ‘Anxiety is this perceived pain that we freak out about because we are terrified of doing ‘it’ wrong and humiliating ourselves in the process.’
Could it be though us having an image of how life should unfold creates anxiety? If so who creates the image? Can life be about “‘wrong’ choices made and then felt that I have ‘suffered’” if we do not have an image of what is right or wrong! So what is it about us that invents these images and creates this type of situation? My feeling is that it is our spirit who wants to keep us from returning to our “true power.”
I lived with mild anxiety for most of my life and was often filling myself up with things to do or projects to finish to stop me simply feeling my body and what was going on in that moment. I now love the simplicity of connecting to the fine movements I make like feeling my fingertips or my toes in my shoes and this connection not only brings me great clarity to how I move but also stops the anxiety in it’s tracks too.
By choosing anxiety as a way out we are in control, it feels like we bring in anxiety to not feel what is truly asked for and that is to go beyond what is comfortable but in truth the natural flow of life.
This blog raised shiffers on my skin – simply because it reveals a lot.. Like this: ‘A wise friend recently shared how appreciative she is of all the choices she has made in her life that had brought her to the present moment. Fully hearing this was a massive weight being lifted off my chest as I realised that my choices have and continue to be opportunities to be more gentle, understanding, appreciative and loving with myself.’
You just did the same for me.. Realizing that no matter the choice I had made previous – it all brought me to the present moment. Love it. Will take that with me wherever I go now.
The great thing about anxiety is that I have learnt it is a choice and not something I have to accept as part of life.I am increasingly saying ‘no’ to it. One antidote is to focus on my breathing, or go for a walk. Other times if I can, I lie down with my feet up and close my eyes for 5 minutes. I love that I have all these tools that support me to come back to myself.
Anxiety is chronic and mostly accepted as ‘normal ‘ in life . But Universe Medicine is bringing the true marker back, uncovering the root cause and healing anxiety.
‘Anxiety is this perceived pain that we freak out about because we are terrified of doing ‘it’ wrong and humiliating ourselves in the process.’ I am not sure if I understand your words correctly but what struck me in this sentence was the word’ humiliating’, what I got is that when I go in anxiousness I humiliate myself in making myself less and smaller than who I truly am.
It’s interesting to feel how anxiety creeps back in the moment we feel uncomfortable in a new place. Well, at least it does for me. Having recently started a new job, I can feel the anxiety escalating as I find myself with little to do. The need for me to justify my time to my new boss and team creates a tension in my body that leaves me feeling stressed out. It’s a familiar feeling and so it can be challenging to let it go, as the idea of just being ok with not being or looking busy goes against everything we’ve always been taught, and the thoughts around what others might be thinking get the better of me. I do know, however, that allowing the anxiety to make me wrong doesn’t serve me in any way, and only holds me back from moving forward. So instead, I’ll work on accepting that this is how it is, and continue to communicate with my boss that I’m available for more tasks.
As my layers of hurts reduce I am becoming more aware of a low-grade anxiousness, that must have always been there. Although this doesn’t feel great, it is good that it is showing up, as it has been buried previously, I know this too can be healed – thanks to my lifestyle choices and support with Universal Medicine modalities, Esoteric Yoga in particular.
I have personally experienced an enormous shift in the way I am with myself since building my appreciation of myself. What used to feel completely insignificant is now quiet the opposite, and while there are days where anxiety sets in, my new foundation helps bring me back so much quicker. Because there is nothIng wrong with me and everything is simply ok.
We are blessed to have the support of the Esoteric Modalities such as Esoteric Yoga and the Gentle Breath meditation to truly heal and bring understanding to conditions such as anxiety and to not let this control or disempower us in anyway.
” I am steadily building a new foundation: one of knowing that within me I have all I need as I let go of the past and take care of the future by bringing focus to the present.” This is great what you share as I can relate to this too, something I have been working on too is building my foundation.
I too find the Esoteric Yoga hugely supportive Julie, as it allows me to simply come back and feel my body, to stop and take space and then I am able to be with what is needed next without anxiousness.
It is fabulous that there are modalities such as the Gentle Breath Meditation and Esoteric Yoga, which support us to feel the symptoms of anxiety but not go headlong down the rabbit hole. I would propose there is another reason for anxiety. Perhaps we know we could do an amazing job of the interview, presentation etc but we panic to avoid letting that out and be seen.
It’s interesting what you share here Fiona. Using anxiety in this way is something to also ponder on; being fearful of how great we could be and the responsibility of that, especially if our pattern has been to play small and stay under the radar.
As I read this I remembered distinctly that feeling of anxiety in my body. The memories are visceral ones, very real and if I indugle them, very debilitating. Denying them is worse because, as you have shared, it then becomes this enormous fear of getting it wrong. I join you in appreciating all the choices I have made in my life that have got me to this point and throw getting it right or wrong out of the window!
‘A wise friend recently shared how appreciative she is of all the choices she has made in her life that had brought her to the present moment.’ I love this line Julie, appreciation is a game changer and allows us to accept and see everything that has occurred… either good or bad have all been opportunities for us to grow and evolve.
It is so very empowering to observe our emotions and reactions rather than staying caught in them and very healing to look at what lies underneath them.
Yes, it is Andrew, I agree and when we stop to look at our emotions and reactions a bit deeper, the answers to our issues are all there. We know more than we think we do.
This sentence unlocks and completely lays anxiety bare as the mental trick that it is to our bodies.
“Anxiety is this perceived pain that we freak out about because we are terrified of doing ‘it’ wrong and humiliating ourselves in the process.” Bringing understanding that our bodies have to live everything we ask them too, it makes so much sense that stress has a physical impact on our bodies and that we do have the ability to change this, by changing how we choose to live in our body.
Getting anxious is the way to not feel who I truly am and thus avoiding the power of love that I innately am as we all are. Just like you Julie I could get very anxious by the pressure I put on myself to achieve, to not make any mistakes but what I am learning is that making mistakes is actually about growing. Both the gentle Breath Meditation and Esoteric Yoga has brought me back the connection with my body where I feel this endless love and stillness and can accept that life is not about perfection but about our quality in everything we do without the ‘right or wrong’.
It’s so great you share here about the Gentle Breath Meditation and Esoteric Yoga Julie… These have been key for me also in addressing nervous tension, anxiety and the enormity of pressure I have placed upon myself in my life ‘to be more’…
Coming back to a steady and still connection with our own bodies is an absolute fundamental – for us all, and the tools and support are all there for us to do so, thanks to the dedication and work of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine. So many lives transformed, as you have shared here, from what would and could so often simply lead to a downward spiral…
A beautiful blog, full of the power of reclaiming oneself – and accepting every step along the way. No perfection required. Thank-you Julie Ferguson, for your honesty and blazing appreciation here, of the turn-around you have experienced in your life.
Victoria I agree it is a beautiful blog full of power and reclaiming oneself, a great inspiration to others to do the same. When we are honest and in appreciation we can feel the strength of our own power.
Thank-you Amita. I would say that most of us (self included) do not embrace such self-appreciation and holding ourselves in a depth of understanding and love, nearly enough – this in itself being a sure-fire way to hold back the expression and lived claimedness of our power. Our power essentially being our capacity to allow God’s Love and all that we are to flow through us.
This is an awesome article on unpacking anxiety. I love how simply you put it about anxiety being a fear we’ll get something wrong. I totally get that and realise that actually so what if I get something wrong, it’s no big deal, anxiety or no anxiety, the possibility is always going to be there, so why not go for it in my complete fullness and whatever happens will happen and I’ll deal with it from there. Eliminating that nervousness before a task would make the world of difference to my day and the tension that I carry in my body. What a revelation.
It’s why we have days named differently, months and years, so we don’t think we are actually going around in circles. We are heading somewhere because today is today and yesterday was yesterday or last week etc. That way when the same thing pops up on a different day, at a different time with a different person we can say well this is the first time I’ve heard that, when in effect it’s possibly not. This paragraph, “In the past I would use alcohol, marijuana and binge eating to relieve these pressures I daily placed myself under, which brought only temporary relief. As the effects of these wore off I would find myself back in the worry and doubt of my ability to cope and resort once again to self-abuse to rid myself of these unwanted feelings.” shows how we try and run from our feelings and in that we can run our whole life in this way if we choose. Ever get the feeling there’s more to life? This for me is the wake up call to say you are running around the same circle and the ‘more’ is the fact that I know this but keep myself distracted etc so I don’t deal with it and hey presto around we go again. Have you ever also noticed how it use to be one coffee and now it’s two or three? At a certain point our awareness grows even in the run and at that point we need more of what we had already been doing to distract ourselves to distract us some more. It’s a never ending cycle and unless at some point you take the lead then you will be lead around and around but you won’t get dizzy, after all it’s Wednesday tomorrow.
Choosing appreciation for all the choices we have made is the best antidote to anxiety. When i allow myself to go into an anxious state my thoughts run away with me whereas consciously choosing to be appreciative of all aspects of my life is so grounding and there is no space for anxiety.
I felt an instant connection to the title of this blog because I spent many years hiding my anxiety even from myself! It used to feel overwhelming whereas once I acknowledged it and was willing to start unpicking the choices I had made that had led me to that point I was able to lessen the heavy burden of anxiety that had weighed me down for so long. Thank you for sharing your experience and your commitment to healing your hurts so that they do not dominate your life but instead you are free to share your wisdom with all of us.
Thank you Julie – a wonderful piece of that which I exactly needed to read..
Whilst reading I become more and more aligned to the truth you have written and identified the behavior I had lived so far (beating up etc.) that lead me to be numb as I requested. But when feeling more now I sense this strong feeling of no longer living looking back constantly at the past and my choices there, but actually moving on and start living in the now! That is quiet a shocker of a realization – but a very good and liberating one! Thank you for bringing awareness to people in life.
Anxiety is so prevalent in our society, we allow ourselves to get caught up in things that disconnect us from our bodies. Then the anxiety we feel becomes us, we are the anxiety, when really it is a set of choices we’ve made, couple with expectation, then when those expectations aren’t met, we become anxious. Then around the merry go round we go. It is up to us when we want to get off the merry go round.
It’s a powerful moment when we realise that every emotion is a choice. We can choose to go into it and lose ourselves for a while or we can chose to stay connected and let ourselves feel whatever there is to feel, knowing that whatever it is, it is just a mere mote of dust in comparison to the glorious magnificence of Us.
‘knowing that within me I have all I need as I let go of the past and take care of the future by bringing focus to the present’ I love this and I love how my understanding of this deepens all the time.
Thank you for unraveling anxiety. It is a condition so present in many people’s lives that we take it for normal and often are not really aware of it anymore. I like that you show by simply observing how much there is already gained and then how that enables oneself to make little changes such as focusing on our breathing and the way we move and are with ourselves.
We live in society that believes that all our answers lie in the world we have created and exists around us. Yet as you have beautifully shared, true answers are found within us, through our connection to our essence. As when we are connected to ourselves we are connected to our inner-knowing that serves only to guide us to live in truth, in honor of the fullness of love that we naturally are. Whenever we leave this quality of presence our bodies are the first to let us know, hence the tension offering us the opportunity to correct our choice and return to love, or to choose otherwise.
Great testimony of the power of choice: that there is nothing, even our own fears and emotions, that we are controlled by, unless we allow ourselves to be. Also the point about using self-abuse as a reaction to feeling an unwanted emotion – great to clock this one and see it for what it is – just another layer, behaviour, distraction, that takes us further away from ourselves.
So true – anything in life can be a trigger for anxiety, but it is a choice away – to come back to the essence of who we are, the part that knows that we are enough already.
Presenting that we have a choice and that anxiety is not us, but a behaviour we choose, is an understanding that could support many others to see anxiety for what it is and begin to halt its control in the way we live life.
“This allows me to return to the stillness that I have discovered permanently lays within through the Esoteric Yoga modality and more specifically, the Esoteric Yoga Stillness Program for Women” The Esoteric Yoga online programmes are great and really support my daily living too.
My body is actually reacting in anxiety when I am not with it but am wondering in my mind, completely ignoring the fact that my body can only be here and now and not in the future or the past and needs my constant presence with it. My body knows that I do not have to worry about anything that will happen as it is connected to a grander whole that has all the resources available to be with any situation at hand.
How gorgeous to come to a place where you are no longer plagued by anxiety of past choices and instead can now embrace moving forward knowing that each choice to come, is one that provides an opportunity for deeper levels of gentleness, understanding, appreciation and love for yourself…. This is a truly beautiful understanding to have and foundation to move through life from.
When our body runs on anxiety we put an enormous amount of pressure on our body, because none of it runs smoothly or with a natural flow, our breath is short, as too is our ability to concentrate. Through the gentle breath meditation not only does it help our connection with ourselves, it also increases the air in our lungs and gives us the foundation of a beautifully natural rhythm as we breathe.
I have found appreciation is the medicine for anxiety, jealousy, fear, lack of self-worth and the list goes on and on. Appreciation also is the antidote for conflict, disharmony and we can never have too much appreciation in our lives. I feel many people including myself are deprived of appreciation, hence why we are feeling the way we feel. But appreciation is free, it is a simple choice to appreciate or not. How amazing is that? We have this gift to bring harmony back to our lives, to humanity yet we forget we hold this power and love in our hearts, our entire body. Appreciation is one of our greatest medicine in life.
I am just wondering, whenever I get caught in the throes of anxiousness do I ever stop to define exactly why I am feeling anxious or do I just let the emotions feeding it run riot. This is something I really need to observe.
Great sharing Julie, we build ourselves up into a state of anxiety when we put expectations on ourselves rather than allowing things to naturally unfold, and using the Gentle Breath Meditation is a great way to start a connection with ourselves.
Pretty amazing that you now recognise all of the symptoms of that feeling of anxiety coming on. With this awareness we can conquer the perceived unconquerable- and you’ve done this, as you’ve shared, through simply connecting to your breath…can it be that simple? Absolutely awesome to read your story, thank you.
Anxious, judgemental, full of doubt and self worth was my way for 40 years. I never considered that living this way was light years away from how I could live. Until Serge Benhayon presented to me that first and foremost, I am love. And that it is possible to live this love in my life. A fundamentally foundational truth that every person needs to hear.
I used to be a dedicated worrier and could even worry that I didn’t have anything to worry about. The Gentle Breath has offered me a constant companion to come back to myself and connect to my inner stillness and observe whatever is happening in front of me.
“As the effects of these wore off I would find myself back in the worry and doubt of my ability to cope and resort once again to self-abuse to rid myself of these unwanted feelings” It is so easy to get sucked back into old patterns with anxiety and the only way out is to build a relationship with stillness.
Anxiety is rife within society – for me it feels like it is an unspoken of constant underlying tension which arises from never feeling that we are enough and thinking we have to constantly prove ourselves – its exhausting and no wonder depression levels are soo high because it is an unattainable goal to achieve! The more we realise we have everything already within the less we will seek or feel the need to prove ourselves and so the more settled and content we will be within.
I have also found Esoteric Yoga to be a great support in connecting more deeply with all that my body is feeling and sharing. When we bring attention to areas of discomfort, tension or the anxiety you mention we can start to unfold very naturally what is beneath these symptoms. We also get to feel the quality of stillness that is within us, and how there is another way to be in life without reaction. Observation is key i agree.
It is truly magical how that what we live can bring healing to others. Simply by reading your words I get the whole package of you saying no to anxiety. Thank you Julie.
Thankyou Julie, I agree, we can let go go the past and begin to live in a new and more loving way, especially with the support of Universal Medicine. We don’t need to carry the past around with us, nor the symptoms of stress etc, we can simply keep making new choices and let go, as we create a more loving life for ourselves.
I can totally relate to what you have shared about the anxiety meaning you don’t feel like you can do anything right. Building a relationship in the body and learning to trust your body and that it will be OK is a great first step to living life without anxiety ruling the roost.
So true Lucy, the relationship with our body is key in supporting us to trust our body and to begin to let go of these patterns that we feel can take over our lives.
The more I connect to my body and everything I can feel, simply by focusing on what my feet feel like on the ground, for example, the easier I find it to deal with any feelings of anxiety that arise. When I felt anxiety before, I would often feel completely overwhelmed by it. Now, having connected more to a stillness and steadiness that is always there, it’s easier to find my way back to that place, and choose to come back to it, feeling that the anxiousness is also a choice – one that is becoming less habitual and less appealing.
When I connect with my body, there can be no space for anxiety. I have been nervous and anxious all my life and until recently I had no idea how to stop this ill momentum but now I feel I am fully equipped to handle what is coming my way when I stay in connection with myself, appreciate who I am and confirm the power I have and bring to this world. This is all a loving work in progress.
It is awful to feel anxiety and we tend to find things to numb this feeling, but what I have realised is that numbing it doesn’t really work with healing anxiety, instead it just covers it up. By allowing ourselves to feel it and understand why we feel anxious supports us to make choices to heal. Also I have found feeling anxiety is often a choice. Now, I know I can choose to be in stillness or anxiety, and it is hugely supportive to know I can just simply choose, I feel nothing major needs to be done except make more loving choices to support me to be in stillness.
Anxiety is pernicious in our society… So often not even talked about, and yet is there taking its toll on so many people.
Julie I love this blog, so great to come across it this morning.
This is a huge insight into anxiety and offers great opportunity for us to learn through your experience. What you share about appreciating all choices made and not beating ourselves up is profound, how many of us are quick to bring out the bat and criticise ourselves when we make a mistake. Children make mistakes all the time as they learn and never do we see them be so hard on themselves. Thank you for sharing your experiences Julie awesome to hear of your change around and deeply inspiring.
I have a fear of getting things wrong and it has quite an impact on my life. It restricts the flow of life. I know it is possible to simply say “whoops” and move on yet I make it a big deal and think I should have done better. Even in writing this I’m realising it is what is behind a low level of constant anxiety. Thank for the blog Julie, it allowed for some great insight.
The simple thing of paying attention to where my shoulders are is a dead giveaway to what state I am in. If they have crept up I’m in raciness, anxiety and am much further ahead than where my body is. If I drop them and let them relax, it is much harder to race ahead and I stay with my body and in the present moment.
“The beauty of this is today I’m observing these symptoms rather than being enmeshed in them,..” this is enormous, thank you Julie for sharing that there is a way to not be the victim of our emotions.
Yes, I agree. We can observe ourselves and with this it is then possible to not judge ourselves for feeling anxiety. By simply understanding why and how we got to be feeling this way from an observation and none judgmental view is a great support already to healing anxiety.
I have often been terrified of getting it wrong, when I am in that place I am not connected to me nor am I able to connect to what is actually going on nor what may be needed next. It’s like letting go of the trapeze bar and not trusting you can catch the one coming towards you. Sometimes we miss the bar completely, sometimes we grab it awkwardly, sometimes we catch it in such a rhythmic flow. Each time we learn and it feels important to appreciate each try rather than give up completely.
It’s true Julie, when we use anything to distract and numb ourselves as soon as its intended effect has worn off you are not only back to square one feeling what you were wanting to avoid in the first place but you also have the after effect of whatever you used to distract yourself to contend with us also – and these after effects also accumulate to feed our anxiety along with everything else we have not let go of.
“within me I have all I need as I let go of the past and take care of the future by bringing focus to the present.” I think this is key to leave any anxiety state, as this is usually originated by projecting threats in the future or by reminding past experiences. When we stay present in the present there is no danger possible, as we already have everything that we need in that moment at our hands.
‘Anxiety is this perceived pain that we freak out about because we are terrified of doing ‘it’ wrong and humiliating ourselves in the process.’Yes and it is about being transparent and fully present. Also anxiety has less change to come up when I appreciate myself and truly see what I am here for without any airy fairy but just my commitment to be with myself at work, in relationships and to do what is needed. My mind and going into thoughts is the only distraction and this leads me to nowhere but to anxiety and a sore body.
just imagine for a moment, if everyone was absolutely honest about how much anxiety they felt… At home, in the workplace, in relationships, with friends, it would really be extraordinary, if, just for a moment the Shields and the masks were dropped, and everyone simply expressed how they truly felt.
I saw quite a cute quote recently that said something along the lines of – don’t hold yourself forever in mistakes that only took moments to make. The way we approach mistakes as human beings is all wrong, sure there is some responsibility to be taken, but the lessons we can learn and the way these lessons can enrich our lives is amazing.
You’re awesome Julie- I can see the changes you have made and it is pretty inspiring. You used to present as so timid that people wouldn’t notice you, now you are a woman with a voice who is not afraid to let it be heard.
Since learning the gentle breath meditation I have been able to nip anxiety in the bud and avoid what would previously have turned into an all out freak out, from boarding a plane to public speaking, I am now able to be myself, natural and confident, in any situation.
A wise and loving friend indeed to share with us through your conversation that appreciation is a huge player in releasing us from the bonds of perfectionism. We are simply learning evolving beings – constantly, if we choose.. Whoever put perfection into the equation is the only time there’s been a mistake. Take the pressure off and the anxiety hasn’t got a leg to stand on.
Inspiring Julie. I’m a long time friend of anxiety, but I realise that I don’t help myself by beating myself up over it. I can see clearly that I need to focus more on appreciating me and accepting where I’m at and less focus on where I think I should be. Living in the future really hinders me from feeling the present.
‘…my choices have and continue to be opportunities to be more gentle, understanding, appreciative and loving with myself.’ This line is awesome. This is it, this is all we need. Every time we make an unloving choice, we have an opportunity to make a different choice or beat ourselves up with the original choice. It’s clear that making a loving choice from the moment creates a new cycle, whereas beating ourselves up for making an unloving choice just allows us to stay in the same cycle that brought us to that decision in the first place. And right now it’s important for me to appreciate these words as I often do not make the loving choice and then beat myself up.
Anxiousness used to be an almost permanent state that I simply accepted was the way things were. When I first heard it was a choice, I rejected the idea. Why would I choose that? Surely it’s just a symptom of the busy demanding lives we lead? However I was open to the possibility and began to observe myself and found it was something I did have a choice in. It has not been an overnight change since it’s a habit I have had for decades, but I can say that the gentle breath meditation was the starting point for me making new choices. Now my moments of anxiousness are in the minority rather than the other way round.
When I get anxious I now know that I have to return to the quality of stillness that resides in me and by adhering to that ‘request of my body’ as I call it, the strength and self-assurance returns leaving the feeling of anxious behind.
‘I am steadily building a new foundation: one of knowing that within me I have all I need as I let go of the past and take care of the future by bringing focus to the present.’ I can relate to this Julie, and also to the damaging effect of my own negative self-talk because I have not met a self-imposed standard. Accepting where I am at as part of my unfoldment and the support of esoteric yoga have been key to staying focused to the present.
From reading your blog I realise that I have suffered from mild anxiety from a young age and as many of the comments say, it has become to be accepted as a normal state of being. My anxiety was subtle and not really debilitating in an obvious way so therefore left unnoticed. It’s only now that I have become so much more aware in how my body feels that I recognise it as something that was in fact very debilitating to my ability to express from the wholeness of me, as the subtle anxiety prevented me connecting to the true me. This blog is revalationary for me. Thankyou.
What a journey from anxiety to how you are now and the way that you live. Believing that we have done something wrong is an epidemic, and is lurking under the surface in so many people’s lives. I only recently allowed myself to feel this fundamental sense of being wrong that I had carried with me through life and had used to inform my every move. Thus far it’s given me an excuse to make choices in which I am abusive and diconnect from life and from God. The first step to letting this go has definitely been allowing myself to feel that this sense of wrong is there. As you have shared Julie, it is when we squash our hurts and don’t want to feel them, that’s when we get into very choppy waters.
I love this Julie. . . “I am steadily building a new foundation: one of knowing that within me I have all I need as I let go of the past and take care of the future by bringing focus to the present.” . . . Brilliant
Thank you Julie for your description of how anxiety feels in your body. That observation itself holds such an expansive space for us to just be in whatever is going on, without being it.
“The beauty of this is today I’m observing these symptoms rather than being enmeshed in them, for in truth what I have described was how I have lived most of my life, in varying degrees.” How great that you were able to sit back and observe these rising feelings and allow them to pass without becoming identified with them Julie. I’m still learning to not react to the feelings at times and to understand that the more I identify with them the greater the hold they have on me.
I appreciate the awareness you share Julie for our responsibility to how we either choose to respond or react to what is going on in our everyday. The difference in the out come of our choice is massive in our bodies as you describe. It also impacts on how we move through our day, again a huge difference between a gentle flow to what we are doing or a tension that can have the more frantic and harsh movements attached to them. It all comes back to being responsible for our choice to look at what is before us and allow ourselves to feel what is truly there in the first instance – and we don’t set ourselves up for unnecessary pain and anxiety.
Anxiety is a common experience for many of us, and yet there is not much known about the origin of it. This is because it is actually a manufactured emotion, something we have to work at creating. Firstly though, we need to make the space for the anxiety, so we take a step back from ourselves in any given situation thinking we are ill equipped to deal with it, we then leave ourselves open for anxiety to enter. It has taken me years to accept this as the reality it is… as well as accept the responsibility for making the choice to allow myself to take a step back, leaving room for anxiety to be present instead. The truth that anxiety is actually a choice is huge, and 8 years ago I would not have been able to hear that truth, but now I can. I understand that not living with the knowing that I am strong beyond what I realise, I am delicate beyond measure, and I am loving in my intentions – always, set me up for a life of feeling anxious. This has been a huge healing process for me and to come to the point where I can not only accept my true nature, but celebrate and appreciate it, is profound.
This is gold how you have shared your challenging of anxiety, and how to not let it rule you. The simple tool of the gentle breath meditation is just lovely.
Such beautiful honest sharing Julie. Thank you. I can so relate to your story. In truth we only really know how to BE. From here all is perfect.
Beautiful to revisit your blog Julie especially having recently had anxiety come up both in myself and those around me. I can feel the key to what you share is the fact that anxiety is a by-product of feeling we are not enough, not prepared enough or fearful of being hurt, set up or let down by self in some way. The truth is as you so beautifully share is that when we connect back to self we have it all within us. We are enough as we are, living present in each moment this realisation becomes absolutely crystal clear that it simply is a choice to live with anxiety or to live, love and be all that we so naturally are.
I was anxious most of my life and after much self-reflection and healing I can now admit that I used anxiety to check out from the world. When you are anxious that is all you can think about and deal with. It takes all your resources and focus. It is a very cunning way to withdraw into yourself or into the anxiety. I now understand that I chose this to dull myself down, take the edge off what I would feel in others and in myself in certain situations, and how because I had chosen to disconnect from my true self as a child I felt empty and ill equipped for life. Thankfully, this is not the case anymore. If I feel there is anxiety coming my way I stop and ask myself, ‘What are you feeling that you want to avoid acknowledging?’. It is an ongoing process but one that is proving to be very healing, along with challenging, as now I am committed to feeling all that I have avoided in the past, and with this comes a deeper level of personal responsibility.
Thanks Robyn ‘What are you feeling that you want to avoid acknowledging?’ Having woken up feeling anxious this morning this is a perfect question for me.
Fascinating Julie to understand your anxiety coming from holding against yourself past choices and the suffering you experienced from the consequences. To accept in full learning, imperfection and being forever a developing student (of life and yourself) is a very significant step in welcoming what comes with each moment, rather than in trepidation of it, in case it be another one of those ‘less desirable’ experiences.
I feel anxiety is quite a trap to come in to and choose to be consumed by, I do feel that it is indeed about a commitment to choose differently and see that we can handle each moment when we stay in the present.
It’s when we believe we have to perform to an image of perfection we have already set ourselves that anxiety can play its trump card and bring out all residual fears around humiliation, embarrassment and ultimately, rejection. But it’s all one big smokescreen we play out in order that we can continue to hold ourselves unworthy of the image and therefore keep ourselves in a state of feeling lesser.
What a gem of a blog Julie! Anxiousness is in plague proportions in our world currently. This situation exists so much so that often people don’t even recognise that the fuel they are using to get them through their day is mild – moderate anxiety, let alone the more serious forms of anxiety. It’s true that our levels of anxiety are based on our past hurts yet this can become such a default response to situations that it can be difficult to let go of. However understanding anxiety in this way helps people to realise that they aren’t helpless and that anxiety is something that we can control. I still find that I get caught, but with time and effort I am learning to be the one in the driver’s seat and not the other way around.
Julie, how freeing to come to a place where you are able to observe the feelings of anxiety rising in your body but not allowing them to continue to rise and overwhelm you. In my experience, the feeling of anxiety, left unchecked, can be so all consuming and destructive in many ways, and in the end becoming part of who you are. To have come to the understanding that the anxiety is not who I am liberated me from years of struggle and strain, and in turn has brought such a wonderful change to my quality of life. The anxiety still tries to rise and take me over, but these days thanks to the presentations of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine I have so many tools in my life toolkit to ensure that it no longer has a place in my life.
Anxiety is something that I have lived with for many years, since connecting with Serge Benhayon, Universal Medicine and a wonderful practitioner, I have got it to a much more manageable level.
It was a huge thing for me when I got the understanding of energy and how it works and can change us in an instant from one moment feeling fine, to the next moment, feeling anxious, heady and disconnected. Thanks to Serge Benhayon and the workshops with Universal Medicine, I have a greater awareness of how energy works and how important my body is and how it plays a huge part in everything. In fact it is the key to who I will be. Imagine that, you breathe in and out and feel your body constantly and move in a way that feeds you back love and sees you connected to everyone all at once, so then when you have a thought that is not your own, you know that if you don’t cut it, your heading for another anxious moment. It happens that quickly, but can be turned around just as quickly, that’s the amazing power of presence, movement and love.
The moment I experience anxiety usually is when I wake up and think about what I have to do (and should have done long before). It usually is a short lived experience as I have learned to stop the rush in my body by saying no to the disturbing thoughts. Still it is a great marker that I can appreciate myself more for everything I am and everything I do and I know that will lovingly take care of my lack of commitment in other areas of my life.
“The beauty of this is today I’m observing these symptoms rather than being enmeshed in them, for in truth what I have described was how I have lived most of my life, in varying degrees.” I can say I am truly grateful to Universal Medicine for enabling me to come to this realisation also. To “observe and not absorb” is invaluable, life-changing advice.
Though we place so many expectations on ourselves, the first thing we feel is the pressure, and what if we don’t live up to those expectations, we then automatically go into anxiousness, and the majority of our life is run by anxiety. I have found the Gentle Breath Meditation a great way to bring my awareness back to me and let go of the anxiety that was running my body.
Thank you Julie for a great sharing, anxiety has been a normal part of my life , until Universal Medicine I did not realise I had it, but when I look back it was always there connected to getting it right, not being good enough. I love these simple loving words ” I am steadily building a new foundation: one of knowing that within me I have all I need as I let go of the past and take care of the future by bringing focus to the present.”
I notice that a vast majority of people are living in anxiousness too Melinda. The level of caffeine consumption must add to this, and the level of competition between people too. When people live in a constant whirl of work, needing a lot of money, constant entertainment and no time when they are still and also needing sleeping tablets to combat their coffee consumption, what is there to bring them back to the stillness deep within them? The gentle breath meditation is brilliant for allowing us to connect with our stillness, however there are some lifestyle choices to be made, and some health choices to be made before the gentle breath meditation has a chance to help. Personal responsibility has a big part to play to bring ourselves back.
It seems like anxiousness and nervousness are fairly widespread nowadays. When I am out and about people do not seem at ease with themselves, its possible that almost all of humanity have low grade versions of anxiety/nervousness yet the statistics may only reflect the more intense cases that people seek medical and other support for. Because it’s like a “norm” now to feel anxious or nervous to some degree I feel that opening up the conversation about it, like this blog has, is vitally important. We need the support and understanding of what these things are, and that there is a way to live without them.
How inspiring to read everyone’s comments exposing the insidiousness of anxiety and how to take the healing of it to a deeper level.
Allowing ourselves to recognise this nervousness can be taken on when we doubt the amazingness of ourselves is enormously freeing.
The opportunities we have to observe the first symptoms of anxiety creeping in are many and varied but each one part of our healing process as we focus on being ever more present in our bodies.
This sharing offers support to us all in broadening our understanding of anxiety and it’s effects on the body. I have experienced these symptoms in the past and have put a lid on them not wanting to look any deeper. I have allowed them to run my life. Making the choice to go deeper exposes how we all take on outside pressures and expectations as a measurement of who we are or can be, thus always driving ourselves to be something or someone that is not true. Making the choice to expose this and to connect to who we truly are and the essence of stillness and love within brings the reflection of love for all others and a truth to the world. Thank you Julie for bringing increased awareness of the debilitating effects of anxiety and showing a way forward for those that want to live a different way.
Anxiety is something that can be really overt or quite sinister in how it can just be there laying under the surface without one realising it is still there. It can be low grade and when you are not living from a conscious presence, it can be revealed quite quickly. I am finding the latter is my experience. In the past, I would be in constant reaction, anxiety and nervous tension, this was overt and I was in a a lot of drama. Less so now, but what I am experiencing is that the anxiety is much more subtle, but still quite overt in my body, because I am not used to feeling it anymore. It is good to feel it and how awful it feels, but also exposing how much I have lived in that momentum of anxiousness. This is an ongoing unfolding and one that is developing each and every day.
Anxiety is debilitating and the methods you have mentioned in dealing with anxiety are much appreciated and well received, thanks Julie
Your approach to anxiety Julie leaves me feeling very inspired (and calm) – having experienced anxiety/anxiousness most of my life in varying degrees also. To be more ‘gentle’ understanding and appreciative and self-loving with ourselves is definitely the antidote to such a debilitating chosen behaviour of our lived choices. The old way of self-bashing, berating of not being good enough, clever enough etc is old hat and clearly only adds to the pressure pile which anxiety thrives on. We can as in your words “observe the symptoms rather than being enmeshed in them” and live for the now rather than the what might be. The Gentle Breath Meditation and Esoteric Yoga are amazing gifts that we can practice regularly to keep bringing ourselves back to connecting to the gentleness/stillness that we know to be true.
“I have chosen anxiety because I have beaten myself up about ‘wrong’ choices made and then felt that I have ‘suffered’ as a consequence”. I have felt this about myself over and over in my life. That due to ‘wrong’ choices, I would get anxious and that I have to ‘suffer’ as a result of those past choices. What I have since learned though, is that when we look into the past and be hard on ourselves for those choices, it only creates more angst, it doesn’t serve anyone and it definitely not supportive or self loving to do so.
Julie, this is such a beautiful sharing. I have noticed that when I make myself small or less than another I tend to go into anxiety behaviours as then I am feeling that I am never enough and this creates a huge tension in my body. I have found the Gentle Breath Meditation and Esoteric Yoga to be great tools in coming back and appreciating me.
Thank you Julie your article is a great support for anyone who experiences anxiety, the more we talk about how anxiety affects us and how to cope with it when it is triggered this provides true support for those who feel anxiety is controlling their lives.
I too used food to suppress anxiety – unknowingly. It is so freeing to be still enough to actually observe the feelings of anxiety in the body rather than do something to get away from it or make it go away. That act alone of observing lets us see and feel that the anxiety is not who we are, but instead is something happening in our bodies. The next step is to look at why, e.g. what happens, that triggers the anxiety.
It is ridiculous that we could be living in brotherhood and instead are afraid that others will catch us making a mistake. It is pure self torture but can be turned around.
I absolutely agree Brendan, seeing anxiety as a gift for me to look at and heal is in contrast to the numbing, burying and ignoring which is what I used to do. To see anxiety in this light changes every thing in my approach to when it arises.
For most of my life when I would feel anxiety in my body one of my behaviours would be to withdraw from others and contract, going inward. This behaviour was a coping mechanism I used and it gave me temporary relief no different to drinking alcohol or taking drugs to numb what I was feeling. When ever I feel this feeling of wanting to withdraw or separate from another I call it out as it is such an uncomfortable feeling in my body and I know without a shadow of a doubt that it is not who I am.
This sentence stood out for me “Anxiety is this perceived pain that we freak out about because we are terrified of doing ‘it’ wrong and humiliating ourselves in the process.” It is so honest and true as I used to get very anxious especially when asked to do something I was not familiar with in front of a group of people. I would feel quite nervous and very unsure of myself and most of all I was so afraid of being laughed at. Since attending Universal Medicine and being offered modalities such as Esoteric Yoga, the anxiousness in my life has reduced considerably. I have come to realise that being totally honest with myself when the anxiousness is presenting itself to be felt is what is needed in that moment and especially without any self critism.
an excellent and honest article that talks about the pandemic that is anxiety that is wreaking havoc with the health and well being of humanity.
I am amazed at just how quickly and easily high level anxiety can drop in. However more insidious is the low level anxiety that hovers just beneath the surface, ready to rear its ugly head at any moment. I have noticed this particularly of late whilst dealing with unusual life events.
Thank you Julie for the gentle reminder that anxiety is not who we are.
This morning, I found as I was doing my exercises that I felt anxious. At first I just tried to push it aside, but them remembered to acknowledge it, to talk about it and to find what came underneath, and so was able to expose a pattern of anxiousness that I have had all my school life that I now have an opportunity to reimprint.
‘I have begun to feel the enormity of the stress and strain I have placed on myself, and those around me, living this way.’ This line is very confronting to me because I have felt guilty about the amount of stress and strain I have placed on my loved ones throughout my life. Although I have truly apologized here and there, instead of taking responsibility for my behaviour I have been playing the victim card a lot.
Yes Brendan it is a blessing, now that I have discovered the effect anxiety subtly has on me..
Just listening to a conversation in the next room talking about the dramatic news on the morning television and it occurred to me we are presented on a daily basis with disturbing news, enough to send us into anxiousness and keep us feeling disturbed. It is only with the understanding we have a choice to go into anxiousness and sympathy and take in the energy or staying in full connection to the stillness and love within.
Anxiety can pop up at the most surprising times for me, in most instances i am not crippled by it, but do feel really uncomfortable. It is always a sign that there is something for me to work on, it is a symptom not the cause of the problem.
That is a very loving & much more playful way to look at anxiety Brendan – Thank you.
Richard Branson attributes his success to never giving up, to turning failures into learning and trying again, which inherently holds a love and understanding for ourselves in order to be able to do this.
As you say Julie, every action or meeting in life can produce anxiety if we allow it. We have to consciously build a foundation of surrender and being confirming of ourselves so that we can bring who we really are to what we do.
Re-claiming my power, in both its strength and delicacy, is available to me right now. The question is, how long will I avoid this choice and play less than I really am?
I see that I have allowed myself to be crippled by retreating in life from making what I have perceived as mistakes or failures. It is only in restoring my capacity to be kind and gentle to my precious self, seeing the enormous growth, learning & evolution available to me from every choice I have made which has led me to now – that will enable me to fully appreciate who I am today. An awareness and a choice that takes me out of the pain of separation and into union with others.
Wonderful Julie it is always good to have a wise friend. I love what this wise friend is sharing with you: “She shared how appreciative she is of all the choices she has made in her life that had brought her to the present moment.” That is really inspiring and I am glad that you shared that with us.
The fact that anxiety does not belong is a very important thing to note. I have also found that using the support of the gentle breath meditation, enables me to connect to my body very deeply inside, where there is no anxiety.
In the past I would to go into anxiousness and feel unsettled in my body unable to focus on what I was doing, go from task to task and want to eat confusing the feeling of anxiety for hunger. More and more now I am able to sit with the feeling of anxiety and take a breath and let go of the anxiousness not beat myself up for feeling anxious in the first place, slow myself down and re-connect with my essence and focus on what I am doing without draining by body.
When ever I go into anxiousness it drains my body and I am left feeling exhausted. This can happen occasionally and when it does it is usually because I have placed more importance on the situation or event than I have on my self. Developing a way of living that truly honours my self in every moment is key and this way of being is supporting me no end in letting go of the anxiety that may arise in my day.
So true Caroline I like how you word that “more importance on the situation or event than you have on yourself” that really stands out to me as such an unloving thing to do. Thankyou for the reminder of the importance of conscious presence. I can feel your words have reached me on a deeper level.
Thank you Julie for sharing, I too, have lived with so much anxiety over getting it right, not creating waves etc. What a relief to know now that we are imperfect and that mistakes are there for our learning, with no need to bash myself up by going over and over with it trying to justify my actions. I can now observe when these feelings arise and know they are not me.
“Anxiety is this perceived pain that we freak out about because we are terrified of doing ‘it’ wrong and humiliating ourselves in the process. ” it was interesting that I would have anxiety with some people and not others, it was when I would go into comparison with another that’s when my anxiety would kick in, feeling less than another so I would put more pressure on myself to achieve and impress. It was crazy as my body always reflected the anxiousness.
Yes Amita, it is interesting that with some people the anxiety can creep in. This has been a big one for me, making myself less placing more importance on an another and neglecting myself in the process. This has changed enormously. I can still slip into comparison and feel the anxiety but this is much less in my life today as I keep building a loving and appreciative relationship with myself.
The funny thing about anxiety, is that it is so engrained in society, that most just accept it as being normal. But is does not have to be that way.
http://study.coum.org/enrol/index.php?id=14
I have found techniques such as walking, gentle exercise and gentle breath meditation have helped enormously in reducing my anxiety.
Your last paragraph is such a gem Julie; knowing that we have all we need inside us to live in joy, harmony stillness and love, so that we are not controlled by anxiety. Indeed a very deep heartfelt thanks to Serge Benhayon for sharing his divine wisdom.
“Thanks to the teachings of Serge Benhayon, Universal Medicine, its many practitioners and the support of the Student community, I am steadily building a new foundation: one of knowing that within me I have all I need as I let go of the past and take care of the future by bringing focus to the present”.
I feel that people have come to accept anxiety as a natural way of living. I definitely had. However, it has a huge impact on every aspect of how we live and the choices we make.
It seems that sometimes people forget what they are anxious about but have become so used to being in that state, that they even appear to create issues to keep the anxiety going.
It is immense to read that you have come to a point where you are able to observe these symptoms rather than being enmeshed in them, this shows that there is another way, and that we have choices, as painful as it is, to accept that sometimes we choose less for ourselves.
You’ve raised a great point here Nicole. ‘To accept that sometimes we choose less for ourselves” shows the choices that we make that don’t allow us to recognise and live the simplicity and grandness that we all have felt at various intervals of our lives.
Absolutely Brendan. Anxiety is one of those problems that can be addressed if we are willing to take a look at ourselves rather than just trying to bury or eliminate it from daily life, even the subtle rumble that just sits in the background that bites at the heals of our existence.
When I feel anxiousness in my body I know I am running with a story in my head that I cannot handle life, or that I will make some terrible mistakes. This is essentially a cross roads where I can make the day be all about me and my issues, or I can come back to the breath in my lungs, settle down in my body and apply myself to the tasks at hand, knowing that what ever is chosen will always lead to another great lesson.
This ‘subtle rumble’ matthew is chronic in our world and feels to me that it is all about not connecting with the truth of our worth and being able to or choosing not to, claim that and express from the fullness of who I am. That is where responsibility comes in, however I have to feel my worth first!
Beautifully expressed Shami, it is being aware that we are at the crossroads and taking responsibility to connect and make choices that is the key. I love what you have shared here.
I too love your comment here Shami. It is true that when I feel anxiousness in my body I can get so wrapped up in my own little world and not see the bigger picture and my responsibility I have in it. Knowing I have created it I can then ask myself why?
It was wonderful to read all the symptoms of anxiety, which I am pretty sure most of us just accept as a normal part of life. I feel we have become so good at ignoring these symptoms that a lot of people would not even say they get anxious. Yet the more aware of my body I am, the more often I realise there is some degree of anxiousness there. The great thing about this is that recognising the beginnings of anxiety as Julie has shared, allows you to not go down that rabbit hole, to breathe and come back to being steady within yourself.
Stress and anxiety are so debilitating; however by being guided by the teachings and tools of Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon, it is a divine blessing that, we can return to our true loving selves.
Your blog is an inspiration Julie, beautiful to read.
Great point Julie that feeling the hurts we don’t want to feel is key in overcoming anxiety. Going back to simplicity and observing ourselves and life rather than reacting.
Anxiety is huge in our society. Many are living with it without realising they have it, some are simply coping by using methods to bury its symptoms and others are living their lives feeling it but trying to hide it from everyone else. Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine, through the Gentle Breath Meditation and Esoteric Yoga offer real support to anyone who wants to break the cycle of anxiousness by returning to the stillness within their body.
I agree Jane, the Esoteric Modalities and the Gentle Breath Meditation provide incredible support for everyone. Thank God for Serge Benhayon for the gold that he has brought to so many people’s lives.
Reading your blog Julie has reminded me of just how powerful the teachings of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine are. The very fact that your foundation is becoming stronger and stronger shows the true value of these teachings. I recently visited my family of origin overseas and it was fantastic to see and feel how different I am now to how I once was. The difference is that I am more myself now than ever before and everyone, absolutely everyone benefits from it.
I was on a plane recently and was sitting next to a woman who was working at her computer a million miles an hour. I then heard her share that she needed to do something to relax. It reminded me that when we aren’t with ourselves we can do anything and everything to not feel the effect it is having and that the anxiety and stress will continue to run rampant until the choice is made to stop. We could then question whether ‘doing something to relax’ is actually a choice to return to our body or a way to numb what we are feeling.
A great comment and question Vicky, ‘when we aren’t with ourselves we can do anything and everything to not feel the effect it is having and that the anxiety and stress will continue to run rampant until the choice is made to stop.’ The question is then, as you say, do we choose to stop and re-connect to ourselves or to numb ourselves further so as to not feel?
Great point Vicky that when we’re not with ourselves, not paying attention to how we’re feeling but just in the motion and drive of the doing, we’re totally unaware of the strain we’re putting our bodies under until they shout loud enough for us to stop. We can choose to numb the messages they give us, but only to a point – eventually the truth of how we’ve been living becomes very evident in our body.
Anxiety and my ever growing understanding of what it means to take responsibility go hand in hand. I know anxiety is not who I am so when the anxious moments arrive, it is a sign that I need to deepen my commitment my relationship with myself and to take responsibility for who I am and what I offer in just by being me!
You have introduced another aspect of anxiety bernadetteglass. I used to think it was only things I couldn’t cope with that made me anxious. But more now days I am seeing that I can get anxious as a form of self-sabotage, when I know the real me is being called for and I will be amazing if I allow all that out.
Spot on Fiona. I find that when I am connected to my purpose and am prepared, I take my self to what is needed and the anxiety can’t prevail. It is about commitment to life, not perfection and when additional support may be needed or I lack confidence, which is fine because I am learning not to let the anxiousness ‘take me out’ beforehand and I stay in charge more often.
Fiona I have actually discovered that also and the result is I end up standing in the kitchen looking for comfort…. Didn’t relate it to anxiousness at first but now recognise it comes from a self-sabotaging behaviour, when I have felt in my fullness and then chosen to cap myself by not being willing to continue to hold my fullness in that moment.
I love how you relate climbing Mount Everest with buying a packet of mints Julie, for anxiety can exist in any situation where we are not connected with ourselves.
Exactly Jane, anxiety is not about what we do, but how we do it and how we are with ourselves. If we are at ease and clear with ourselves, there will be no anxiety, yet if we are not, even the most mundane thing can cause panic.
Yes Jane and it surprises me how subtle the anxiousness can sneak in without me realising it, in any situation. The more present I am with myself, the sooner I can call it out.
In hearing how your wise friend shared her experience of “appreciating all the choices she has made in her life that had brought her to the present moment”. Reading this again today and truly feeling the depth of this sharing is very inspiring. Thank you Julie.
Anxiety is so prevalent in our society, with so many people experiencing it. Some experience it, but don’t really even know that they are as it has become such normal way of being that it is now their ‘normal’. That is definitely how I have experienced anxiety in the past, it still comes in from time to time, but I can feel it when it does. But before attending Universal Medicine presentation and experiencing the Universal Medicine modalities, I did not know the difference. Those modalities turned my life around, without that and the love guidance and reflection of Serge Benhayon, I shudder to think where I would be today.
I agree raegankcairney. There is acute anxiety that we know about but there is also low-level ongoing anxiety that I often observe and that easily gets triggered when it is there.
Yes Christophschnelle, I too have this low level anxiety that seems to just be right there and can be triggered easily, so I am learning that if I haven’t been that present and it starts to come in, I am quick to tell it, you have no place in my body of love, and bring my focus back to my body. It’s a great feeling when I claim myself in this way and call out the energy.
Yes Christoph, it is this low level anxiety that is there all the time that can get triggered really easily. This type of anxiety is one of the most common health problems in people today, and many are not aware that it is even a problem because they have got so used to it being there. Living with this constant underlying tension is something we are accepting as a society as being a normal way to be, but should this be the case? I have been a very anxious person until I began to attend Universal medicine workshops and events, but through the teachings of Serge Benahyon and the Esoteric healing Modalities, although I still have a tendency to be anxious at times, overall my anxiety levels have reduced enormously.
Yes christophschnelle I agree, I too am aware of a low-level ongoing anxiety within me that can get easily triggered and before I know it there’s anxiousness running through my body. This is what happened to me yesterday in dealing with something I had put off for some time. I am realising that anxiousness can come up any time whether I am alone or in the company of another and that I have a responsibility to call it out when it arises.
This blog is offering me a wonderful opportunity to observe my self in how much of my day is spent lived in a subtle, underlying anxiousness…it really does make me stop to ponder on this. Thank you Julie for sharing.
I certainly used to think that feeling anxious was ‘normal’ and something that I simply had to put up with and get on with life. To be reminded by Universal Medicine that the anxiousness is not who I am has been a godsend to say the least.
Julie I feel that you have definitely made the right choice by writing this blog and also by sharing. Your complete honesty is inspiring. I have been realising lately that when I’m feeling like I have got it wrong – there is always someone else who is feeling exactly how I am feeling. If we are coming truly from our hearts we can never get it wrong. Thank you so much for sharing.
Beautifully shared Jaderiver56 “If we are coming truly from our hearts we can never get it wrong” A great post it for every classroom in the world.
I too have felt the first points of anxiousness coming into my body this morning, and noticed how my first reflection was to be critical of myself for allowing it to be there. I just stopped and allowed myself to feel that it’s what was coming up in my body and that I knew it didn’t have to be there. Being critical of myself for it was definitely counter-productive! It was great to become aware that this level of self-criticism was there, as now I can choose to let it go, and just allow my body to show me what it needs to show me.
I agree Amelia. I have had in the past, so many pictures of how I should be running in my head. With so many perceived pictures to live up to, there is almost no way I could not be in self-judgment! It is amazing how quickly the anxious feeling can resolve when I take a step back and just feel it and not get caught up in it.
That’s a good point Fiona and Amelia, the moment we shut down from the feeling (which requires energy) we then allow the same energy into the body but as it builds that same energy turns from rejection to judgement very quickly. But the body doesn’t like this method of dealing with the anxiety and often holding this all in hurts! Anxiousness is starting to feel like a tension – a sign that our amazingness is not being utilised when it is busting to come out.
Thank your for the reminder Fiona to feel what is really going on when I feel symptoms of anxiety beginning to surface. Coming back to my breath and connecting to my stillness helps me to let it pass but doesn’t let me get a real feel what lies beneath,what I am possibly ready to let go off.
I’ve experienced the same thing Amelia – feeling the tension (which in itself is a great awareness) but then going into a self-critique about how I got into the tension in the first place! The more I can observe the tension and just clock what I feel in my body, simply noting the choices I may have made prior (ie pushing myself, going into drive, not taking the time to rest etc) without judging them, the easier it is to begin to let go of the tension and make a more supportive choice in the next moment or activity.
Absolutely Brendan, and for me the Esoteric Healing Modalities were the first time I experienced a body that was not in anxiety – and this gave me a marker and the knowing that I have a choice to address anxiety when I feel it, rather than trying to override or numb what I am feeling.
This is true Jo, after having Esoteric Healing Modalities, be it a one to one, or attending a course there is no anxiety in my body and this is a beautiful marker, and as you say it then gives me a choice to address anxiety when I feel it.
Julie, this is really special and thank you for sharing. Anxiety is like a plague in humanity, a condition that can develop as a very young child and continue to fester into adulthood, sometimes into full blown panic as you have described. Yet who we innately are – is still and full of love. How did we get so far away from our essence? The beauty is, as you have shared, that we can reconnect to who we truly are and slowly come back to living from our true self where anxiety is no longer in the driver seat of our daily lives.
“I am steadily building a new foundation: one of knowing that within me I have all I need as I let go of the past and take care of the future by bringing focus to the present.” I LOVE this Julie – true wisdom!
I agree Brendan – this is truly empowering. The tools that Universal Medicine offers are exactly that, empowering for each individual.
A powerful blog Julie – thank you. ‘A wise friend recently shared how appreciative she is of all the choices she has made in her life that had brought her to the present moment. Fully hearing this was a massive weight being lifted off my chest as I realised that my choices have and continue to be opportunities to be more gentle, understanding, appreciative and loving with myself.’ Truly humble and truly beautiful.
It is great to see this subject brought out in the open, dissected and understood a little better. I have been anxious about many things in my life, most of which I have been able to hide under a thin disguise, but some like speaking in front of people with a mic in hand is not so easy for me to hide. None of which feels good or a natural feeling to have inside me.
So true kevmchardy for when we are transparent in our discussions and commitment to expose the intrusion anxiety imposes on us we can be all set free of its control.
I realise a lot of pressures we are put under, by ourselves and by others, are in most cases made up. There is no true responsibility or accountability in them but they are simply ways of pushing and driving ourselves without any connection or true purpose. It really does pose the question, what are we aligning ourselves to when we feel such stress and anxiety? Not the truth, that’s for sure!
This is poignant and confirming as I rediscover that our hurts surface level, “It’s the hurts I don’t want to feel,” as I become aware that I have not wanted to feel them, through doing so I deny what the hurts keeps me away from, the true power and wonder in life. It is a trick that keep us away from our truth, our divinity, our light and in the scheme of things the hurts are tiny specks of sand. Turning this on its head and appreciating the divinity that is within naturally exposes this hurts for what they are as trick that can be let go of.
Well said Samantha – knowing the enormity we truly come from, the hurts are indeed tiny specks of sand.
I found there to be different levels of anxiety or anxiousness. There is the really obvious life debilitating anxiousness, but when this gets addressed, there is another more subtle level waiting in the wind. It’s quite beautiful how life can offer the opportunities to deal with situations where we can either protect ourselves and thus not deal with it and remain in the anxiousness, or express, which offers an untold amount of healing.
Thank you for sharing Julie. I can relate. The only way I know to beat anxiousness is to be all who I am. That means to also breathe who I am too. No one knows you better than you. It’s crazy to go with those thoughts that do not become you. Your better off being honest and truthful than to be something your not. It would ease the relations if everyone was honest, and thus reduce the anxiousness and pressure of actually being yourself.
I am learning the same Rik. I would have previously been very adamant that I was a very honest person, but looking deeper now, I would have been scared to reveal that I didn’t know something and was unaware that the anxiety caused by this was running my life. Simply being me these days is incredibly empowering, I’m being much more truthful.
I love re-reading your blog as I woke up this morning and I could feel some anxiety. I only have to go back to my body and this moment, realizing that everything I need is right here and that everything that will come, I can take care of.
Yes Mariette, the article is very supportive in dealing with our anxiety or levels of stress.
Thank you Julie for sharing with us your journey with anxiety. I loved reading how you came to understand you where using anxiety as a way of not dealing with whatever it was you felt not capable of not dealing with. Very insightful.
Growing up I never felt accepted for who I truly was, it was a survival game and being hyper-vigilant in my environment so I could pre-empt events that might cause eruptions of abuse. I took on anxiety at a fairly young age and normalised the feeling of it in my body. As I grew up I didn’t see myself as a anxious person the feeling of anxiety in my stomach had become a part of me. In more recent year through the teaching of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine I have learnt to connect with my body and feel anxiety when it is there and process the underlying fear.
Having suffered from anxiety a lot of my life I can relate to this blog a lot. I started having panic attacks when I was about 16 and back then it felt like the attacks, and the fear of having them, had taken over my life. Now since being a part of Universal Medicine, my anxiety is at an all time low, so much so everyone around me can see a difference. I have also learnt that the anxiety has been a part of me trying to control everything because of a deep lack of trust, and because of having investments in peoples reactions or outcomes of situations. Now I am so chilled out about everything it really is a miracle. The soul knows best and when we trust and surrender to it, everything falls into place, so there is no room for control.
That’s amazing eleanorcooper79 – it goes to show how life can turn completely around when we realise and live from the fact that the everyday choices we make have a huge impact on our lives and wellbeing.
I have found too Jennifer that when there is anxiety in me there is somewhere a need to control a situation for whatever reason. Learning to let go of control and rather just live as fully present and loving as I can, allows me to not be controlled by any external factors nor by any thoughts that try to get in to derail me… then just deal with each moment as it presents.
It’s true that we choose anxiety because we are scared of making a fool of ourselves or getting it wrong. I know this has been the case for me. If we were not scared of this, life would be so much easier. It’s not about not caring, but more about being true to ourselves and less concerned about what people think. A work in progress, and one worth working on…
My life has been riddled with this as the baseline and it has left me feeling unconfident and insecure. Now after the awesome inspiration from Serge Benhayon to stop and actually feel that I am absolutely incredible and that I am indeed Everything that I will ever need to be and then some when i connect to my Soul and live in connection this in everything that I do. Here I am strong, powerful, tender and delicate and not an ounce of self-doubt or insecurity.
It’s great Julie how you have been able to work out the underlying root cause of your anxiety. Often all we need is a stop moment and opportunity to nurture ourselves so we can deeply feel what is going on within ourselves. For me also the Gentle Breath Meditation and the Esoteric Yoga Stillness Program for Women both have provided these stop moments for me, and supported me to be more connected to myself and how I feel all the time which means less chance for stressors to escalate out of control.
‘Anxiety is this perceived pain that we freak out about because we are terrified of doing “it” wrong and humiliating ourselves in the process.’ Anxiety can be very debilitating and is rampant in our world today. All my life I have held back my true expression for fear of getting it wrong. Through the teachings of Serge Benhayon and the Esoteric Yoga
Stillness Program for women I now choose a foundation of love and reconnecting to my body as support and knowing that it is OK to be wrong.
I love what Julie has shared here – she has contributed to a conversation that needs to be discussed more honestly and openly to bring about understanding and change as you have said here Brendan. Not hiding, and being honest about, what we are really feeling is the only way we can truly heal.
She sounds like a very wise friend indeed Julie. It takes the wisdom of one to recognise it in another.
True and defines what is a true friend.
Simone your statement of fact ‘It takes the wisdom of one to recognise it in another’ caused me to reflect on something that it has taken me a while to grasp and that is that unless we know something in ourselves first then we can’t recognise it in another. I was very reluctant to really get this, especially when it was to do with recognising something that I perceived to be ‘negative’ in another. Yet again it seems that we are brought back to the fact that we are the originators of everything we experience.
I agree – I have been resisting feeling this too Alexis. But I am really appreciating the constant reflections we are offered to have these ‘negative’ experiences we feel brought to our awareness and in this, we are given the opportunity to develop.
Anxiety can be triggered when we are resisting the light of the soul, as the body surrenders, a reaction can rise up and create anxiousness. This is where we have the choice and the power to say no, and instead allow ourselves to surrender even more. In affect, the anxiousness can be a trigger or a reminder for the deeper quality that is available.
To “let go of the past and take care of the future by bringing focus to the present” this for me also has really helped to stop the mind from jumping from one thought to another in quick succession and allowing anxiousness to take a stronghold.
I love Brendan how you flip anxiety on the other side here, and present it as something we can actually use as a sign, symptom, communication from the body that there is something about ourselves where more harmony, healing need to be brought.
Yes very true. Anxiety does not have to be a life sentence or something we need to accept as a normal part of life. If we use our anxiety as a way of identifying when we feel ill equipped to deal with something then we can use it to continually evolve us and not leave us trapped feeling there is no way out.
I found I become less anxious when I express regularly. By getting familiar with my connection, to get confirmation again and again about my willingness to be present and expressive, open up to people and say how it is….anxiety does melt – or better: the food of the anxiety does melt and so it has no feeding anymore and disappear. Instead of feeding my anxiety with doubt I feed my self-awareness and power. This is so fabulous to realize! I choose what I feel. Now – make a choice. 🙂
This is Awesome sandra schneider – the choice is as simple as feed the doubt and therefore the anxiety or support deeply and confirm the connection.
I noticed you write how you ‘choose’ anxiety. That means it can be ‘unchosen’ too. That means people don’t have to ‘put up with it’ or are victims to it.
That is the great thing about admitting something is a choice, it gives us the openness to know we can make a different choice.
Since I read this blog the other day Julie, I’ve been noticing situations where I don’t actually breathe my full breath. Actually, most of the day my breath is happening in a constrained way. Although I may not be in a super panic I am actually living in this anxiety you describe. It seems so ‘normal’, but my body and my health is telling me “no, there is another way you can live, free from fear and restriction”. Thank you for the very literal inspiration.
Joseph this is great to say out loud. The tension I can often feel in my body is this living/breathing at 3/4. The breathing is not full and therefore neither am I – in that each breath is not fully claimed and neither is the being in each and every breathe. This contraction in our immediate organs the lungs, reflects back to the body and all other bodies where it truly lives. Contraction and lack of fullness is confirmed to others. The breathe not being full also prevents the body from its divine order and function, it is restricted and constantly needing to work harder. Wow how much does anxiety affect our health? A huge amount.
What is really telling Julie in reading your piece is that I can still feel how my anxiety is ‘eased’ by various methods – one that has become so apparent this last couple of weeks is the use of a song or tune to distract me from the feelings that have arisen from me being in a certain situation. I am calling this out – a lot less harshly than before but it takes commitment and a willingness to deeply support ourselves.
What a honestly sharing Lee – thank you! I can relate to that and found to get familiar again that and what we feel is a journey of commitment and love. To know that I am held in love all the time makes it easier – to confirm this connection and beholding love by making self-loving choices is supportive.
I did put myself on a program, a training so to speak, to be aware of my connection with God and so with Love all the time. This connection is my foundation for becoming aware of what is going on in this world and be able to deal with it.
Choices are pretty important. What we choose make a crucial difference in how we evolve or not. So, each choice matters. Yet, when we fear of getting it wrong choice after choice, it gets a bit difficult.
Anxiety feels like a self-made prison, an act of creation.
Yes. It makes our world (and us) small and limited. It is in fact avoiding our power.
I’m sure it sounds odd – if not ridiculous – but at times I have found a comfort in being anxious; a sort of legitimate reason to not go all out in experiencing life. So yes Eduardo, at the bottom of it all perhaps anxiety really is a self-made prison.
Anxiety is very draining. Maybe that’s why majority of the population feel exhausted.
Your blog, Julie, made me look at my reasons to feel anxious. It is always about future or the past. Sometimes it could be small things which I focused without seeing a bigger picture like small pimple on my face before going to the party.Other times it could be worry about something big ( as credit card debt) without appreciating small things ( clothes I wear, food on the table).
But if I am present to what it is, where I am at the moment, keep equilibrium of small and big-there is only life and space. The space and stillness which I experience during Esoteric Yoga sessions and Gentle breath meditation.
Absolutely “Anxiety is very draining. Maybe that’s why majority of the population feel exhausted ” ? There are more people out their in anxious energy than there are in joyful energy. More people are exhausted and struggling to function in the basic day to day of life, this is scary where is the world coming too.
Anxiety unravelled… beautiful.
Love that line of your friend: to be fully appreciative of all the choices you made so far to bring you to this present moment. No bashing, just acknowledging: this is me, product of all my choices. What is next is: will my next choice be with the same appreciation and love for myself and all around me?
Beautifully expressed Caroline, we are so use to bashing ourselves for the ill choices that we make, but that does nothing but keep us from being honest out of fear of our bashing. When in truth it is the honesty that sets us free, free to look at our choices so that we do not repeat them.
Julie thank you. This is such a great article claiming the symptoms of anxiety and how it is an epidemic in our society today that is getting out of control. The joy you share is very empowering in recognising these symptoms, and shows us a way we can see these things happening and truly make changes for a steadiness and consistency in the way we live.The gentle breath is where it all starts from lived and inspired by Serge Benhayon.
Anxiety is something I thought I didn’t have until recent years after developing deeper connection with my body and I realise anxious is there most of the time as a niggling feeling a bit like hunger in my stomach. This feeling was so familiar to me I don’t remember not having it ever in my life. As I learn to build a foundation of presence and awareness in my body I recognize it. Anxiety when I feel it as anxiety, not hunger.
Yes, I used to think I didn’t have anxiety until recent years. In reality I had hidden it under nervous tension, always being busy and doing, so I never really allowed myself to feel what was truly going on in my body. With my increased awareness and presence I now feel anxiousness and so much more, which gives me the choice to look at and heal these patterns.
“I’m observing these symptoms rather than being enmeshed in them”. This is great Julie because so often we simply react and don’t give ourselves the time to stop and feel what is going on. Once the reaction begins, it can be hard to pull yourself back onto an even footing to deal with what is happening, often a reaction is the beginning of a cascade of events, either saying something that is unnecessary or trying to bury the feelings with something.
Julie thank you for sharing an emotion such as anxiety which can be so debilitating in our lives, for so many people. I too have been experiencing it for many years and only just recently have I been able to observe the harmful effects on my body without judgement, and not try to fight it, or suppress it with food or distraction. By stating that it is an energy passing through me I have a choice to not hang on to it, and judge it to be who I am- for I clearly am not. The gentle breathe meditation by Serge Benhayon and esoteric yoga are great tools to reconnect to our true essence.
Great sharing, lorettarapp.
Love this sentence from your comment lorettarap. ‘By stating that it is an energy passing through me I have a choice to not hang on to it, and judge it to be who I am- for I clearly am not.’ We are not our emotions, ideals or beliefs and we have a choice in every moment to see and feel that these are energies passing through us, and to let go, as it is clearly not who we are.
Julie, I do like your wise friend who said ‘how appreciative she is of all the choices she has made in her life that had brought her to the present moment’. While reading those words I had a mental video running about situations that I have abused myself over. Some of those events and hurts happened many years ago yet I am still analysing (not feeling) them and certainly not appreciative of those choices that I made. Thank you for your honesty and your sharing.
Anxiety is the retardant of life if we allow it to be. Everyone experiences anxiety. For some people it is very apparent and for others it is a constant low level that informs our choices but isn’t consciously recognised. If we choose to examine our anxiety we can gradually deal with the aspects of life that are causing us to be anxious so the anxiety no longer has a hold over us. This will need to be a constant development, as when we get on top of one aspect of life that causes us anxiety we will be presented with the next to begin the same process again with.
This retardness is exactly what anxiety is, it takes a complete hold over you and stops us from connecting to our real self that is still and all knowing. I love how you say we work on constant development of a relationship with ourselves that is honest, and deals with the anxiety by deepening our relationship with ourselves. Then we can see when it takes control and address it for what it is. I have made a huge step in the letting go of anxiety, and know when I feel the low grade anxiety, that is super subtle, I hone in on that.
I love what you write Kate and Natalie here about the constant development of our relationship both with self and anxiety. I am too making a full commitment to address anxiety in my life, and in that process which involves growth of awareness and honesty it has been fascinating to realise how much anxiety I have been living in probably all of my life and observe how much anxiety I still allow in these days. I very much relate with the constant low grade and subtle anxiety – which when you are connected to your body does not feel that subtle at all! The beauty though now is that I am taking full responsibility for it (to the best of my ability and awareness), and feel very much equipped for that. Anxiety does not own me. I have observed lately that developing deeper self-appreciation on a daily basis is actually a very powerful way to address anxiety. The gentle breath meditation, esoteric yoga and all the other tools offered by Julie are certainly very effective too.
I experience anxiety a lot of the time. And everytime I feel it, it’s telling me that I’m not present with my body. Usually it means that I try to be ahead of the moment. Like I’m in a drive rather then feeling me and enjoying me in the present moment. At that moment there’s a belief running that I might find myself at the end of a task. Or that I have to do my best to get to a great end result. Writing this makes me aware of the anxiety I am actually experiencing now. And how when acknowledging this, instantly brings back the sweetness, the joy, the surrendering, the feeling of being home. Simple, almost too simple… Yet profoundly obvious at the same time.
I never really realised for along time that I would get anxious of getting things wrong, I always tried to make sure I never got things wrong. When I did get things wrong, I use to feel terrible and beat myself up and my mind would keep playing back how could I have done it differently, causing a lot of nervous tension. Over last few years I have let go of having to be right and that it is OK to get things wrong as I am forever learning. This understanding allowed me to let go of that anxiety of getting things wrong.
These words feel like magic: “I am steadily building a new foundation: one of knowing that within me I have all I need as I let go of the past and take care of the future by bringing focus to the present.” It is freeing when we let go of the past and future and let ourselves be in the present moment.
I agree Annie, this line says so much. Feeling that we take care of the future by being consciously present right now takes away the trap we can fall into about thinking or worrying about the future. These thoughts can actually only be there when we aren’t being present. What a give away and a great warning sign that more presence is needed!
So true Vicky, anxiety is like a neon sign that blinks ‘Be More Present’!
Like a friend said this day: Lets share Presence instead of Presents!
…in fact Presence is the best gift I can make to this world and everyone.
The trick is exposed Vicky Geary no presence equals a constant worry and anxiety about what is coming.
That’s it Lee. The constant worry and anxiety places such an incredible strain and drain on the body because presence is our natural state and to resist that creates all sorts of physical, emotional and mental complications.
I love Vicky how you write that presence is our natural state – it absolutely is and yet we can resist and resist all that presence brings.
‘It is freeing when we let go of the past and future and let ourselves be in the present moment’, this is so true. Presence is the foundation that helps stop us going into anxiety.
Julie it is wonderful knowing this is true for us all: “That I have within me true power of what it means to live in this world, my unwavering commitment to be solid in my relationship with myself – with God” As you share an unwavering commitment is what brings it to life and allows our own absolute power and trust in ourselves to flourish.
Recently I had a discussion with someone about anxiety and it made me realise that I thought that anxiety was preventing me from connecting to my body and expressing all that I know with authority in crunch situations, but it was put to me that perhaps it was the other way around. I really do know and feel the true power I have to bring my love and light to any situation but I deliberately choose to deny that power and suppress it first, which makes me feel very disempowered, which then leads to me feeling anxious and not being able to handle whatever is in front of me. So I realised that anxiety is a by -product of us not claiming and confirming who we are and what we know.
I feel inspired and reconfigured from what you have said here Andrew – an important insight – thank you.
I agree Michelle – a very important insight for us all.
Yes Andrew, when we don’t take responsibility for the choices we make we give our authority away and deny our power. When I am not ‘with myself’ I am anxious, because I am not connected to the wisdom of my body. It has been such an amazing process, building a foundation of presence, and how that totally changes my outlook and ability to be solid, steady and consistent in my life. And it only gets better as I develop this more and more. Thank you Serge Benhayon for bringing such profound, simple, practical and life-changing awareness.
Considering the prevalence of anxiousness what you are contributing here Andrew is worth understanding. I have observed my own anxiousness and overwhelm is self created so to pinpoint this was preceded by a choice to deny and suppress our love and light is going to the root cause. Its very helpful to get clear on this- thanks Andrew.
A great turnaround in seeing anxiety and how we may be setting it up, you have given me much to ponder within myself, thank you Andrew
Great comment Andrew! I can feel the game playing out with this.
That is huge, Andrew. It takes the understanding of anxiety to its roots.
Wow Andrew Mooney this is Gold and something I have to take note of. Thank you for the sharing.
I can definitely relate to this problem of anxiety and how it can creep into and dominate every day life so easily. I can also feel Julie that you have changed your whole perception of anxiety from a place where it owned you and controlled you to a place where you now see it is as simply a choice you are making to be anxious and therefore you/we can choose to not be anxious – simple. This is game changing in terms of our understanding of this dis-ease (if is not called an illness or epidemic yet it should be) and has certainly helped me a lot in decreasing the level of daily anxiousness I experience.
Anxiety is a huge strain, physically, emotionally and mentally that we place on our bodies, and not to feel it all the time when the body is used to it constantly is very liberating. But learning to be open, to accept that we’re not perfect, and to learn to let go of reactions from outcomes of what others think, frees us to be ourselves. It is great to observe how anxiety can creep in, and catch it, knowing it’s a choice and it is not who we are.
I agree Gillrandall, it took me a while to accept that anxiety was a choice due to the enormous reaction within the body – to me it seemed like something outside of my control and that I had no say it when and how it would affect me. But I have started to catch the more subtle signs earlier now, so that I can choose to go into it or not.
Yes Gillrandall and also a huge strain on society. It really ought to be a viewed as the front page crisis of epidemic proportions that actually is.
Thank you, Julie. Anxiety is prolific in our society and yet we do not often discuss this common undercurrent that runs our bodies and keeps us in exhaustion. Your blog brings it out into the open more, so that we do not just accept it as the norm and manage it through abusing our bodies even more, with food, alcohol etc.
Agreed Janet, only this morning my daughter expressed how anxious she was feeling, and we talked about what was going on. I could also share some anxiety that I had been feeling in my body and the tension it was causing. I love how all relationships, not just the one I have with my daughter are opening up and discussions seem more real about what is going on and how we really feel.
You’ve beautifully pinpointed how we create a vicious cycle of abuse for ourselves, which I can totally relate to, Julie. We’ve become so accustomed to living with anxiety, and rather than deal with the real issues and look at why we live in this way, many of us just choose to bury our heads in the sand and look for distractions in whatever form. This puts an enormous amount of pressure on us, eventually something has to give and we end up ill. Being willing to bring honesty and understanding to how and why we are living in a state of turmoil is key, we can then begin to see that there is another way to live and start to make more loving choices for ourselves.
“I have chosen anxiety because I have beaten myself up about ‘wrong’ choices made and then felt that I have ‘suffered’ as a consequence.” I used to live in a permanent anxious state, although I didn’t really recognise the extent to which it controlled my life until Universal Medicine. I would beat myself up for all the negative choices I had made in life, never considering to appreciate all the great choices I had made. Appreciation of who we are and how far we have come helps to dispel anxiousness, in anxiousness we forget to value ourselves, what we bring, and the choices we have made.
‘I would beat myself up for all the negative choices I had made in life, never considering to appreciate all the great choices I had made. Appreciation of who we are and how far we have come helps to dispel anxiousness, in anxiousness we forget to value ourselves, what we bring, and the choices we have made.’ I love what you have said here Alison, a great reminder of the power we have by the choices we make.
Alisonmoir, I can relate to this “I would beat myself up for all the negative choices I had made in life, never considering to appreciate all the great choices I had made”. It had never even crossed my mind to look at the great choices I had made, so there was no appreciation at all. I was always caught in all the negative choices I had made and trying to change them.
Appreciation is so important in all of our lives, and helps with so much. I am choosing to bring more appreciation into my life, and this then overflows into more and more areas.
I like what you share Alisonmoir, I can recognise that there is no valuing of our own amazingness in anxiousness, no appreciation of our qualities. Yet if we don’t appreciate our qualities, which we all have in abundance then what is the quality of life that we are leading, giving ourselves and those around us. If we question whether we would wish to be around someone who lives in anxiousness we can then see that we should not create that space for ourselves, as our responsibility to be free of anxiousness is greater than just our own health and wellbeing, but the reflection and support we offer one another to also feel positive about ourselves.
Beautiful, Alisonmoir. I love this, ‘Appreciation of who we are and how far we have come helps to dispel anxiousness, in anxiousness we forget to value ourselves, what we bring, and the choices we have made.’
I would sit and ruminate over the things that I thought I had done wrong, or more destructively, I would take the things that I had done well and look at all the things that I could have done better. This would create a huge amount of anxiety, and because there was no appreciation in any of this at all, I would constantly be thinking that I was doing something wrong.
But when I started to appreciate myself and really look at all that there was to appreciate, things started to shift in amazing ways, not only in myself and how I thought about myself, but in the choices that I would allow myself to even consider.
Having lived in a constant state of anxiousness for so many years it becomes a constant and a feeling of dread as another bout of anxiety washes over yet again. No matter how hard trying to stop it fails. A very unnatural way to be. As you share so beautifully Julie being introduced to the Gentle Breath Meditation this really does assist us in being able to ‘let go of these unnatural symptoms that do not belong’. An amazing support for us to connect and bring focus to the present and gently unfold onto a very different pathway in our lives.
I didn’t consciously feel anxious for much of my life but only noticed fairly recently that there was an undercurrent of anxiety running through my life many times. I was surprised how debilitating this undercurrent was.
There is not a person I have spoken to recently that does not feel anxious about different situations and as you’ve shared it can take over our whole lives. I still have times I feel like this but when I look back, before the loving support and the wisdom shared by Serge Benhayon, my day went from one anxious moment to the next with a deep undercurrent of anxiousness. The “good” times were just when I had mastered how not to show how anxious I was. It’s a deep appreciation to feel the steadiness in myself when I am simply being me and the difference this makes to my whole day.
‘ The “good” times were just when I had mastered how not to show how anxious I was.’ Very honest and deeply well said David. I too can relate to this.
It is as though we learn to mask or distract ourselves away from the underlying anxiety without it ever being truly addressed, let alone healed. This has changed with the teachings of Universal Medicine and we have many tools at our disposal to help us get to the root of the matter.
I love your honesty, David: “The “good” times were just when I had mastered how not to show how anxious I was.” I feel that this is true for many people, it certainly has been for me. Anxiousness was measured in degrees, I was either more anxious or less anxious, but I was always anxious.
Learning to appreciate myself and just how far I have come in my life has made a huge difference to me. I would not claim that I am anxiety free in all of my life, but anxiety is not a constant presence any more.
Exactly David, this is how I used to live my life until Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine showed me another way “The “good” times were just when I had mastered how not to show how anxious I was.” How completely differently life is now.
Yes Naren I have measured how ‘good’ my day was according to the degree of anxiousness I was experiencing; or rather how much I had not had to numb out the feelings of anxiety.
My life of no longer being anxious in every moment is wonderful to appreciate and comes from standing by myself no matter what. Lots of work here to do but I know developing my appreciation and relationship with myself allows me to see the clear choice I always have of either choosing anxiousness or choosing me and my connection with God, the latter being far more powerful.
“standing by myself no matter what” I love this, Karin. It is such a loving way to be with yourself! I’ll be taking that one with me. Thank you.
I agree with what you say about degrees of anxiety Naren. Even simple issues, like will the goods i ordered be delivered today, can generate anxiety, which if I don’t deal with it and let it go, create a tension in my body which the pulls in more stuff to get anxious about. So its great to be able to feel that tension as soon as it enters. After all, whats the worst that can happen? A late delivery isn’t going to hurt me unless i am so caught up in control that I have lost my own rhythm of being.
Asking ourselves questions, like “what is the worst that can happen?” are great ways to bring things back into perspective, Catherine. Anxiousness is like a rewiring where we are trying to protect ourselves from harm, and think that the only way to protect ourselves is by being on high alert all of the time and controlling everything. If something gets out of control he fear that we are about to be hurt builds, and as you say, we start to pull in more things to get more anxious about.
Breaking that cycle by allowing ourselves to stop and to connect to our breath, making the choice of the quality of our breath is such a simple and powerful way to let go of anxiousness.
“Anxiousness was measured in degrees, I was either more anxious or less anxious, but I was always anxious.” I can relate to this Naren and I have found it is important to stay aware of this all the time as it has then been easier to feel and address.
Agreed Naren anxiety was always ever present and something that had to be duelled with in order to overcome, drown out with drugs and alcohol or simply allowed to stamp itself all over my day. Powerful to appreciate that with the support of Universal Medicine anxiety has less and less hold.
When we measure anxiousness in degrees, we are willing to put up with it (and not look to heal the root cause) so long as it doesn’t cripple our lives.
Way to cut straight to the heart of it Fiona! It is that willingness to put up with it, that just allows us to limp along through life, which is actually devastating to us. But we often feel that we cannot ask for help because nearly everyone else is limping along as well. Thus, anxiousness becomes accepted as “normal”.
I’m tempted to say let’s appreciate appreciation here. I feel this is so key in shifting the focus of our lives away from our issues and onto our true essence, our greater Beingness. This has for sure, been vital in my experience of letting go of anxiousness for when we appreciate something it expands, we give it our energy – so we need to be very discerning about what we choose to expand in our lives.
There is a beauty in the face that what may trigger one person’s anxiety may not trigger another so I am finding in is equally important to appreciate and continue developing the areas I feel more solid in whilst developing the areas I feel not so confident in and with.
Great little observation Abby.
I came across these staggering stats today and wanted to share with those whom are interested.
“Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older, or 18% of the population. (Source: National Institute of Mental Health)
Anxiety disorders are highly treatable, yet only about one-third of those suffering receive treatment.
Anxiety disorders cost the U.S. more than $42 billion a year, almost one-third of the country’s $148 billion total mental health bill, according to “The Economic Burden of Anxiety Disorders,” a study commissioned by ADAA (The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 60(7), July 1999).”
Anxiety is a broad condition that can be very debilitating and these conditions must always be assessed on a case by case basis however my experience with Universal Medicine has been profound in addressing anxiety issues. They seem to cut straight to chase and assists you to heal the root cause and what is underlying. The U.S government could seriously consider taking Serge Benhayon on as a consultant to assist with the health care budget catastrophe with Anxiety!
So, if anxiety is like a self-made prison, an act of creation chosen by so many in this world, the staggering stats remind us that only a minority of those that chose it retraced their steps and decide to receive a treatment, the others simply keep choosing it, adding by the way, to the already rocket high health bill.
That sounds like a great idea sarahraynebaldwin, to get Serge Benhayon as a world consultant on anxiety. When I read the stats that anxiety is highly treatable, my first thought was, “Is this a healing of the root issue or just a bandaid treatment?” In my experience as a nurse it is mostly the latter. Without the simple teachings of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine, I am sure I would have no idea how to feel and deal with anxiety.
I completely agree Fiona Lotherington the current concept that we hold as ‘treatment’ defiantly does not address the root cause of an issue like this. I feel Serge knows that he is only one man and that is why he is sharing so generously everything he knows with whom ever wants to listen so as we as students can maybe one day be acting in the consulting capacity that I spoke of in my last comment.
I came across another equalling staggering stat earlier this week. There were 53 million prescriptions written in the UK for anti-depressants in one year. The article was written in mid 2014 to give it a time frame. Medication is important in helping to treat depression and anxiety but we must seek to truly understand what is running these illnesses. As we know ‘everything is energy’ and we must therefore look at the energetic reason behind these ‘plagues’ for they are showing us something important and Serge Benhayon is without doubt leading the way on this understanding. Perhaps when he has finished consulting with the US government he can ‘hop over the pond’ to meet with David Cameron et al!
I laughed out loud when I read the end of this comment richardmills363
‘Perhaps when he has finished consulting with the US government he can ‘hop over the pond’ to meet with David Cameron et al!” It just cracked me up!!
What you have shared is spot on. Everything that Serge Benhayon has uncovered about anxiety and other illness and disease, he shares it with all his audience openly and lucky for us loads of nurses, doctors, phycologists and general health professional are usually apart of that audience. My guess is at some point we will all hold a true understanding about what is actually going on with these ‘plagues’ and then Serge Benhayon won’t be in such high demand.
I love your list of reasons that can trigger anxiety, including buying a packet of mints. It just goes to show how ingrained this behaviour is and how it doesn’t need to be analysed, dissected or judged as bad but can be used to understand ourselves more deeply and appreciate the choices we can make in every moment.
Isn’t it incredible how we can fear making the wrong decision so much that we can make ourselves sick with the symptoms of anxiety and sometimes even become paralysed – unable to move a single step for fear of getting it wrong. Every choice, whether right or wrong (if there are such things) offers us an opportunity to learn. So when the physical symptoms start to arise, focusing on our bodies, bringing our wayward minds back to the present, will call a halt to the rising torpor and support us to take the next step.
“I am steadily building a new foundation: one of knowing that within me I have all I need as I let go of the past and take care of the future by bringing focus to the present.” Beautifully expressed Julie. It is a commitment I have also made to myself, but the clarity you have claimed this with has inspired me greatly.
Anxiety feels pretty widespread, it is a quiet, destructive tool we use to suppress who we are, used to crush us and our true power. By choosing to appreciate and value ourselves in everyway, anxiety cannot creep in.
Thank you Julie, I can relate to your blog. Anxiety is something I have felt and sometimes it can still creep in. It is I feel an energy I allow in to control me when I don’t fully appreciate the powerful being that I am and when I run with fear of getting something wrong. Anxiety can get out of control if I allow it to continuously run me, but by being aware, being honest and choosing break it down to understand why I chose it really helps me to not chose it again and again but to let it go when I can feel it coming on. By being aware and saying it out loud, ‘I am feeling anxious’ usually helps dissipate its power and I can return to being myself again.
I feel very familiar to what you have shared here, Julie. Trying to cope with my long lasting anxiety, and the general feeling to be overwhelmed from the stresses of life, feeling to not be equipped to succeed in this world, by then controlling everything on the out- and inside. This created the next cycle of anxiety, never I have allowed me to appreciate myself and building a solid relationship with myself in truth and love. Very exhausting. There has been simply no natural balance to any self-abusing thought that I allowed to enter and capture me from the outside in. Today, as I am also practicing to be more and more appreciative with myself every day and making choices that truly support me, I experiencing, that this was the missing link to a true change in my life from being a control-freak to becoming more open, relaxed and loving with myself and others. Thanks to Serge Benhayon, Universal Medicine and all the beautiful people who are committed to choose love and are a constant inspiration, reflection and support to me.
“I have begun to feel the enormity of the stress and strain I have placed on myself, and those around me, living this way.”. This is the ultimate in responsibility, becoming aware that the way we are affects others and this is the catalyst to choose to deal with our hurts.
If you asked me years ago if I was anxious or an anxious person I would have said no way! But in being more honest with myself and from a presentation by Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine I actually felt that I had a low grade of anxiety running in my body constantly .. the whole time!!!! It was only after feeling and seeing this I have been able to address it and although this sometimes does still run I know a deeper level of stillness within me and now have a marker in my body of how to allow myself to return to this.
Thank you Julie, I agree, anxiety is never us, and the feeling of anxiety is also something that is always there – it is a tension that is always felt. To live and understand how anxiety and stress are just part of a normal day, and how we can totally disempower the effects that anxiety has on us, go to ‘Understanding Anxiety in Men – ONLINE COURSE’
http://study.coum.org/enrol/index.php?id=14
Thanks Julie, I too have found Esoteric Yoga extremely supportive in reconnecting to my own tenderness which allows me to feel more and react less to whatever is there. It has definitely changed my life.
This supports me to bring focus to my body as I choose to let go of these unnatural symptoms that do not belong. These last few words Julie, these unnatural symptoms that do not belong, are spot on. Anything less than absolute love is unnatural. Thank-you for your wise and beautiful sharing.
The word ‘unfolded’ speaks volumes in the title of this blog. Anxiety can tightly hold us imprisoned in doubt and inaction. It does feel like you are folded up into a tiny thing. So how do we unfold out of it? Anxiety is a reaction to what might happen that is not congruent to our expectations. Real or not, it is a perceived outcome. So perhaps not having expectations is a good start.
Anxiety is an awful feeling and the key seems to be understanding the process of it. Reading your blog Julie, I was totally with you when you talked about trying to get it right at school. I was so intent on being good and getting it right and had some teachers who were deliberately unpleasable. Not only that they were determined to find something bad about every student, so making myself as small as I could did not save me. It is so amazing to feel that this does not hold me anymore. Recently I realised that I seem to have cast aside the anxiousness I would feel when going somewhere new or facing groups of people. I no longer try to please anyone as l know I am enough the way I am. Also being in my body has me feeling far more centered.
“I am steadily building a new foundation: one of knowing that within me I have all I need as I let go of the past and take care of the future by bringing focus to the present.” – great line Julie…our future is guaranteed based on the quality we are in the present moment.
To read this is such a shining light to those who suffer in anyway with anxiety/panic attacks etc. ‘Wise friends’ are pure gold if we truly listen and take onboard what is offered. As in your situation Julie it gave you a moment to reflect/realise ‘that your choices have and continue to be opportunities to be more gentle, understanding, appreciative and loving with yourself’. The best medicine for stopping anxiety in its tracks.
Awesome sharing thank you Julie.
I know about that, the feeling of anxiety welling up, I used to have it in particularly about study. I practiced sitting and observing the feelings and as you called them ‘symptoms’ and doing so it allowed me to not be completely in it, and so able to let it go. The stress I would feel when looking at a study book would mean I was unable to study. Letting go of the ‘symptoms’ has allowed me to revise and read the books. A complete turn around, I had blocked this as a possibility previously. I felt like I let go of the symptoms and reconnected and honoured the truth of what I feel, a connection with God and so stillness and with that I am open to study.
I really appreciate how you describe bringing focus to something and then allowing to let it go. Using force or control is only ever a short term solution and it will only pop up somewhere else.
Julie, this was divine. You’ve opened up so much around and about anxiety and why we often let it creep into our thoughts. I loved how you expressed this “It’s the hurts I don’t want to feel, – that when left unchecked develop into fear that what is about to happen in the next moment, next hour, week, month, year or even years, “
Great counsel from your friend too – “A wise friend recently shared how appreciative she is of all the choices she has made in her life that had brought her to the present moment ” – yes acceptance of all choices, and not just the good or wise ones, for the poor choices also support our evolving to make ALL choices invaluable.
To know ALL choices, good and poor, is a very humbling, equalising and inspiring point of view.
Completely agree Zofia. What an amazing way to look at past choices- some might be not so great, but they have each been a learning that has enabled you to develop to where you are today. No more beating yourself up for past choices, but understandings galore.
So true Zofia, if we don’t accept both our good and seemingly bad choices then we’ll forever be giving ourselves a hard time about the bad ones and looking back with ‘if only I had…..’ – pointless and it doesn’t change anything. I know I’ve had great learning from my poor choices and the lesson is to not repeat them!
Zofia I was able to step in on my thoughts this afternoon, just as I was about to regret the way that I had behaved with someone and instead of slip into regret I understood that how I behaved was the last time for that particular behaviour because I could see it in full and so next time a situation like that presents itself I will choose differently.
I agree Zofia…we can judge ourselves for choices we perceive as ‘wrong’, ‘bad’ etc, however we wouldnt be who we are today without every choice we have made along the way. There is gold in every single choice we make.
So very true, Zofia. Appreciation for the lessons that we learn through our mistakes is just as important to celebrate as our successes and changes we have made.
Love this post Julie and your helpful realisation – “The beauty of this is today I’m observing these symptoms rather than being enmeshed in them” – yes that’s the key isn’t it – the choice to not get stuck into it (and lost), but instead learning to observe it (and action). I’m dealing with the similar situation of public speaking – where i can choose anxiety or the opportunity to heal as Simone Benhayon shared once which has been invaluable counsel.
I so agree Zofia, this was the turning point for me with anxiety, I was so in it and enmeshed in it all the time, I didn’t even know I was feeling anxious half the time, because it was my normal. It is a different story now, anxiety still can arise, but I can feel it in my body, I know how to reconnect with myself so to diminish the anxiety.
I agree with you entirely Elizabeth. Julie’s article will resonate with so many people, as it has for me.
Another deeply honest line…’I have chosen anxiety because I have beaten myself up about ‘wrong’ choices made and then felt that I have ‘suffered’ as a consequence.’ I can relate to this completely.
‘ It’s the hurts I don’t want to feel, – that when left unchecked develop into fear that what is about to happen in the next moment, next hour, week, month, year or even years..’
Boy or boy can I relate to this line. Living in the future, in anticipation of what may or may not happen is like living in a prison cell. My experience has shown me that this way of living does not work. My body is tense because of it, my neck, my back, my shoulders are all holding on to what ‘might’ happen.
Acknowledging this has allowed me to realise that there is a choice at play here. So, for now I’m experimenting with the different choices and working my way through what works and what doesn’t.
Anxiety has so many layers to it. When I started to address and look at the anxiousness that I was living in at first I struggled to sense it or even feel it because that was my normal. Today my awareness has become more fine tuned and even though I have let go of much of the anxiety that I lived, some still sticks out like a sore thumb. Once I started appreciating who I am and what I actually bring and dropped the comparison and jealousy, then things really started to shift. I’m still surprised how it can all sneak in so easily when I am coasting along and not being on top of these destructive behaviours.
It is a great moment when we realise we do not have to take on all the worries of the world, the things we need to get done and other peoples issues. Remaining open to all these aspects of life – learning to observe and not absorb yet still able to lovingly connect with people and with work, has been a great benefit to my wellbeing and has been because of my experiences in Universal Medicine healing sessions and in workshops, courses and retreats.
‘I am steadily building a new foundation: one of knowing that within me I have all I need as I let go of the past and take care of the future by bringing focus to the present.’ Beautiful sharing Julie. Reading it helps me appreciate what I am building for myself and to stay focused on the beautiful changes that have taken place within instead of focusing on the moments that I am less pleased with myself.
Dear Julie, the first lines to me are exactly how I experience anxiety and how good I’ve been in dismissing all these very obvious signals. I am now realising how clear my body actually communicates – all of the time. And I can relate to not wanting to deal with my hurts, but I also become aware of the absurdness of this. I’m causing myself so much stress that this in itself is much more hurtful to the body that feeling the hurt(s). Observing is key part in this. As well as taking moments on a regular basis to give myself space to observe what my body’s communicating to me. Thank you Julie.
I love the way you describe with precision your body’s symptoms of anxiety. Being observant of these symptoms in my body was the first step out of anxiety. It was shocking how consistent I had been in anxiety, before I started to work on it with support of Universal Medicine.
Completely agree Felix. The way Julie has described exactly how her body responds to her feeling anxiety is really great. Noticing this and exactly what happens begins to bring about the when and why it happens.
I agree felixschumacher8, by being aware and readying my body signals and how it feels I find this helps me stop anxiety creeping in. I also found by appreciating myself more and more and making more loving choices I have pretty much eliminated anxiety in my life in the sense that it is not occurring everyday and whenever it does try to creep, I can recognise it, nominate it and I can choose to let it go.
Anxiety cuts us deeply and is very undermining of the ability we have to deal with any situation. I see anxiety in a lot of people, myself included, and it seems to be an unspoken plague on human life, that is prevalent everywhere with very little communication about its real affects.
Anxiety really is everywhere when you take a closer look.
I had not realised or ‘joined the dots together’ about anxiety being a reaction for our need for perfection. It makes sense and as I was reading all the situations where we could ‘do it wrong’ I felt butterflies in my tummy and my breath shorten, especially with cooking dinner for people and not wanting to get it wrong. I love cooking and people love my cooking but there is still a need within me that wants it perfect, no mistakes and nothing ‘wrong’. With this there is a constant trying that takes hold and leaves the body hardened by not surrendering to the beauty and flow of our own and unique abilities. Thank you Julie.
Often if you asked me how I am I would say I am ‘great’. But until now, most days I have lived ‘held in’, ‘restricted’, ‘tight and short of breath’. It had become so ‘normal’ my body found ways to get by. But what your words show Julie is that anytime I’m not enjoying the true beauty of breathing and being me, loving my lungs and all of me, I’m actually letting a level of anxiety and hardness run inside my body. I deeply appreciate what you have shared here.
‘I am steadily building a new foundation: one of knowing that within me I have all I need as I let go of the past and take care of the future by bringing focus to the present.’ Beautiful sharing Julie. Reading it helps me appreciate what I am building for myself and to stay focussed on the beautiful changes that have taken place within, instead of focussing on the moments that I am less pleased with myself.
An awesome blog here Julie, what you have shared is something that many people can relate to.
“A wise friend recently shared how appreciative she is of all the choices she has made in her life that had brought her to the present moment. Fully hearing this was a massive weight being lifted off my chest as I realized that my choices have and continue to be opportunities to be more gentle, understanding, appreciative and loving with myself.”
This sentence un-does the feelings of regret I have about the choices I have made in the past. Appreciation is one of the best medicines I have ever taken, and when I appreciate myself it stops the constant inner critique that’s always there ready waiting to pounce on me full of self judgment and loathing. Total appreciation and love for myself is very healing.
Wow Thomas, I love your medicine of appreciation. I too have starting taking this on more and more, as I too have found appreciation is key to unlocking and deepening my connection to myself, to people and to everything. Appreciation is free, deeply healing, accessible and totally divine.
The commitment to building a strong, solid connection to your body and self Julie is very inspiring and great to feel. Personally I find the more I build this connection the less anxiety has a stronghold over my life, as in the past by not choosing me and connecting to my body I was by default choosing disconnection and that created anxiety.
Indeed Thomas those times in the past when I made choices from anxiety I was not really connected to my body and therefore it was not really me making those choices.
Well said Thomas, connecting and deepening our body awareness is the best way to beat anxiousness.
“Anxiety is this perceived pain that we freak out about because we are terrified of doing ‘it’ wrong and humiliating ourselves in the process. ‘It’ can be making dinner for a friend, a job interview, walking into a crowded room, climbing Mt Everest, talking to one of our children’s teachers or someone we deem more important than us, a staff meeting, boarding a plane, buying a packet of mints, joining an on-line meeting; in short, anything and everything that a human being can do on any given day.”
This is pure gold Julie, thank you for exposing the underlying feelings in anxiety. By making other people and or events in our life more important than ourselves, we can make are ourselves less important, losing the connection to our body and inner self. We stop appreciating ourselves and all that we bring, and in that loss of connection we panic or feel anxiety – perhaps not feeling equipped to deal with life and what it presents us.
I haven’t even finish your blog yet Julie and it has already brought me great insight and understanding into the anxiety I experience on a daily basis: “It’s the hurts I don’t want to feel, – that when left unchecked develop into fear that what is about to happen in the next moment, next hour, week, month, year or even years, – and is the same or similar to what has happened before and has left me feeling the pain of what I have believed to have been ‘wrong’ choices made by myself and/or others”. This is a very revealing sentence Julie as it exposes the fear, and at time’s terror around making the wrong choice, and how that will impact on mine and my loved ones lives. This often has a paralyzing affect or stagnating affect of not making a decision, which actually in itself ends up being a decision or choice as that has a certain outcome!
This is a brilliant blog and a brilliant comment. I am sure most, if not all of us can relate to anxiety, as it runs wild. I can totally relate to the part about fear of making the wrong choice or saying the wrong thing, it is the fear that drives the anxiety which completely messes up our ability to be in stillness, clarity and in our power. I have found fear was my false sense of security, I chose it to play small, to not be in my full power and to not stand out and shine the amazing light that I carry. It was a tool I used to suppress my joy and who I am.
I agree Ingrid “to let go of theses unnatural symptoms that do not belong”. Anxiety is not natural and if I am not aware when it first starts, it can quickly escalate take over, and then it takes me some time to come back to myself. As I take more and more care to stay connected to my body and feelings, and be more caring and loving around my basic needs such as eating when I’m hungry and resting when I’m tied, it is much easier to feel when anxiety starts to creep in, and choose to come back to my body.
What a great blog Julie. Anxiety is so widespread and really is an epidemic but one that is masked by props we all use to not feel it. For me, anxiety creaps in when I get ‘busy’ with many things I need to do and I’m not 100% present with what I’m doing. Once it is in, it fuels more ‘doing’ and I then don’t have a true feeling of how my body is. That’s where the Gentle Breath Meditation and Estoteric Yoga have been not only supportive but life changing to feel how it is without the anxiety. I don’t yet live anxiety-free 100% but I now have tools to come back to myself when I get into the busyness of life.
Agree Sandra, it’s great to clock the onset of anxiety and then have the tools to get yourself back. For me the focus on the breath and restoring its gentle quality has been so simple and yet everything at the same time.
Dear Julie, I love how clearly and honestly you describe how anxiety looked for you, it’s very relatable for many I feel, including myself. The tools you have found and embraced to be now able to observe the anxiety when it wants to come in, are truly amazing. The simplicity of what is offered here is pure gold. Thank you Julie, especially as anxiety is now in epidemic proportions; from school children to the elderly, and everybody in-between seems to suffer from it to varying degrees. This blog is part of the un-learning of this self-harming behaviour.
Elizabeth the word crippling is one that describes very well what I experience when anxiety comes up in me. It is exactly that experience and my mind stops working. With more understanding and observing I’m able to start to feel my body, connect with this and my breath and stay with me.
Sometimes, in fact quite often, I will wake up with anxiousness in body. Like I wake u with thoughts of what I have to do today or something that wasn’t quite right yesterday pulsing through my head before I have even woken up properly. If I don’t catch myself, and take a moment to breathe gently, feel my body, wriggle my toes and connect to my hands, feet, knees, back, neck and face, then it is easy to keep myself lost in that anxiousness all day. Or – I can take a moment. Stop. Let the thoughts and rush fall away and re-connect to today being just now, just this moment, and all I need to do is make this moment still and gentle, and that will carry all through my day.
The choice is always mine.
The more we share with each other how anxiety affects us, the more we raise awareness of its impact on the body creating feelings of overwhelm and powerlessness.. Thank you Simon for sharing the simple practical things we can use to bring ourselves back to stillness.
Thank you Simon. I can relate to your description of early morning anxiousness and how those feelings can take hold unless we have a stop moment to connect to our body. Today was one of those days where I did not take this time and thus felt the anxiousness like a shadow I couldn’t shake off until I came home from work and physically stopped. It has reminded me just how precious it is to take time to connect to me.
Beautifully said Simon- the choice is always mine. I love how you have described how you take a handle on the anxiousness and crowding thoughts right at the start as well as the stop moment, stillness and gentleness.
Beautiful Simon the choice is always there stop feel and reconnect….
Beautiful, how you have described that situation in the morning Simon, as the wake-up moment can be seen as a metaphor for every moment. I choose to reconnect to set the course for the whole following day (situation, moment, phase time…) to deepen the anxiety with all the after affects it brings, or to freshly unfold with joy.
A brilliant blog Julie, about a huge issue. And as you describe. anxiety can be about anything and happen at any time. If it wasn’t for the the simple and incredibly profound Gentle Breath technique I would still be in the clutches of anxiety, and have identified an accepted it as being me. Learning how to be present in my body and to stay connected to myself, to feel and grow Love within, has been an incredible experience that I now know as my natural state of being thanks to Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine.
Coming back to your incredibly honest blog I am reminded of how anxiety crippled me for so much of my life and how it left me exhausted and sick: I accepted it as just a part of life and so it became a part of me, no questions asked. It wasn’t until I began to attend presentations by Serge Benhayon that I could finally see that the anxiety wasn’t me, and that it actually had no place in my life. With the wisdom presented and the loving support of Serge, and so many other amazing people, I have come to understand me and to be able to identify the triggers for the anxiety, and from there have made the choice: “to let go of these unnatural symptoms that do not belong”. These days, any sign of anxiety shows up instantly, but now I have the knowing of how to release it from my body before it begins to take over.
Great sharing Ingrid Ward, Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine have helped me so much in understanding how anxiety works and given me tools to handle it now in a much more loving and supportive way than in the past. It can still come up, but I don’t need to go into fear about it, as I too know, it is not who I am and I can handle it, maybe have a look at where I have not honoured myself fully to allow the anxiousness creep in, and to learn from that. Anxiety for me now is my body’s way of telling me that how I dealt – or not dealt – with a given situation – has been true and loving, or not. It’s nothing to be feared but it’s to be appreciated even for what it is showing me, so I can make a different choice next time.
This sentence says so much Ingrid “I accepted it as just a part of life and so it became a part of me, no questions asked”. It just shows how many symptoms we become accustomed to as being a part of us, anxiety being one of them, but in reality our symptoms are not natural and not who we are. Universal Medicine has played a fundamental role in supporting me to see, feel, know and truly appreciate that my anxiousness, depression and ill health were symptoms of my way of life, but not who I truly am. Underneath them all is my essence and it has taken a good few years of cleaning up my way of life, connecting to my breath and truly caring for myself to truly know who I am once more.
Julie you have captured exactly what anxiety feels like and what brings it on, and I love how you have dissected it to learn from. Through the support of Universal Medicine practitioners I’ve felt that for me instead of allowing myself to feel vulnerable and being okay with that, I go to my sidekick anxiety instead. It’s been beautiful to feel the difference in my body; vulnerability feels like innocence, gentleness and leaves me to just be…. where as anxiety feels constrictive, controlling and fearful. Expectations play a huge part in anxiety as well.
It is so true Julie to use that old chestnut of anxiety to try and control or stop bad things from happening when in reality it only takes us away from being able to respond more presently as challenging situations arise.
So true Gill. When we let go of attachment, expectation and investment in a particular outcome then anxiety and stress melts away.
How interesting! and this is the root cause of anxiety – all of the expectations WE have of the outcome, or what’s going to happen next as a result of what WE’VE said and done, but in truth how another chooses to act really is NEVER EVER something we can control.
“We are terrified of doing ‘it’ wrong”. This line stood out to me because it is so representative of society. The blame game is rife and it has been that way since school. To be punished for saying something wrong, doing something wrong, when in fact there was never really anything wrong deeply hurts us and there was always a consequence, usually in front of the whole class.
Well said Matthew – it’s the humiliation at school that I remember feeling when something was not done to the teachers liking etc. We all know consequence as we can feel it in our bodies when we eat something we know is not supportive, or move in a way that is disregarding. It hurts, we can feel it – we don’t need to be force fed consequence by institutions like school as it causes more hurt and patterns of perfection. We can’t get it wrong if we learn from our choices.
Well said Matthew. Being ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ imprisons us and controls us to always be second guessing and looking outside of ourselves for ‘the right way’. While we are caught up in this we never get to stop and be present with ourselves. Through this presence we can then come know what is true or not true – the true ‘way’.
Since we were small we have learned to make sure nobody can pin anything on us. Trying to be perfect all of the time, afraid to lose face. What a horrible way to spend our life. We are so blessed that Serge Benhayon has shown us the way out of this ordeal.
Good point – this continual guardedness lest we set one foot wrong and will be accused of having got it wrong is a veritable prison of our own making.
True Matthew, and that ‘it’ can be anything – so there’s a constant fear if there is no confidence and acceptance of oneself. Wrong or right really caps the world- conditioning it to a certain set of criteria rather then the truth we all feel innately.
I can relate to having been, ‘terrified of doing ‘it’ wrong’, so trapping myself in a prison of trying to be perfect in every way, exhausting and capping myself in the process. Stopping, connecting and being present with ourselves helps break this trap I have found.
I can feel that whenever I feel to say something in a big group, I feel the original impulse then all the cascading doubt. I know that if I speak from this, I will be expressing from a guardedness and whatever I say, even if meant well, will be stained with the energy of a source that is not loving. Then if people do not have the reaction that I expected, it shuts me off from expressing more and justifying my not expressing at all. I’m going to have a go at being aware of the guardedness, but also staying consistently appreciative of me, celebrate myself as a person and all that I bring, and that I am not perfect and do not have to be. If I build a solid relationship with this appreciation and the knowing that I am simply a vessel for energy, I feel it would transform my relationship with expression.
Beautiful description of what in fact is going on I suppose within most of us. I love this sentence ‘I’m going to have a go at being aware of the guardedness, but also staying consistently appreciative of me, celebrate myself as a person and all that I bring, and that I am not perfect and do not have to be.’
I too have experienced anxiety when I am about to speak to a large group. I have found that most of the time when I can feel anxiety building up just before I am about to speaking, I stop and feel into what I want to share, it is out of recognition? Often with the anxiety, it is my body telling me I am going about it from an intention to seek recognition. When I express without feeling any anxiety, it feels really healing for myself and for others. Sometimes, the anxiety is a sign that I have already chosen to not align to expressing truth. Something I am exploring and learning to feel into more and more. Learning to listen to my body and feel into what my intentions are behind my every expression.
That feeling of anxiousness is so easy to tap into, it can feel smothering and inescapable. Too often when I stop truly caring for myself and make everything I do more important than who I am, it is right there ready to seize me. It then turns into a game of control where I try to fix or change everything around, when in truth I just need to stop and reconnect to me. For the reality is I can deal with anything that comes my way if I appreciate myself in the process.
The more I am present, but mostly the more I surrender and trust, a deep trust that all that is in front me I can handle, and that all that I need is there, then there is no room for anxiety.
I agree Mariette and beautifully said – knowing that we are not given anything we cannot handle is a humble way to face what our choices present. Also knowing that everything on our path is there to help and support us to evolve is reason enough to want to live it. That feels great to say as I can get stuck in overwhelm with the smallest of things at times.
I love what you share here Rachael, that everything that comes to us is there to support and evolve. That is such a beautiful way to view life, in the knowing that life is never against us but always with us and in support of us. That makes every moment a gift, for us to unwrap.
What a great realisation to have Rachael. “knowing that everything on our path is there to help and support us to evolve is reason enough to want to live it” so even the tricky things are there to help us evolve, how magical. My feeling is always to approach things as simply as possible, because with complexity I never seem to evolve and keep repeating the same things over and over again.
Thanks for the reminder Rachael, ‘Also knowing that everything on our path is there to help and support us to evolve’. We have so much support if we are open to receive this.
In this blog and in these comments we are sharing the key to unlocking and healing anxiety. So many of us are living joyous and loving lives, to share this magic with everyone is a blessing to us all.
Yes I find that too Mariette. Just to sit and be still makes me instantly less anxious.
Dear Julie,
Anxiety held me in its grasp for a very long time. My way of coping with this was to try to control everything, which of course created more anxiety. I too have cleared much of this energy from my body and feel more confident in myself. But there is still anxieties there, each day that are being revealed to me bit by bit. It truly is the most beautiful thing to be able to feel this and address it now, as you say, with “commitment to not accept anxiety as something that controls me”, I find it much easier to understand why it is there, this immediately takes the power out of being anxious and squarely places it in my choice to no longer fight it as something that is wrong, but to feel it, understand it and allow it to be, choosing my stillness.
Beautiful, Leigh. I can relate to everything that has been shared here. When we are in anxiety or a sense of trauma there can be no surrender, and so the body is in a constant fight/flight mode. This is exhausting and drains the body. I have recently discovered that being anxious is a choice that I have been making, that has become entrenched in the physical body, when in actual fact my body naturally deepens into stillness when I allow it, creating a foundation that supports me throughout life.
Dear Janet,
I find that it is quite a process, as I clear a certain anxiousness, another deeper one is then presented. This understanding took me a while to grasp. But now grasped, I find I can surrender to the process.
Tracking anxiety and understanding why it is there are great tools to make some inroads and I especially appreciate your comment “to no longer fight it as something that is wrong”. In my experience, the latter takes the trying and self judgment out of the equation and allows for true healing, over time.
Dear Gabriele,
Yes over time, this is important to understand, for it does take time for our bodies to adjust to the different momentum we begin to choose – our stillness.
“…I have all I need as I let go of the past and take care of the future by bringing focus to the present.” Love this. Holding onto hurts from the past keep us stagnant, focusing on the future keeps us anxious, being present in the moment allows us to feel what is needed in any given time, therefore allowing us to let go of what doesn’t serve us from the past, as well as build a quality of living that we take with us into the future.
Hi Julie, very supporting blog you have written. I think lots of people can relate to a certain extent of feeling anxiousness. I especially found this a great practical sharing: “…as I let go of the past and take care of the future by bringing focus to the present.’
and, if I may add, bringing awareness to this subject is hugely important as the thus far unrecognised harm that comes from a constant anxiousness is enormous when we look at it in terms of our body ( illness, decease, obesity, chroniue pain) our mental health and our relationships.
reading this blog and all the comments it shows quite clearly how anxiety has become a steady undercurrent in most people in society. It makes me wonder what lifestyles we have created to have something so opposite to our natural state of stillness and confidence be so normal for most people today. So normal that outside of Universal Medicine it is hardly addressed.
Yes it is important to bring more awareness to the subject of anxiety, as it seems to be the modern day plague and affects most of us to some degree or another. There is a lot of talk about the problems and issues anxieties are creating but not a lot of education as far as to how we address these issues. Anxiety is showing up and being treated in children as young as 7 yrs of age. Bringing focus back to the body, re-connecting and developing a loving and nurturing relationship with it is a great place to start. Universal Medicine continues to offer many practically supportive ways to connect to ourselves and build that relationship which truly supports all areas of life.
I know anxiety all too well and it is still an ongoing discvering and learning to gently move it out of my way of being. The fear of doing or getting it wrong is a huge factor in this for me and the moment I feel I ‘have to…” or go into the slightest rush the anxiety is there. I am learning to build a steady connection within myself where I can feel my rhythm and confirmation from within as when I can feel I m enough, there will be no more need to get things right.
Dealing with anxiety is an very important part of life and effects so many of us and this blog gives a real support and knowing of the way forward for ourselves with such simplicity stillness and love which can all be felt and is in contrast to the ways usually offered especially medication of every sort. The key to connect to ourselves our innermost and feel the stillness through the gentle breath as a way of living and through the support of esoteric yoga is beautiful to have and feel . Than your for your reflections and commitment, inspirational.
I can completely relate to what you are sharing. I also used to get anxious about getting things right or wrong, and my body would show it my shoulders would rise, my breathing would change it was all very uncomfortable. I found the gentle breathe meditation very supportive to connect me back to my body. This allowed me to understand that choices are simple choices which we can learn and grow from, and there is no right and wrong, good or bad, we just grow each time we make a choice.
Thanks for writing about this important subject that affects so many. I read another great blog about anxiousness here: https://truthaboutsergebenhayon.com/2015/08/27/healing-anxiety-with-self-love which is also well worth a read.
I love how you make it clear that we can be anxious about anything in our day, even buying a packet of mints! It makes it seem ridiculous that this should be so, but it’s true for many. It’s not easy to eradicate anxiety, but observing it is a great place to start.
“I am steadily building a new foundation: one of knowing that within me I have all I need as I let go of the past and take care of the future by bringing focus to the present.” Wow this seems to bring ease into my body ~ I really like this quote as I can all too often get caught up with what I regret about the past, or fearing what might come or not come in the future – all a distraction to not simply BE in the present/ce. Thank you.
Love this quote also Arianne, bringing focus to the present our future is taken care of as is the past. Beautifully encapsulated. If we are in the moment and allow ourselves to be there is no place for anxiety to enter.
Julie, i can very much relate to what you have written here, ‘ it’s reminiscent of being in school writing an essay that will be judged by my teacher on being good enough or not’, I can feel how damaging this judgment is at school, I remember in English class that because there was a certain way that i was told to write and i didn’t want to get it wrong that I just could not write, i can feel how this stifled any creativity and i thought that i was no good at english, but maybe i just had my own way of writing and expressing and it did not match up with what i was told made a ‘good’ essay. Could this be the case with a lot of subjects at school?
Rebecca thank you for that example which I can very much relate to – the anxiety resulting from being told that there is one acceptable way and trying to fit within that expectation. This helped me see the devastating effect of the expectations that we ourselves choose to have and try to fulfil throughout life.
If we anticipate how others will react, then we have already invested in an outcome, indeed this way of being denies us access to the presence and stillness that permanently lays within, for if we come from a deep knowing & appreciation of ourselves then self doubt has no place to dwell.
Julie this is a brilliant article that captures how anxiety can affect our lives. I could relate to your first 2 paragraphs, and how quickly anxiety takes hold. I have lived with a low grade anxiety that has run in the back ground for most of my life and how debilitating this is. I know for me now that my anxiousness came from not living all of me, not accepting who I am and feeling I am not enough, this put an untold pressure to strive to be more than who I already am.
Julie when I read your description of how anxiety feels in your body I was not able to identify with your description and wrongly categorised your version of anxiety as a bigger version than mine. Having just had 24 hours of anxiety I realise that this really is just a trick of the mind. Anxiety is dreadful to feel whatever version a person has. My anxiety today felt as though I had inhaled paper clips and I felt unable to get out of it even though I knew what would help.
I agree Alexis anxiety is dreadful regardless of the perceived severity. I lived with anxiety 24/7 and I’m not exaggerating. I would go to bed feeling anxious and wake up feeling anxious and live like that all day. I was never present with any one including myself because I was always anxious with what may or may not happen next, being perfect and will I get everything done. Then came Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon in my life, and now I may feel anxious once or twice a day… they supported me to see that I am super sensitive and feel everything, like we all in truth do. This changed so much and now instead of being hard on myself or see myself as wrong if I feel anxiety brewing, I ask myself ‘what is going on?’ and ‘what am I feeling?’.
I agree, we are all sensitive beings we just have different ways of ‘protecting’ ourselves from feeling it all. The protection can actually be the cause of the anxiety. I find coming back to the body and being willing to feel it all brings a natural surrender and anxiety cannot hold.
Anxiety is a weighty burden that we carry unwittingly until, like Julie so beautifully shares, can be seen for what it truly is and we can then choose to bring ourselves back to a connection with the body. There’s nothing better than feeling safe in one’s body, knowing you’re home – I definitely agree the Esoteric Yoga Programmes enable this loving connection with ourselves.
Julie you have written about something many of us have felt or seen in another. It’s small moments where one is taken away from their inner stillness. Moments were ones has forgotten the greatness they are, and the gifts that they bring. A moment one, as you say has the opportunity to breath gently and come back to their body and feel all that they are and all that has been.
‘My unwavering commitment to be solid in my relationship with myself – with God’, the medicine to heal all aliments. Which in turn is a commitment to feel and accept all that we have lived so evolution is made.
Julie I can totally relate to the negative changes in your body when experiencing anxiety, and the feelings of disempowerment and lack of self worth that creeps in.
How fantastic that by taking responsibility you took steps to seek help and overcome it, with the help of The gentle breathe meditation, by Serge Benhayon, and esoteric yoga.
I too used these invaluable and powerfull tools to reconnect back to me, and feel all that I am- LOVE.
I have found anxiety to be a self-perpetuating cycle, that feeds on what we eat, and have found the less sugar I choose to eat, the less anxiety has a hold, until I eliminate sugar completely, it always lurks in the background.
That’s interesting and one for me to ponder on, thank you Sally. So many of us have no idea how much what we eat affects our mood. I have certainly found that eating sugar leaves me dull and depressed, I hadn’t related it to anxiousness.
Anxiety and I have a definite history and I wish it was just history, but it often rears it ugly head in certain situations. In day to day life it is hardly a problem but it is still never that far away if I leave myself and let it in.
This is magic right here “one of knowing that within me I have all I need as I let go of the past and take care of the future by bringing focus to the present”
Well spotted Jaime. A beautiful and profound sentence.
Love it Julie, and can completely relate to the temporary fix to alleviate the stress…. to find (wait for it) that it is only temporary. And to my utter disbelief (because I have only played out this patter of behaviour about a million times), the thing I was stressed about IS STILL THERE! Its no surprise of course, and beautiful to hear you choosing a different path – thank you for sharing it with us.
So true Simon, its perfect that we come back to where we started, for as we get more honest, the delay and distractions are ever more apparent.
I have found a direct correlation between the anxiety and how well we take care of ourself – for me taking care includes my sleep rhythm, what I eat and drink, how much I pay attention to my body and honour it and generally how loving I am with my choices all round. Taking care of also includes remembering that external achievements do not determine how precious I am and that there is always more to learn about life. Gentle Breath Meditation and the Esoteric Yoga are a heaven sent in building this loving foundation. I have noticed that a lack of care in making sure the foundation is solid can lead to a form of anxiety, obsession to control the situation or trying to distract/numb ourself to the situation. At these times I am more likely to get thrown by what life presents – actually if I am honest I often know prior to the event that something is not right – I know I am susceptible to being thrown and hence am already kind of anxious and guarded! Anxiety does not just happen and is an after effect of us already choosing to not honour and abandon our connection with ourself.
This is beautiful Golnaz. Building a sound inner foundation is the best anxiety buster there is.
‘Anxiety does not just happen and is an after effect of us already choosing to not honour and abandon our connection with ourself.’ So true Golnaz. Allowing more love in my body and my deepening connection to the Divine has changed me and the way I live my life. I use to experience anxiety ,but only occasionally now, And when it creeps in, I see it for what it is, surround it with the love I now have for myself and it diminishes.
“Anxiety does not just happen and is an after effect of us already choosing to not honour and abandon our connection with ourself.” This is so True Golnaz and all of what you share supports us each and every day to stay connected more and more with our bodies and with what is presented in each moment. I can relate to the knowing prior to an event that I can possibly be thrown too, and when this kicks in for me I find that I am off in my head telling myself how I need to be and I have stopped being present, not allowing myself the grace that I deserve to respond to whatever is being presented. It is this feeling of trust and grace that I am now remembering, and feeling the vulnerability of completely giving myself over to grace is where I am now at.
‘I have all I need as I let go of the past and take care of the future by bringing focus to the present.’ This is so beautiful.
After reading this I realise I used to let anxiety rule my life and tried every attempt to reduce it. But as I’ve allowed myself to acknowledge it, feel my essence beneath, feel the truth I am enough, the less I try to impress others and put myself under pressure to perform and be more. Today I felt another level of me putting myself under pressure; being attached to how others’ react to me which is lovely to see so I chose coming back to my essence.
Thank you Julie, it can be a very difficult thing to convey just how much anxiety cripples us, sometimes literally with how it affects our bodies. The Gentle Breath Meditation has been a massive support for me too, enabling me to stop being a total control freak and allowing me to release a lot of tension from my body. It sounds like this simple tool, along with the incredibly healing esoteric modalities has been a life saver for you and an true story that needs to be widely broadcast so that others who suffer from the same debilitating condition are offered a true, lasting and very tender way to resolve their anxiety.
Anxiety can have a crippling affect on life, holding us back for fear of consequences. It is beautiful to read how Julie has taken responsibility for her state of being and not allowed the excuse of anxiety to run the life she lives.
Hear hear !
Our ‘choices have and continue to be opportunities to be more gentle, understanding, appreciative and loving with [ourselves]’
And, as we choose These self-loving behaviours we build and strengthen that bridge (connection) to our innate Power Which is Actually what we are here to bring (share with) the World.
Thank you Julie for your experience with anxiety. For most of my life I always said I was stressed as that was the word used years ago. I now have the understanding that I had and still do at times anxiety. I know for me it was difficult to admit I had anxiety knowing it was a mental health issue. I feel this is the case for many people as we don’t want to think we have something mentally wrong with us. So what happens is we continue to live life in this heightened state which not only affects us but others around us. Once we admit we have anxiety this is when the true healing can take place.
It is important to acknowledge and accept that I do experience a level of anxiety as by ignoring this fact I do feel I am only adding to the anxiety. To me this ignorance of accepting the simple fact that I do experience anxiety is one of the complications that are being fed by the anxiety itself. Therefor it is great to have to possibility to stop and acknowledge the anxiety is there, as this will give me the opportunity to break the ill pattern that anxiety is playing out in me and to stop the ill momentum that I have entered in through allowing anxiety in my life.
It’s amazing what we can create eg. Anxiety to distract us from feeling our hurts. The Gentle Breath Meditation is such a powerful tool that allows us to “observe and not absorb” what is going on in and around us. We have the opportunity to check in and feel what is running the body and from there we can discern more clearly what is going on.
I can so relate to your words, Julie: “I have chosen anxiety because I have beaten myself up about ‘wrong’ choices made and then felt that I have ‘suffered’ as a consequence.” In doing everything to avoid the pain, I have lived in constant fear that I will cause it again. I too have found that in trying to numb or bury the anxiety only makes it escalates – being willing to feel it and not fight it is what has helped.
Absolutely Brendan, and that true support is also building a relationship with ourselves, building a solidness within.
“That I have within me true power of what it means to live in this world, my unwavering commitment to be solid in my relationship with myself – with God.” So beautiful Julie!
To be solid within ourselves, is the way to feel an inner confidence that i can deal with whatever is in front of me in daily life…in building this inner confidence strengthens the solidness within…which comes from our relationship with ourselves and with God!
Anxiety is so prevalent in our society, many live with anxiety daily and for many of us, it can be very controlling and debilitating. What you have shared Julie, so simply and yet powerfully, is that we can live without anxiety controlling us. The key is as you have said, it is all within us and many of us live as if we a deficit and need it from the outside to prove to us we are not deficit in anyway.
“I am steadily building a new foundation: one of knowing that within me I have all I need as I let go of the past and take care of the future by bringing focus to the present.”
‘Many of us live as if we a deficit and need it from the outside to prove to us we are not deficit in anyway’ – yes very true Karoline. Self worth plays a huge part in this, because when we do not believe that we are enough or are worthy, we look to the outside to confirm/prove that we are better than just a ‘deficit’… This can then bring on anxiousness because our minds are constantly doubting whether people think we are ‘worthy’ or not.
Yes Susie, a vicious cycle when we get caught in needing to be confirmed as being enough from the outside, instead of confirming who we are from the inside out. Confirming and appreciation for me has been a huge support in building a foundation of self-worth.
Well-said Susie. That’s another reason Appreciation is so important. To recognise and accept for ourselves the great things that we are builds for us more of a foundation for us, so that if we find ourselves not feeling great about ourselves, feeling like we need something from outside to build us up – we actually have more to support us from the inside.
Very well said Simon. I’ve personally felt the change when I have a foundation of self-appreciation, and when I don’t. As you say, when we do make a silly choice or loose ourselves for a period of time it is much easier to bring ourselves back when we can appreciate that there are things we are truly good at that we can focus on and mend our rhythm again, whereas when we don’t have this we often look to the outside to ‘fill’ the emptiness we feel on the inside.
Anxiousness has been a big issue in my life and although I am in a learning and healing process of reducing its intensity it is still an underlying aspect of my relationship with life. It is only now that I start to recognise my coping mechanisms like hyperactivity, binge eating, checking out with TV to not feel the anxiousness and other emotions that come with it. You calling it out for being self-abusive helped me to see such behaviours for what they actually are.
Julie just a final comment in appreciation of your risking an anxiety attack to write about your experience of it. I thank you, it has made things clearer for me and how to deal with it and heal from it by taking responsibility for what I choose in my life. I can see more and more how taking responsibility is the answer to so many aspects of our lives. Thank you also to Serge Benhayon for the wonderful presentations of the Ancient Wisdom that we can learn from and reconnect to.
Gorgeous to see you knocking anxiety on the head. It’s moments of appreciation like this that inspire me to stop and realise the choices I have made and the hurdles I have overcome. Great sharing, thank you.
Too true Phil – its great to appreciate where we have come from, and gain a realisation of the potential of where we can go.
This is a great article Julie, I can relate to ‘Anxiety is this perceived pain that we freak out about because we are terrified of doing ‘it’ wrong and humiliating ourselves in the process.’ I always doubted myself growing up, i was so scared to get it wrong and so i tried so hard and would put in so much effort to try and get it right – this was exhausting and i was very anxious most of the time. I am learning now to stay present in my body and not go into all of the thoughts, I feel more confident in myself and trust myself and so rarely feel anxious, this is a huge turnaround for me.
This is an awesome blog Julie, thank you. Anxiety is a world-wide plague and I can certainly relate to how it can run your life and be debilitating. I’m still working on letting go of a low-grade anxiety that i can feel is constantly running, and what I can feel is that anxiety is there when we don’t allow a deep surrender into just being ourselves. When we hold back a part of us for fear of being hurt, we instantly call on anxiety — it’s like we have to — in order to hold back who we are. When we say yes to the fear, we say yes to anxiety that we invite in.
Not enough attention is given to anxiety, as you say Katerina, if we saw anxiousness as a plague that afflicts and affects us deeply, we could start to address its root causes and create wellbeing for the great many who suffer from it. Anxiousness stems from not believing we are good enough as we are, when in fact this is always false and something we should work to support one another to break through this picture and learn to love ourselves and not view this as strange or arrogant.
Julie to some extent I have had low levels of anxiety dictating my life, I masked them fairly well but the fear was always result driven. Being judged for being …… any number of self imposed standards I deemed I wasn’t good enough to reach. As you have described the tension in the body rising was usually a catalyst for running away and avoiding situations if I could. But like you have presented “let go of the unnatural symptoms that don’t belong” and it’s amazing it’s all self imposed. Learning to know and appreciate the qualities I bring has been monumental in building my foundation of self love. Julie thank you for sharing.
Julie for me anxiety slips in when I have an expectation of what an outcome will look like, rather than just living me in every moment. Returning to the understanding that we can live our life listening to the wisdom of our bodies, rather than the thoughts that come and go so quickly from our minds, has been key for this anxiety and expectations to drop away. I have also found Esoteric Yoga very supportive of developing a real honouring relationship with my body and in understanding that everything about how I move and hold myself matters.
Great tips for the anxiety slips Jennifer – ‘Returning to the understanding that we can live our life listening to the wisdom of our bodies, rather than the thoughts that come and go so quickly from our minds, has been key for this anxiety and expectations to drop away.’
It’s no coincidence that most of our upbringing is based on the mind, and the body rarely gets a mention. It’s all about intellect and the body just serving as a functional thing to get the brain from A to B. Yet living from, and with the body, opens up and allows us to see, feel and read life in it’s simplicity, magic and wonder. The mind does not know Love but the body is MADE of it.
Thank you Julie for sharing so honestly, I too have lived with anxiety all my life, but hid it from myself and others very well, These days I am much more honest with what I am actually feeling, and I am finding I have space to feel when anxiety is coming on about something and choose not to go with it. These are great words ” A wise friend recently shared how appreciative she is of all the choices she has made in her life that had brought her to the present moment. Fully hearing this was a massive weight being lifted off my chest as I realised that my choices have and continue to be opportunities to be more gentle, understanding, appreciative and loving with myself.”
“A wise friend recently shared how appreciative she is of all the choices she has made in her life that had brought her to the present moment”. Julie this sentence for me is super important being appreciative of all of our choices. How often is this the case? I am building this, but find that I can still take for granted some moments and then realise that a whole day or a few days have slipped by without any appreciation, although this is less and less. Even this is worth appreciating, that I have observed that I haven’t, because my observations are telling me where I am. The more I appreciate, the more I accept who I am and more I realise that it’s not about an outcome.
I have made some truly awesome choices in my life and also some truly awful choices. I can say for a fact that there is nothing to appreciate in one of my particularly bad past choices and that it is important for me to acknowledge that and call it out for what it was. This does not mean that I judge myself or don’t appreciate myself (as I am amazing), but I certainly don’t give any credit to the state I was in when I made that choice 22 years ago and therefore I renounce it in full!
Hi Jennifer, I agree, it is absolutely important to appreciate our choices and observe everything that they bring. This is also something I am building.
“…as I choose to let go of these unnatural symptoms that do not belong”. This is beautiful Julie. These symptoms do not belong and are therefore very damaging. Like you I am learning to observe and I understand that I choose to let anxiety in, actually I am calling it in and I have a choice just the same to let go of it in an instant.
This is great Katinka, remembering it is a choice, and therefore bringing back the choice to choose differently is a great gift. Through consistently returning to connect back to ourselves and knowing what is true that we can then see the false imposter for what it is – then let go that which doesn’t belong.
It is life changing to look at our lives, our emotions and our choices in this way Annie. Nothing just happens to us, we are always choosing.
You’ve really made some great points Julie about the foundations of people’s anxiety. For me, much anxiety has come from a drive towards perfection in everything I do, from my work to sports, to personal relationships/parenting, etc. I now realise (through the help of UniMed practitioners) that much of this need for perfection had to do with me trying to control situations in a way that will prevent me from getting hurt by my own un-dealt with issues. Much of this stemmed from feelings of not being enough as I am, but constantly proving myself and my ‘worthiness’ to others. The world we live in reinforces this need for outside approval and recognition, but when we stop and feel our inner stillness, as you mentioned Julie with the Gentle Breath Meditation as taught by Serge Benhayon, we can start to feel that anxiety of not feeling enough slip away.
I agree Michael, perfectionism is a killer with its inherent judgement, and criticism. There is no such thing as perfection here anyway, so we are beaten before we’ve even begun. Through Universal Medicine i’ve come to understand a whole different approach to life – Forget perfection, but rather reconnect with ourselves first, and bring more of who we are to each moment, from this we naturally grow and learn, as well as confirm even more that we hold completeness within ourselves, we only have to learn to let it out. And between all of us everything we need to do and to be is right here, so life can become a joyful process of working it out and growing together.
Yes Annie C and Michael, perfectionism truly is a killer; a killer of joy, of living lovingly and with appreciation of the amazing – and endless – learning and growing opportunities we have on this planet of ours.
Through unworthiness we turn to self-abusive behaviours, unnaturally bending/shaping ourselves to fit a mould that is simply not true.
In case of emergency we have learned: ‘Don’t panic, stay calm and remove yourself from danger.’ Seriously why don’t we use this in our daily lives?
So true Sonya, especially when we have allowed the anxiety to take us over and we treat everything as an emergency and magnifying it out of all proportions. As shown by your quote of the advice given when real danger is present, we know exactly what to do but choose to ignore in circumstances when we have created an illusion for ourselves.
Yes Joan… it would seem we’ve come to accept what is anxiety-provoking as pretty normal these days, and so there is no acknowledgement any longer of this being something to deal with, but rather we manage and carry on.
I’ve found that the more I live with stillness, the more I can see and feel the symptoms of anxiety in all its colours. Avoiding eye contact, the tapping of feet, the constant clicking of a pen, the fidgeting, the sound a voice makes and much more. The body cannot hide what is going on.
Such clear signs Matthew, which I see and observe everyday in myself and others around me, which highlights how anxiety is so common. The more we choose to see this the more we realise that these behaviours are not who we are.
Yes, really clear signs of anxiety. It’s lovely to be able to observe them and know anxiety is not who I am but what I choose to hide being love and all the power this can bring.
These are signs of excess motion which is a good description for anxiety. The beautiful thing is that we choose anxiety, so we can un-choose anxiety as well. For me, this has been possible through understanding that anxiety only enters when I choose to take a step back from the world to stop myself from feeling. The anxiety dissipates when I allow myself to come back to feeling me and what is going on around me again, although not every time as sometimes I feel like I can’t handle what is going on around me, so the anxiety can stay until I realise that there is nothing that we can’t handle, and nothing is bigger that who we are in our hearts.
Yes I can relate to the signs that my body shows me when I am feeling anxious. They use to be just normal for me, but now when they creep in I question why. Often I am able to pause and make the conscious choice to connect deeper to and with my body, and then the anxiousness dissolves.
so true Matthew, its an ever unfolding level of awareness of what we once ran with subconsciously every day, without realising the harm and drain it is causing to the body, generating exhaustion and even greater anxiety about how are we going to cope getting through the day feeling so wiped out. – also resorting to caffeine and sugar to prop us up, but actually making us more wired and anxious. It is a crazy cycle, but a very familiar one. Learning to observe what we are in is the first step towards stopping this deeply destructive cycle.
Great point Annie C, letting go of sugar and caffeine was a huge support to me as well in reducing my anxiety. When the body gets stimulated by these substances it’s easy for it to go into overdrive and it feels very unsettling. I now work towards having more stillness in my body, no matter what is going on around me. I’m not there yet, but a work in loving progress, supported by many amazing tools offered to us all by Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine.
Yes this is true, the finer details of anxiety which are overlooked as the body shows us in the early stages which means there is no reason to reach the stage of having a panic attack. I have found as I live more in connection with my body these signs become easier to spot in myself and others. Thank you Matthew.
It’s great to recognise in ourselves the behaviours we go into and how our body feels when we are feeling anxious. A great cue to just stop for a moment and reconnect through our breath and our body using the techniques presented by Universal Medicine.
Julie what an inspiring blog to share what has now become a global concern. Reading your blog has given me a much clearer understanding of what anxiety feels like first hand and a deeper appreciation of what you have so beautifully expressed.
Anxiety is so prevalent everywhere isn’t it? As nearly everyone seems to experience it we have accepted it as normal and live with the symptoms. I used to be in anxiousness all the time, but with the support from the teachings of Universal Medicine I have made enormous changes to my life and I can honestly say that I experience anxiety very minimally now. It’s very liberating to feel calmness and steadiness instead.
Yes, and it is useful to know in case we have an unresolved issue and suddenly experience what turns out to be an anxiety attack.
It is true anxiousness has become a global epidemic. There are some great quotes and a free audio here: http://www.unimedliving.com/voice/audio-of-the-month/what-causes-anxiousness-2015-07.html called: “What causes anxiousness?” on exactly this topic.
That Audio is really awesome and a game changer. Brilliant.
Yes grounded05, Julie’s blog has also given me a much clearer understanding of the impact anxiety has on a persons life.
I can very much relate to what you are saying here about viewing choices as a right or wrong or bad or good, pass or fail kind of thing. So often we judge ourselves far more harshly than anyone else would judge us. It is a complete game changer to perceive choices as just simply choices that build and develop our understanding and awareness of who we are and who we are not.
I agree Andrew. Lately I have been focusing on connecting to what I feel regardless of what it may be. This has been very empowering and at times has allowed me to recognise ways I can judge myself.
When we react to a reaction we can end up digging a pretty yukky hole for ourselves to get out of. I feel like judgment is another way we react to what we are feeling, internally and externally – its great to hear what you’ve said Abby in simply being with and feeling what is there rather than reacting or needing it to change, brings greater awareness and power for our next choice.
I can completely relate to every word – I know all too well the symptoms of high anxiety, the way it rules my life and makes choices for me if I let it. I also know the feeling of being wrong, not only in my actions but in the core of me as a person – not a nice thing to feel. However, like you, I am slowly finding that when I don’t struggle against the tide of anxiousness and pretend I’m fine, but instead just feel it, feel into why it’s there and then work on coming back, my anxiousness has lessened drastically. Anxiety is one of those things so many people suffer with, from mild to extreme, day in day out. Thank you for sharing your experience and bringing me the understanding that the next step is to appreciate the things i am amazing in rather than only focus on the things I am working on and seeing them as bad things rather than opportunities to learn.
This is a great sentiment Rebecca, to see things we are working on, not as bad things, but as learnings, because that is what they are – learnings. The pressure we put on ourselves to be perfect can be so very subtle we don’t even realise that is what it is. This ‘standard’ we think we need to live at or by needs to be exposed so we can just allow ourselves to be and learn as we go.
I agree – what is more stressful or anxious then having a constant pressure on yourself to be something – to fit a ideal or an picture of how life should be.
Well said Rebecca Briant, and I can very much relate to what you say. I feel now that I can even appreciate the anxiety, rather than making myself wrong about being anxious, and explore where I have not supported myself lovingly, to have the anxiety come up. The anxiety is not here to judge me, it’s just the natural reaction of my body to some unloving choices. Then, without judgement I appreciate that my body is showing me clearly that this way of living is not supporting me and my body, and I can choose differently next time round, and I know this will pass, sooner if I don’t react to it and judge myself for it.
I agree – I can only make things worse when I try to push it down, because the anxiousness is a reaction to something and by ignoring it, I’m ignoring my bodies way of trying to tell me something. I find talking about it, especially with my mum, makes it easier to work out
What struck me about what you share here Julie is that we can focus on what we perceive as all the ‘wrong’ in ourselves and our lives but we miss the bigger picture when we do this, as you say…”a wise friend recently shared how appreciative she is of all the choices she has made in her life that had brought her to the present moment.”
Often when we do look at the whole of our lives, those ‘wrongs’ only make up a small percentage yet we put far more energy and focus on these – how crazy is this! What if we put all our time and energy into the ‘rights’ – what amazing people we would be and what amazing lives we would live!
Anxiety is something that affects a growing percent of our population, as a student I can see how it doesn’t just effect other teenagers at school, but teachers too and other members of staff are almost all struggling to do their jobs without being in anxiousness or nervousness. I think what you’ve shared is so important Julie. That anxiety is not something that OWNS you but a choice, and that there are ways of countering feelings of anxiousness such as connecting to your breath. Thank you for sharing.
This line says it all …”I have all I need as I let go of the past and take care of the future by bringing focus to the present.”
The choices made in each moment is the future we choose.
This is a great lesson for anyone who experiences anxiety, thank you Julie. you can feel the beginnings of anxiety escalating, and remember past panic attacks, but not go there just breathe, and let it pass.
Thanks Julie – never really thought of what anxiousness actually is outside of the enslsught of physical reactions in my body. I guess I’ve just accepted and identified that’s who I am. You’ve offered me a real fresh perspective here of the cycle: make wrong choice > learn from it > accept it > let it go and move on with life, being a more enriched person that learned something from my own choices/lived experience or; make wrong choice > attach to it and beat myself up (forever!) > become permanently anxious. It’s actually pretty simple when I look at it like that!
‘I have chosen anxiety because I have beaten myself up about ‘wrong’ choices made and then felt that I have ‘suffered’ as a consequence.’ I can so relate to this sentence. It is absolute gold to read it and then see that we can choose not to ‘suffer’ as a consequence but simply see it as an awesome opportunity to learn and evolve from. An ‘oops’ moment from which we can grow.
“This allows me to return to the stillness that I have discovered permanently lays within through the Esoteric Yoga modality ” I too find the esoteric Yoga modality an amazing way to bring me back to deep connection and stillness in my body.
To get to know presence and stillness within myself was one of the benefits the Esoteric Yoga offered to counter anxiousness.
Anxiety can be so debilitating, and for me for many many years was not even something I was aware of! I was often tense worrying about the next thing, the next event or the past thing, past event etc…. rarely stopping to consider the present! I didn’t realise exactly how much this tension ran in my life or how much energy it actually took to stay in that state.. I can’t say I’ve totally mastered not being anxious or tense, but what I have learnt is that the more I’m present with my body, and honest about what it’s telling me (!), the less this anxiousness and tension has control.
How many of us really walk around without any anxiety at all? Totally confident in all they are and do each day without any need of acceptance or recognition to make us feel worthwhile?
I bet the number on the entire planet is minuscule.
Great Blog!
I agree Julie. Anxiety is a big deal. Every time my awareness increases I have to learn how to deal with that increased awareness. Until I do, there can be anxiety. Also, any unresolved issues can bring up anxiety when they are triggered.
Love this, “my unwavering commitment to be solid in my relationship with myself – with God.” that’s all we need Julie and the rest takes care of itself. Over the years of knowing Serge Benhayon, the changes I have felt within me, can certainly be put down to the changing and evolving relationship I have with myself and the discovery that at my essence, I am as God is.
This is such a supportive blog on anxiety shared honestly and with great reflections and support of the gentle breath and coming back to oneself for the steadiness and love with in us as who we really are. Realising that we are the makers and the un makers of anxiety is very powerful and brings a true understanding and power to work with and understand ourselves and to life. Thank you Julie beautiful to read and ponder.
A super exposure on anxiety Julie, great title. There is much I can relate to in the blog as anxiety travelled everywhere with me in the past when I was not ready to take responsibility for my life. Love the powerful ending and will take into my day; That I have within me true power of what it means to live in this world, my unwavering commitment to be solid in my relationship with myself – with God
Jacqmcfadden04 well said…i too have been at the ‘mercy’ of anxiety, never understanding what it even was….anxiety no longer controls me or limits me, although at times it still gets activated..but i can be with it as my relationship with myself has become solid and i know more and more i am equipped to deal with whatever life presents to me. I am not so invested in outside of me, but rather focusing on, the within me and my connection to my essence.
What you described Julie is how I have felt many times over in my life. It is only since my last bout of anxiety and depression that I knew I had to focus mostly on relieving the anxiety, and the depression followed. I too have to thank the Universal Medicine Practitioners and Serge Benhayon for their valuable help and support and encouragement. Thank you Julie for your sharing.
“letting go of the past and taking care of the future by bringing focus to the present.” So many of us live our lives reflecting on the past and anticipating the future, when most of our questions are simply answered in being present/ connected with ourselves now.
“Knowing that within me i have all i need” Universal Medicine continues to reflect this fact, from here unfolds a responsible, empowered, steady being who will light the way.
Julie your words are strong, clear, concise and very powerful indeed.
I found out that with taking more responsibility about every single thing and choice in my life my anxiety level sinks. Isn’t that interesting? So I do not work ‘against’ anxiety but ‘for’ assuming responsibility. Anxiety for me is a result of choices and so I bring a change here by doing different choices and this I can do before anxiety arise. But even when it is there, I can bring a change -as you said Julie- by being aware and taking responsibility about my breath and connection.
Thank you for writing so honestly about this on the world wide web Julie, there are many who will benefit from what you have shared.
Thanks for your honest sharing on how debilitating anxiety can be. It’s a great reminder of how easily its affects can take control over us, but equally how easily it’s affects can be negated by choosing to come back to the stillness of the gentle breath.
Thank you for sharing this insight into anxiety and its root cause Julie. The gentle breath meditation is a powerful tool for many situations – this power comes from our ability to connect to stillness and to ourselves. No tricks, no calling on higher powers, just a simple re-connection.
Yes, and very much exposing the fact that anxiety as many other unbalanced states of being come simply from disconnection to who we naturally are, hence re-connection is a crucial part of healing and re-establishing a sound state of well-being.
Beautifully said Lee, “…just a simple re-connection” which is powerful in itself.
Julie, it’s an all too familiar feeling for me too.
However, being able to use the incredible tool of the gentle breath, l too am making a stronger foundation of harmony within me and am learning to conquer anxiety when it creeps up on me.
Yes I can relate Julie, anxiety comes up for me when I put expectations on myself how I have to be or what I need to achieve, instead of supporting myself in all that I am and then allowing things to unfold from there.
‘supporting myself in all that I am and then allowing things to unfold from there’, wise words Judith and are key to allowing and living a simple life where all that we need comes to us.
Yes I agree Judith…we seem to have things back to front – there is so much focus on what is happening or about to happen outside of ourselves, rather than as you say supporting ourselves to be all that we are and allowing life to naturally unfold.
And the expectations of ourselves and or others brings in a level of control – of wanting ourselves and or others to be a certain way, achieve certain things, and in fact control is what underlies anxiety. Because there is that expectation either on ourselves or others, events aren’t allowed their own natural unfoldment, and people aren’t allowed to be who they naturally are either. So much magic can come in the unexpected but we have to allow space for it to happen!
“observing these symptoms rather than being enmeshed in them” … this is key Julie, and really empowering to recognise that you are not the symptoms. There is clearly two things presented, .. the stillness of our presence and the familiarity of behaviour pattern… it makes us see there is a choice between the two.
‘The beauty of this is today I’m observing these symptoms rather than being enmeshed in them’. Julie I relate to this very much. I have found that when I recognise symptoms of anxiousness and remain outside of them, power stays with me, leaving me free to have dialogue with them to understand what’s going on. In this way, my natural choice is to release the symptoms before anxiety takes hold.
Beautiful sharing Julie. What you have shared really resonated deep within me also. Although not completely gone altogether my anxiety levels have certainly diminished. Since taking a step back and as you share ‘observing the symptoms rather than being enmeshed in them’ – stopping my thought processors running away with me and getting the upper hand to then bring my focus back to the present – The Gentle Breath Meditation is an amazing technique to do just that, stopping busy momentums and brings me back to feeling all of me.
Thank you Julie for sharing just how debilitating anxiety can be. I was in denial to myself just how often I let anxiety take over my life and because I felt shame at experiencing it I did my best to hide it from everyone and pretend I was fine. What turned it around for me was as you say ‘steadily building a new foundation: one of knowing that within me I have all I need as I let go of the past and take care of the future by bringing focus to the present.’
Helen, the shame of anxiety can certainly be strong, which of course can lead to more anxiety, it is amazing to have learned from Serge Benhayon the simple tool of the gentle breath to bring perspective back into the body and be able to let go of anxious feelings with a simple meditative tool that literally takes 3minutes to perform. Moreover that gentle breathing can then be taken into every aspect of my day and particularly how I move, the more gentle and tender I am with myself the less any anxiousness can take hold.
I found through feeling anxiety more in my body that it is easier to spot when anxiousness escalates over one situation but it is the anxiety that is sitting quietly in the background ticking over that was more tricky to get to the bottom of. My experience has also been that anxiety is a behaviour to say ‘no’ to – “This along with my commitment to not accept anxiety as something that controls me, has seen a transformation in my daily living beyond recognition of how I once looked and lived.” Thank you.
Thank you Julie, I agree, and also for further understanding of anxiety go to, Understanding Anxiety in Men – ONLINE COURSE
http://study.coum.org/enrol/index.php?id=14
The terrifying “it” cripples so many… and the stillness of the gentle breath can make “it” disappear.
Simple and profound as always! Thank you sjmatsonuk.
Its great Julie that you have written about the cause of anxiety, and that can be a fear of not being enough or not getting it right. I have also suffered from anxiety for most my life, I found the best remedy has been with the ever deepening quality of my livingness.
It is only now that I am beginning to understand the affect of trying hard to get it right has had on my body. The stress and anxiety of wanting to be perfect, something that is impossible to achieve has meant that my body was in constant tension of anxiousness, wondering what someone else would think.
It’s really important what you share here Julie, as it is a prime example of how putting our body into a situation by thinking about it, as opposed to actually being in the moment can have. When we even think about a situation we are not in, we are expending additional energy to what we are doing in that moment – therefore our body is working harder than it needs to. This multiplies exponentially if we are then worrying about the issue. Learning to trust ourselves, and accepting our choices with the outcomes of them is key as otherwise we are wasting energy that could be used to make awesome choices!
Awesome Amelia, great point…
What you say makes so much sense Amelia, yet often we don’t think like this. I don’t think we all realise how often we are not fully present in each moment.
Reading your comment Amelia I can feel it is the root of exhaustion for so many people.
I like this. If we have to worry of our future than because of the choices we make in the present. Isn’t it wise then that we stay in the present with all our senses and our body?
Anxiety is a big theme in my life too. I used to be super anxious, although no one could see it on the outside. Being more present in my body and constantly working on this, to not escape into my mind (which always causes problems no matter what) is /was for me the key to stop indulging into fears and insecurity.
Spot on Steffi, escaping in the head ‘always causes problems no matter what’ – something I also experienced. How can a part (brain) of the whole (body) presume that it knows better without asking the whole what it thinks/feels about it. Ironical in itself.
I can relate steffihehn. If I escape into my mind anxiety rules! The key for me is to keep connecting to my body. When I’m in my body I feel the solidness and safety I long for, and there is no room for anxiety to lurk around.
I recently had the experience of a come again occasion that before freaked me out totally. But this time it doesn´t- only because fear couldn´t get me like before, because I was connected with my body. How often do we think endlessly and put ourselves in a momentum of worry, when indeed being in the body solves it all, so to speak. I always heard it, but never experienced it in that intensity. What a great new marker to go on from here. There is no way back anymore- I enjoy too much just “sitting ” in my body and observing the world:)
Every inch gained in dealing with our anxiety is a mile in understanding who we are and how to deal with our fears and insecurities.
“A wise friend recently shared how appreciative she is of all the choices she has made in her life that had brought her to the present moment.” Thank you for sharing this Julie, appreciation is really an amazing quality that can turn so much around.
I agree Lieke, and it feels to me when we start to appreciate ourselves (after a life time of judging and bashing ourselves) we are back on the path to self-love.
Thank you, Julie, for such a beautiful sharing. Perfectionism is so unattainable and yet there are rewards in life for those who are perceived to obtain it. I observed this at recent school break -up where some “superb” students scored 100% in their exams. I wonder how much anxiety is generated with these expectations!
I know that too Julie, using anxiety to withhold me from going any further when I am asked to step up and to show and explore more of myself. This behaviour has been so undermining as it always left me with a feeling of being less and it brought me a constant feeling of lack of self worth that I maintained by avoiding the connection with what and how I truly felt and by this avoiding I have kept the anxiety in me alive. Therefore it is so empowering to appreciate all our choices of our lives, as your wise friend says, that all these choices have brought me to this present moment.
Julie reading your blog inspired me to look up the statistics on anxiety below is what I found.
“Anxiety is one of the most prevalent mental health problems in the UK and elsewhere, yet it is still under-reported, under-diagnosed and under-treated.
The experience of anxiety often involves interconnected symptoms and disorders. It is estimated that one in four people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year, while one in six experience a neurotic disorder such as anxiety or depression.
While 2.6% of the population experience depression and 4.7% have anxiety problems, as many as 9.7% suffer mixed depression and anxiety, making it the most prevalent mental health problem in the population as a whole.”
Having worked with people in the field of complementary medicine for the last 10 years I have observed that most people have at least a low grade anxiety, so as appalling as these figures already are, they do not really reflect the truth of the number of people who live with anxiety, many not even realising it. I myself was one such person who lived with anxiety for 50 years and if not for Universal Medicine I would still have it. What changed for me was to re-connect with my body and know that I am equipped to handle anything that life presents to me
Great points Mary Louise- I think anxiety levels are much bigger than the statistics we are seeing. Also the fact that many people think that it will just be there and that its not something that can be healed is also something we need to talk about more and explore, so that people know they don’t need to be crippled by this for life, and that there can be another way.
It is easy to consider it normal to be a bit anxious as there are plenty of triggers as well as good reasons and explanations for why it is normal to then feel somehow anxious, and as most people have quite similar experiences we even confirm anxiousness to be normal.
Yes Mary Louise and Kristy, the figures do not represent anxiety levels in the community. Anxiety is massive and many accept it as a ‘normal ‘ in their daily lives , and so anxiety is is not exposed for what it is, or for the damage that it does.
Thank you Mary-Louise for sharing your findings and statistics on Anxiety, which just shows how anxiety is a world wide issue. The other thing is because we live with anxiety every day, it becomes normal that for most, myself included, thus we become unaware how debilitating this is for our body and the impact this has on our lives and our relationships. Like yourself, everything changed for me when I reconnected with my body and my true essence as a women, which supports me to know that no matter what life presents to me next, I am more than enough to handle it. Am deeply grateful to Serge Benhayon for the wisdom he presents.
What I find very important is that many many do not realize that they live with a certain degree of anxiousness. To be unaware of this doesn’t make it better – it just allows something unnatural to become very normal. As you pointed out Mary-Louise anxiety comes form knowing to not be equipped for something to deal with. But in the opposite – there nothing we are not equipped for if we connect to our body and listen to it. If you are blind to see what is in front of you, close your eyes for a moment and trust what the body is telling you. The more you re-connect like this, the less stress you get.
Thank you Julie, for an honest sharing and the way you have chosen to deepen your awareness with your body through the gentle breath meditation and let go of anything that has been weighing you down. Truly inspiring.
Anxiety is the new norm. It is something we have accepted is what life is like but it certainly is not enjoyable in the slightest to experience it. Have we got something deeply wrong here as a race by thinking its normal to be anxious?
Absolutely Joshua, most are not aware of the anxiousness running their bodies, its often lost amongst sugar and caffeine but as Universal medicine continues to present, building a true partnership with our bodies and understanding that life is medicine – will free the world of this epidemic.
Well said lucindag. Universal Medicine is making truth normal once again
This is a great point Joshua and feels true for me. How many of the things we do in life are partly or entirely driven by underlying anxiousness? Our way of living is clearly leading to exhaustion and for me anxiousness has massively contributed to this.
I am sure that anxiousness exhausts us more than we actually tend to realise
This is a great point Joshua. If you scratch under the surface I would say most of us experience anxiety (even low grade) on a daily basis. I know I do and I am known for being calm by my colleagues, friends and family.
Low-grade anxiety already can start with thinking about the possible outcome of any process; it is a shift from what we actually know to what we cannot know but try to calculate or even control.
Great sharing. What stood out for me was this:
“Anxiety is this perceived pain that we freak out about because we are terrified of doing ‘it’ wrong and humiliating ourselves in the process…. I have chosen anxiety because I have beaten myself up about ‘wrong’ choices made and then felt that I have ‘suffered’ as a consequence.”
It gives anxiety a different, expanded perspective, which I had overlooked but have totally felt without having brought it to words with such precision. It is amazing that we choose Anxiety and the more we choose it, it turns into such an entrenched and automatic mechanism of reaction in our body, it ends owning our body to the point that we really don´t know any different way to respond to life and situations. BUT, there is another way, thankfully you have mentioned a whole range of tools that support us resurrecting our trust and knowing on the deep and powerful stillness that lies within.
Thank you.
Thanks Julie for opening up the conversation about anxiety and how it manifests in many ways attacking and debilitating our human bodies. As Donna has noted above, why is it we put so much pressure on ourselves to get it right instead of just doing the best we can at the time. A great article highlighting the importance of connection to our breath, self care, love, acceptance and of course appreciation.
I agree Greg, I love how Julie has proven by her experience, that when experiencing Anxiety there are simple choices around what we can do to support ourselves. An inspiring and supportive blog.
I totally relate to your comment Greg and how important the connection and relationship with ourselves really is.
Julie this is an amazing sharing and one I know many will benefit from. Anxiety seems to be rampant in today’s life and you so beautifully and relateabley have shared the ins and outs of it, also supportively sharing how you observe it and deal with it as it happens.
I fully commend your journey, choices and sharing. Your sharing also gives me a real understanding of what someone is experiencing at the time they are feeling high levels of anxiety. Thank you.
I agree johanna08smith. This is such an insight into what happens with anxiety and provides practical ways to deal with this.
Yes Johanna, Anxiety is very common and Julie’s article very real and helpful.
Agree all the way – its incredibly useful to have that sharing laid out in a clear road map for us all to look at, reflect on (whether for us or people that we know), and learn from. Writing the blog is a great service to us all…
I can relate Julie to what you share about “anxiety is this perceived pain that we freak out about because we are terrified of doing ‘it’ wrong and humiliating ourselves in the process.” There is so much effort and energy that can go into trying to “get it right” but really what is “right anyway”? It is indeed a perception. I am finding that the more I look at the beliefs and ideals I have around what is “right” I am seeing through the illusion and the anxiety shifts.
I totally agree Donna, thank you for pointing this out. What is “right”? why we put so much pressure on ourselves with this right, wrong, embarrassment, regret, tension, careful, careful…and so on….then, when we have the `bad luck` of making a mistake, we are gone… empty room for anxiety to kick in. I am actually learning that part of making mistakes is about learning to let them go gracefuly and lovingly (responsibly) and saying No to all the mental energy trying to enter and messing everything up…. As you say “I am seeing through the illusio and, the anxiety shifts”
Our expectations in perfection are a real set up and stop us from living life fully to the best of our ability and just stop us from going for it.
Recently I changed the amount of sugar in my diet and I could not believe how eating healthier it has lowered my anxiety levels and cleared up my thinking, sugar really is a strong drug.
I agree Sarah sugar is a very strong drug and needs to be listed as such alongside drugs such as marijuana, cocaine etc. The amount of harm that sugar causes a person is hugely underestimated in humanity as most people need it to get them through the day, so they choose to be in denial that this is the case as then they would have to take personal responsibility for their lifestyle choices.
Yes marylouisemyers and the thing about sugar is that most of us don’t even know the damage or effects of sugar, at least hard drugs like cocaine are obvious and up front.
When I changed my diet to having no sugar at all (including no fruit) my whole nervous system, which was always anxious the instance after I ate sugar, changed, as I didn’t have enough “food” to give me a ‘high’. I discovered that it is really, and especially when you tend to be anxious/ nervous, an absolute support to not eat sugar. My whole day starts differently, eating soup in the morning instead of fruit or cereal.
I have always been sensitive to things that give me more energy i.e. caffeine, energy drinks. I am naturally a very energetic person and when I put extra energy into my body that is not mine its like my system goes haywire.
I have been a big sweet tooth for most of my life but I am now realising that my body has always responded badly to sugar, I just hadn’t made the connection that the daily anxiety I experience was a side effect from this socially acceptable substance. I honestly thought it was my personality and that I was an anxious nervous person after stopping sugar, turns out I am not.
Totally agree with what you say – sugar and other stimulants like caffeine,cocoa and alcohol are all mind altering drugs and create anxiety. Because they’re so accepted in our culture people don’t consider their use may be the root cause of their anxiousness.
A friend recently confided to me that she was experiencing extreme anxiety and catastrophic thinking, apparently she was drinking eight cups of coffee a day so I suggested she cut down and drink more water. When I saw her again two weeks later
she said it was a miracle the anxiety was completely diminished and she was no longer having fearful thoughts. That really shows how powerful these substances are and how they affect not only our body but also our mind.
I am with you Fiona, it’s unbelievable that we are not addressing these lifestyle choices as a society before we are seeking to be prescribed pharmaceutical medication to fix the problem. I am sure that a large number of cases of those experiencing anxiety would clear up or disappear with these simple but powerful adjustments in our lifestyle.
So true Sarah and the addiction to sugar is so strong. We really have to seriously starting seeing it equal to other drugs as the impact it has on society is huge. I see so many kids who are seriously struggling because they can’t cope with the amount of sugar they are eating and so many other issues are resulting from this. When we know this we have to ask questions when people try to shut things like the sugar movie down when its presenting facts that can actually support people.
It makes no sense that a substance this strong is marketed at our most sensitive little bodies (children). It is hard for us as adults to handle the effects of sugar, so you can imagine the addiction and behavioural issues that are borne through the over-consumption of this readily available and socially acceptable drug-like ‘food’.
Me too Sarah. My anxiety levels go through the roof if I eat sugar at all. Even just a small amount. Such a strong drug.
I had a spoon of the kids ice-cream the other night and about half an hour after having the ice-cream, my leg began tapping and I started feeling anxious. For a moment I thought it was about things that were going on in my life and at work. I then realised, that I had not felt stressed before the ice cream, it then dawned on me just how strong side effects of sugar actually are. I had this clarity and ability to feel this because of a long break from sugar leading up to this experience.
Ironic isn’t it sararaynebaldwin, that many of us eat sugar to allay our anxiety when in reality it makes it worse! I have eradicated sugar from my diet also, but anxiety still creeps in from time to time, but it is through the teachings of Universal Medicine that I realise that my anxiety is just a choice and I now have the tools to address my anxiousness, which is something that I ‘go into’ rather than who I am.
Very true Sarah and it’s still viewed as something that is relatively harmless. But it has significant implications to the health of our body and also, as you say the quality of our thoughts.
I have had the same experience Sarah. When I stopped eating refined sugars I felt less anxious and jumpy. As I have also cut down on natural sugars, I can feel how racy and stimulated my body becomes when I do eat something sweet, even if it is only natural sugars. This tells me that there is a link between sugar and increased anxiety as it takes our bodies to a level of stimulation directly related to that of anxiety.
Spot on Robyn, thanks for the detail, my experience has been the same.
“I realised that my choices have and continue to be opportunities to be more gentle, understanding, appreciative and loving with myself”.
What you have written here is such an antidote for anxiety.
Thank you Julie, I can so relate to what you have expressed about anxiety
Like you I have found the Gentle Breathe Meditation such a wonderful tool and great support when making decisions and bringing myself back to, and appreciating, me.
What I love about this Shirl is the understanding that it is our choice. We are the ones who have the responsibility for how we are in the world in all situations.
Thank you so much for sharing this Julie. I am currently realising the level of underlying anxiousness that I have had throughout my life and the reasons for it. Reading this feels super supportive and I will be re-reading your words.
We can be living with anxiety from childhood. As I become more aware of feeling anxious but have some distance with it, I am able to see that it has been running my whole life. The distance has only come as a result of the support from Universal Medicine and Universal Medicine practitioners showing me that who I am and who we are is nothing to do with anxiety and that these are feelings in the body that enter when we disconnect from our real selves. The key I’m finding is in becoming more aware and alert to how we disconnect – e.g what the triggers are
Yes, Katie — for so many of us anxiety runs along subtly, we don’t even know it’s there because it has become so familiar, almost normal. But it keeps us away from being deeply at ease and with ourselves. When we start to clock how much anxiety we’re actually running it can be very confronting at first. But it’s in the honesty that we can then start to realise that this anxiety is not actually us, it’s something we’ve taken on to run our lives — thinking that we’re not enough to simply be ourselves in life.
I wholeheartedly agree with your observations around anxiety Katie. It is remarkable that we now have these esoteric healing modalities which truly support people to not only identify the ‘hidden’ anxiety but also develop a way of living that can actually resolve it.
Totally agree with you there Michael it’s a fantastic read, appreciation soo important for us all
Yes, that was what was surprising to me. I discovered that the anxiety had been there from early childhood – it’s difficult to recognise something as being not normal when it has been that way for most of our lives.
And the reflection we have all around us is people living with a level of anxiety, so of course this becomes our ‘normal’. It has been great to realise this doesn’t have to be ‘normal’ and in fact it isn’t. Our normal state is harmony and stillness. To come back to this takes strength and commitment, and shows others there is in fact another way to live without a constant level of anxiety.
From my experience and from what I see in the health care setting, anxiety is a debilitating disease, a literal dis-ease in our bodies that can have us running on adrenalin and raciness or literally slumped and given up in an attempt to back-peddle away from a situation.
It’s a terrible and horrible sense of not coping with what is ahead of us and a very clear sign that we have dropped the ball so to speak; but the ball that we hold or have the potential to carry is often not known consciously by most. This ball is the most amazingly powerful and gracious part of us that is absolute and needs nothing but to recall how divine we are.
When we know this, we know we can handle anything. We obliterate anxiousness.
Yes Cherise it is true anxiety is very debilitating. It is great that its medicine is in truth very simple, feeling who we truly are and being present in our bodies.
Thank you Julie for depicting the images that we hold in life that hold us back from knowing our true capability and worth; and what we allow to run in the way of this. You have truly self empowered yourself to know your essence and know when that which is not you is trying to run the show.
Anxiety is endemic in our world and for most coping with it or managing the symptoms is perceived as the only way to get through. The gentle breath meditation and Esoteric Yoga both offer easily accessible alternatives that allow a true way forward through connection back to our body.
“That I have within me true power of what it means to live in this world, my unwavering commitment to be solid in my relationship with myself – with God”. This is a wonderfully empowering responsibility and the gentle breath meditation is very supportive in truly living this commitment.
Thanks Julie, your blog makes a great point. It IS all about our choices and how we view them. Are they things we have done that bind us and bring suffering or are they opportunities to step more fully into love.
Perfection and getting it right are the main 2 ingredients for my anxiety. Whenever I am presented with a new task at work, I instantly flee at lightening speed to my anxiety. I’m so busy fleeing that I don’t really listen to my boss’s instructions and I go back to my desk in a pickle not knowing what to do. I guess when you look at it, I looked for and chose anxiety and the payment for this choice is stress, binge eating and internal mini meltdowns, followed by exhaustion because of the amount of energy you had to use to create the anxiety. Now I’m aware that whenever something new is being presented that anxiety is a choice I can run off to, or I can stay present by feeling my feet and getting out of my seat in the most gentle loving way. It allows me space to ponder on my new task and the confidence to complete it.
Dear Julie, it was very healing reading your blog as I have also experienced anxiety and panic attacks in the past. Feeling into all of this deeper, anxiety is the body’s way of telling us that it is not enjoying living the lie that we put it through. Panic was what was full blown felt when I decided to come clean and face my life again—what I had to feel was all those years when I attempted to escape from the responsibility of dealing with life. Yet, the acceptance of my past choices and the commitment to now choose a true way, as you have also very powerfully shared Julie, can bring us walking firmly in the present. Panic attacks gave me the opportunity to come back to living responsibility in my life in deep honesty, it was not an easy time, but there is so much to appreciate for.
Julie this is such an awesome blog and a topic I am sure so many of us are familiar with. Being someone who has allowed anxiety to be a big part of my life the way you describe it’s effects are so spot on. What I loved about what you exposed was the fact that ultimately anxiety comes from us choosing to judge ourselves, trying to “do” it right rather than truly appreciating the choices we have made that have got us to where we are. I am finding the more I bring my focus back to the moment through connecting to my breath or simply connecting gently to my body the more I find I drop back into me and the anxiety dissipates as I realise it is me not being with me that creates the anxiety in the first place. I can also personally attest that both the gentle breath meditation and esoteric yoga stillness for women program have deeply supported me in doing this.
So from reading this blog I can get a clear picture of how, once the physical symptoms of anxiety begin, we have a choice whether to continue or reclaim ourself in the process and say no. Choosing to feel anxious comes down to ourself and how we want to live, I can definitely relate to becoming anxious because of being afraid of getting something wrong. I so love how you are claiming that your foundation is “one of knowing that within me I have all I need as I let go of the past and take care of the future by bringing focus to the present.” Thank you, Julie.
I have experienced anxiety for most of my life and why I no longer have it is because I choose to be present in my body and this equipped me with the confidence to know that I could deal with what ever life presented
Great topic to openly discuss Julie, anxiety is a huge issue in our world today whether extreme or more subtle as you describe. I couldn’t agree more that when we begin to build a solid foundation within and reconnect to our natural stillness we are more naturally confident and steady in life.
I agree Victoria if we re-connect with our body and our natural still, harmonies state of being then their is room for the energy of anxiety to enter as we are full of our self.
I had a bit of a chuckle when I read…”there is no room for the energy of anxiety to enter as we are ‘full of ourselves’. This is true. When I was growing up though it wasn’t at all cool to be ‘full of yourself’ as it was interpreted as being showy or suggesting arrogance. Being in the fullness of our nature though is quite the opposite, it is a place where we are in touch with our equal glorious qualities such as truth, love, stillness harmony and joy.
Thank you Julie for making it so simple and exposing the fact that we can get so caught up in what is not true that we lose ourselves. Staying connected through the body and the breath is so loving, supportive and transforming. I know the moments when my heart is pounding, the lump appears in my throat and so many of the symptoms you have mentioned appear – breathing the gentle breath and focusing on my body is the the way I have been able to find my way back.
I also find The Gentle Breath Meditation (GBM) a fantastic tool to use when I feel anxious about not being able to handle something that lies before me or of having got something wrong. The GBM helps me restore my physiology to calm and my state of being to being present with my mind and body as opposed to lost in negative thoughts. It is an awesome modality and so quick and easy to do any time and anywhere!
I completely agree. The Gentle Breath Meditation as presented by Serge Benhayon has been a God send to many to reconnect to their natural breath and realign their physiology. The GBM was my first introduction to me stopping and making more self loving choices. Now nine years later my connection with myself, the caring way I am with myself and others and my knowing of who I am has all deepened and is in my everyday living.
Who would have thought that reconnecting to your own breath was even necessary or something to consider, or that by doing so how many benefits would ensue. The Gentle Breath Meditation is extraordinary in its simplicity and power.
Thank you Juile, when I was reading your article it came to me the varying degrees of anxiety that we carry. It can be very sublet but internally overwhelming emotion. I do not get anxiety whilst doing tasks or interacting with others but it can creep in after the event is over. My husband and I came up with some knick names for me when I am in this state…or as we call it when Negative Nelly comes over or Reggie Regretful, he will ask me how long Reggie Regretful be staying, as he wants his my wife back?
Reggie and Nelly aim is to knock me off kilter and having fun with this has stopped them from having the power.
With a mix of humour, observation and surrendering my body when I feel it tighten I am also beginning to have great success with catching things early and not letting them completely engulf me.
Brilliant sarahraynebaldwin, love the mix of humour, observation and surrender, what a supportive combo.
It sure is an awesome mix Victoria and its a combo that can be applied to most things in life.
Being playful is always a great antidote for any emotion we experience. It weakens their power instantly, and allows you to see the emotion you were sitting in without beating yourself up.
I love this Sarah, the ability to name the pattern but in a playful way. It removes the power, the hold, it can have and the reaction when someone calls you on it…love it.
So true Joel, when Ray (my partner) calls me Regina or Nelly, I start laughing, we both do…in the past that could have been a tense moment between us as a couple.
Its so funny that sometimes I will start by introducing myself as ‘Stressfully Sally’ and promise I will only be visiting briefly.
This is great, I love how humour can free up the space so we see more clearly what we can get caught in.
Love your antidote to anxiety saharaybaldwin. That has taken naming the pattern to a whole new level… give it a nick name and expose it each time until it no longer has a hold over you… your humour is the best!!!
It really works, I have always been prone to being anxious and have run on nervous energy in order to get me through most of my life. The last month I have been free of overwhelm and anxiety and I have had so much fun.
Wow, what a transformational realisation it is Julie to discover anxiety is in fact controlling you and others and that it does not naturally belong in your body when you choose to honour your innate stillness and connection to God.
An intense desire to avoid feeling the hurt and sadness of not perceiving ourselves as good enough is the starting point for many a means of distraction. There quickly comes a point when distraction can turn into a form of disregard and self abuse if and when we do not take responsibility for our choices. In the end we serve ourselves and those around us better when we are able to observe that initial feeling, feel it fully and move on. Anything else just introduces a secondary issue which masks the main event and delays any true resolution.
I am steadily building a new foundation: one of knowing that within me I have all I need as I let go of the past and take care of the future by bringing focus to the present. Yes Julie, so much is possible in the present moment when we connect and let go, and then being able to feel, that in that moment we are actually OK, we are love.
Anxiety is something that many of my secondary school students live with. It is in plague proportions in young people and adults. The gentle breath meditation is something that helps reconnect us and allows us to hold a presence with our body. I find when I am present with my body there is no room for anxiety and life flows naturally flows.
Yes Tracy I also find this, if I stay present with my body and not get ahead of myself anxiety has no entry point.
I saw an interesting 4corners episode yesterday online on, Our Kids– Why are they so stressed? where the young people openly spoke of the challenges they are facing. It was shocking to feel how many of our youth are not coping and the ways in which they are being abused online and also self-harming.
Education and support is surely needed to support our youth and all of us.
Yes I watched that program also. I see those conversations daily and it is getting much worse. I collated testimonials from students who had been cyber bullied and their stories were truly shocking and horrible. I knew it was bad but their stories really rocked me. Each student broke down while recalling the bullying and all had said it led to anxiety and depression, which many still suffered from. What has also been difficult was to see those effected deeply by bullying turn round and be bullies to others in the same manner. It is a vicious cycle and I predict it will become a very costly situation for society, financially and emotionally. Students are very tense and stressed nowadays and I believe there will be a health crisis in years to come from it all.
I can so relate to your list of what causes anxiety – and it’s almost anything and everything and makes me realise that it’s not about what causes anxiety but it is a semi-default posture of how we choose to experience life, and the responsibility and the power to change this pattern lies within us.
I have experienced anxiety throughout my life. The feelings just seemed to just come on without a moment”s notice. I’d even identified the feelings of anxiety as me, rather than something that was happening in my body. Now there’s a space when those anxious feelings occur where I can observe them and actually say to myself ‘No I’m not going there’ and focus on breathing gently (which I initially learnt through the Gentle Breath Meditation), when the feelings start to want to take over. What has supported me to have some distance from anxiety has been the support received from Universal Medicine to feel who I am on the inside, beyond any feelings of anxiety.
Identifying ourselves as the problem is a very important part to which the anxiety has its hold. What if anxiety was not in our natural way of living? There is a truth that we experience it yes, but the understanding that it is not who we are and the tools to reconnect to who we are is imperative.
This is beautifully said; Anxiety is this perceived pain that we freak out about because we are terrified of doing ‘it’ wrong and humiliating ourselves in the process.
It’s crazy how we allow ourselves to feel so inadequate and automatically assume that everyone else is ‘right’ and we, therefore, may be ‘wrong’.
Julie your insight offers great wisdom … ‘I am steadily building a new foundation: one of knowing that within me I have all I need as I let go of the past and take care of the future by bringing focus to the present.’ I can feel your strength and building self-confidence in this statement.
Anxiety plagues many in today’s society and hinders us from stepping into our fullness. When we are anxious it takes us away from our hearts and into our heads. When we stop and connect to our bodies and feel how we are within, it is so beautiful to appreciate how we can wipe anxiety out just as quickly as when it creeps in. It is just another simple choice away. Thank you Julie for sharing with such honesty.
Anxiety is a world plague and seen as quite normal, as we hardly don’t realize we are actually suffering from it. Yes, we get anxious about many things that are going to take place in the future but mostly we get anxious because we can not handle our own grandness. We are so great, amazing and so capable of doing big things, that we get anxious about it. Now what an upside down world is that….
The connection you are offering is great Julie: ‘a perceived pain because of wrong choices’. As you say there aren’t actually any wrong choices, choices are our lessons, how we choose to learn is up to us. I know I’ve had to repeat a few times, but this doesn’t make me any less it just asks me to connect to my foundation as you share. But if I do get caught in the perception that I was wrong I start to call in a whole lot of pain, which starts to unreasonably demand instant relief and distraction, which calls in more of the same – and this is very simply yuk!
“to let go of these unnatural symptoms that do not belong” – this line was a pearler for me (in amongst lines of pearlers – great blog) because it shows that anxiety is not us…it does not belong. It is an energy that we can use to separate us and complicate things but it is not us. We can have the choice to observe it and say OK why is that happening and then choose otherwise. And I love what you wrote about appreciating all of our choices.
yes it is empowering to feel that anxiety is a choice and not actually part of us. We can often put such unnecessary pressure on ourselves and have un-realistic expectations and in doing so we complicate our lives. Observing and being gentle with ourselves is so key here as we can then appreciate we can make a different choice.
Thank you Julie and Sarahflenley, I agree, anxiety is never us, and the feeling of anxiety is also something that is always there, it is a tension that is always felt. To live and understand how anxiety and stress are just part of a normal day, and how we can totally disempower the affects that anxiety has on us, go to ‘Understanding Anxiety in Men – ONLINE COURSE’
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Thank you Julie for your insightful and powerful sharing. I have existed with anxiety for most of my life, in varying degrees, so I can relate to a lot what you have shared. It is so true Julie the symptoms of anxiety are unnatural and as such continually existing in this state is exhausting. I often could feel that this was not me, that there was more to life, and me, than feeling this way most of the time, but did not have a clear marker of what was me or who I really was. Through the Gentle Breath Meditation as presented by Serge Benhayon I found that I could connect a stillness within me, a place where my thoughts did not rule me, a place where I could just feel me from within. From here I have steadily over time developed a strong connection to and marker of who I am, to the love I am within. Your transformation is inspirational in that you have shown that there is another way to actually live in connection to ourselves and with our knowing. How when we develop our connection to who we are, our knowing of all that we are is naturally lived. From which we are able to then recognise anything that is not of who we are, address it and let it go.
Anxiety was something that I constantly lived in – trying to control my life while feeling inadequate. Getting to know my essence and choosing to coming back to it through gentle breath has been a great support for me as well. How great is it when we are able to just observe our own anxiousness and not be consumed by it.
I used to suffer from anxiety and use all kinds of ways to deal with it and in today’s society anxiety is becoming more and more normal. What I have found is since I stopped drinking coffee, and made some changes in my life, I am not as racy as I used to be which actually means I can be more in the present, without worrying too much about what next.
With the support of Universal Medicine I have learnt that I am enough and even if I make a mistake, it doesn’t make me a bad person which takes a lot of unnecessary pressure away. When you think about it, no one else puts the pressure there, it is me who actually puts crazy goals and expectations on myself and then have to live with them. So no one to blame, just a shift in the way I think and treat myself.
Interestingly until I started to look at all aspects of how I was living my life did I realise that even what I ate and drank made such a difference to my anxiety levels. It was mostly tea, and the high contents of sugar in my diet that gave way to an increase of anxiousness in my body and thought processes which then manifested as a hot flush.
I too used to live with anxiety, for longer than I had even realised. Once I began revealing it so, it was interesting the choices I made from that anxious state of being would generally only enhance it, as you refer to Rosie with coffee, there was much by way of what I consumed that was really fueling the anxiety.
Yes and it is interesting to see how different things fuel different people.
The force of anxiety seems all so consuming when in it, yet it takes but the identification of it, as you have so accurately described Julie, for it to become evaporated, when I truly connect to me, to my stillness, I close the opening for any thread of anxiety to enter.
Beautifully expressed Giselle. Acknowledging that you are anxious is medicine and self healing.
Hi Julie and thank you for your sharing. I too can say that Anxiety is a familiar old friend, and one that I used to spend a lot of time with. And just as you have described, anxiety can be something that comes in to be a part of EVERYTHING that we can possibly do, from the simple act of going to school or going to work, from making a phone call, from meeting someone new…the list is endless. It can be something that can really affect you on a daily basis, if you let it rule the show. The key for me has been to first realise the level of anxiety that I used to live in (and still occasionally go into today), and then from here also realise that anxiety is actually a choice – for example when something happens that can ‘throw me off’, my focus can be to either go into an anxiousness or even a panic, OR I can actually ‘force’ myself to stay focused and just do what is needed and to do it calmly and with purpose. This has been a big revelation to me: the fact that I have a choice of anxiety or staying calmly with me and offering myself the support I need to handle whatever situation crops up in front of me. Once I realised that I actually have choice, that I don’t need to be ruled by the situation, and that I can have a say in how I am in the situation, than the anxiety began to have much less of a say over me. For me this all began with the gentle breath meditation as taught by Serge Benhayon, and I started by practicing this just for 5 minutes every morning and 5 minutes every evening. But what has also played a large role for me in addressing the anxiety has been to adjust the foods that I eat – in particular cutting out foods that contain caffeine, refined sugar, refined carbohydrates etc. It has been amazing to feel the actual effect of these foods on my levels of nervous tension and anxiety, and how much easier it is today to not go into the anxiety because of the supportive way that I have learned to eat.
Cutting out refined sugar for me has dramatically changed my level of anxiety and the way I handle it. When eating sugar I constantly had anxiety on tap. I had this feeling of raciness and nervous tension in my body all the time. Identifying why I was eating sugar and how it was affecting me physically and mentally, started to expose why I was choosing anxiety. Now I no longer have any raciness in my body, which has lead to other benefits like sleeping soundly at night, not being emotional and having more energy.
Awesome experience Lindell and great to share. It is truly amazing how we don’t really ‘get’ the benefits of something till we actually give it a try – I could not fathom how much better I would feel leaving out the excess sugar, let alone when I cut out gluten from my diet too! And quite shocking too to discover how much foods actually affect our moods (causing mood swings and grumpiness), energy levels (high and low dips) and ability to hold ourselves in our natural state of relaxation (can cause major tension and nervous excitability)…which in turn affects our quality of work, our quality of sleep, our quality of relationships that we have with those around us. Wow…domino effect from just a simple food choice! How powerful is it to realise this!?
It’s very powerful to realise this Henrietta. It’s like gaining back control of your life. I now get to make the choice not something else choosing it for me. Gluten was a hard one for me to let go of. I feared that there would be nothing left to eat, which I hear a lot of people say. Once you explore the gluten free diet you find that there is an array of choices and all very healthy and loving for your body. Food meaning meals have become to easily accessible, like take away shops, frozen dinners and so on. I know myself when I am extremely exhausted I look for the quick and easy option, which isn’t really supportive to the body. If we just took more time and responsibility to our food choices and cooking we would feel the benefits in our body instantly.
Beautifully said Henrietta and I can so easily relate to all that you have shared. For me, after many years of thinking that my anxiety was me and me it, to “realise that anxiety is actually a choice” stopped me in my tracks, and when I allowed myself to feel the truth of what was being presented I was slowly able to begin to turn my anxiety driven life around. And like you, Julie and many others, the Gentle Breath Meditation has been the foundation for this most welcome change.
Spot on Ingrid – I love how you have put it: “after many years of thinking that my anxiety was me and me it, to “realise that anxiety is actually a choice” stopped me in my tracks”. So many of us allow ourselves to be disempowered by anxiety as we are often told that this is a genetic, inherited disposition, that it is your ‘nature’ so you just have to learn to live with it. But just the inkling alone of it being something that does not have to rule you, is huge to discover, and then when you actually put into place some simple practical tools to support you to come back to a true and natural sense of harmony and ‘calm’ the benefits are amazing. Of course it does require commitment and effort to re-establish a foundation that is supportive, and the ‘pull’ towards the old way of being in anxiety can be very strong, but the fact is that we do have a choice and this needs to be made public for all to know. Why not give the gentle breath as taught by Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine a go (http://www.unimedliving.com/meditation/free/meditation-for-beginners/introductory-gentle-breath-meditation.html).
I love how you explain anxiety in such a simple and relatable way Julie, the fact that we can feel anxious buying a packet of mints shows just how much we feel and how hard we can be on ourselves.
And it also shows, that it is not the seemingly “big” situations in life, but every single small moment, that adds up to how we feel.
‘I have chosen anxiety because I have beaten myself up about ‘wrong’ choices made’ reading this sentence felt very familiar to me but your friend totally turned this on its head by appreciating all her choices that have allowed her to learn and grow to be where she is today. That’s beautiful because it is so often the perceived ‘bad’ choices that give us the greatest opportunity to learn.
‘ That’s beautiful because it is so often the perceived ‘bad’ choices that give us the greatest opportunity to learn.’
I can attest to this. I have learnt so much in the last few years. Someone very dear to me made choices that had a significant impact, for them and me, on a temporal level. However, throughout I could feel that, as always, there is a choice in how we deal with things. We can look at the learning, or feel the victim. It was a gift for me to learn how to appreciate the learning of what was being presented, to feel the part that we all play in anything that happens to us. We are never the ‘innocent victim’, there is always something for us to learn from the part that we have played. Accepting this, there are no ‘bad’ choices, just learning opportunities that lovingly get repeated and presented in a slightly different colour until we are able to appreciate what is there for us to see.
This is a lovely and very relatable description of anxiety and its affect on the body and on our lives – as well as the lives of those around us. I was an anxious person. I was always tormenting myself over past mistakes and would project them fearfully onto the next task ahead of me. I was always going to fail at Uni (I never came close to failing), I was always on the brink of disaster (I was, but never in the ways I thought).
What I never considered is what a nightmare I was to live with – an inconsiderate person who was actively building the stress quotient and demanding that everyone help me. Oh! What a moment of recognition. However there is no blame. Having seen that pattern I will not repeat it. Nor will I pander to it in others.
That is a great point Rachel, our anxieties are not only an exhausting and debilitating choice for us, they also affect all of those around us, fuelling more anxiety.
Absolute gold Julie Ferguson – “I am steadily building a new foundation: one of knowing that within me I have all I need as I let go of the past and take care of the future by bringing focus to the present”.
Loved that line too Marcia, such wisdom expressed with true grace and humility our new foundation comes from living who we are in each moment.
Yes I loved that line too Marcia… it captures perfectly the tendancy to dwell on past experiences to colour how confident (or not in this case) we feel about something that is still to happen in the future. Staying in the present and with ourselves is key so when the future arrives, we have all our faculties with us to handle it.
While we allow ourselves to dwell on the past, we are not fully in the ‘present’, therefore, it feels like we are at risk of continuing our patterns of the past, it’s a vicious and very unloving cycle. If we accept that where we are at is a reflection of our choices, maybe we can also say that our choices are a reflection of where we are at. If that is so, when we accept this, we will be at peace with the past, knowing it’s all part of our journey, then we can “take care of the future by bringing focus to the present”.
The way you break anxiety down makes a lot of sense Julie. But where does this idea of what is ‘right’ come from? The ideals and beliefs that we need to be something or do something special seem keep us trapped in a perfection loop from day one. Yet what your words show is that this is just a trick to keep up separated from our power and the simple fact that life’s events are here for us to continually learn from.
Great points Joseph “your words show is that this is just a trick to keep up separated from our power and the simple fact that life’s events are here for us to continually learn from.” – there is so much in this as if we live in anxiety we never allow who we are in full to be truly seen.
‘ life’s events are here for us to continually learn from’ …. so true Joseph and we are ALL learning together. We are all part of life’s journey together, equally so. We have our own unique expression for a reason, so that we can offer love and support to each other, we compliment each other perfectly.
I love synchronicity, today I had the understanding that I have a base of anxiousness in my body that I am operating from which is all to do with not being wiling to live my true power, which simply means to be my self with no expectations of outcomes. And now I read this! Ha love it, love the support that is all around us!
Jullie, thank you for exposing anxiety and how it plays with us to create all sorts of reactions in daily life and thereby causing untold damage to our self-worth and self esteem. I can relate to this as especially about being wrong or causing any harm. The truth is however by reacting to anxiety I was actually causing harm to myself and others. Now that I have let go of many of these fears I see anxiety as what it truly is – just an example of not being present with myself by projecting myself into some perceived future which is all an illusion and a complete waste of time and energy.
‘Observing rather than absorbing is something’ I heard at the first presentation I ever attended by Serge Benhayon and it continues to be one of the greatest blessings in being less emotionally enmeshed in all sorts of situations.
“The beauty of this is today I’m observing these symptoms rather than being enmeshed in them, for in truth what I have described was how I have lived most of my life, in varying degrees”.
Julie, this is so inspiring to read – you have clearly exposed anxiety for what it really is: the harsh judgments of oneself against external measurements of what we think is ‘right’ – so far away from the true innate stillness that lives within us all.
“Anxiety is this perceived pain that we freak out about because we are terrified of doing ‘it’ wrong and humiliating ourselves in the process”.
‘I am steadily building a new foundation: one of knowing that within me I have all I need as I let go of the past and take care of the future by bringing focus to the present.’ This is all we need, at least I know this is all I need plus the knowing I am capable for all that is presented to me supports me too to feel me in every moment.
Anxiety in its varying levels is something many people find is an issue for them. The Gentle Breath Meditation by Universal Medicine rather than being a solution is actually a proactive step forth into connecting with your self, and thus the anxiousness about whether something will or will not be successful can lessen, and in its place the confidence can build.
I also love what you’ve shared around anxiety ‘not being natural’ and hence ‘not belonging’ in your body… it’s so usual to own it as part of us… ‘l’m just an anxious person…’ rather than understanding it as a response to something that doesn’t need to be, and isn’t part of our naturally confident state. Getting underneath the real cause for it is profound, rather than learning to ‘manage it’ as most of us do.
I totally agree Jenny and feel that is a really important point – that anxiousness isn’t just something to accept as a given and that we do indeed have the power to deal with it, uproot it and let it go. Universal Medicine has helped me hugely with this.
Yes Fiona, Universal Medicine’s approach offers an understanding of the origin of anxiety, something I had never come across before in all my studies, but that was so spot on and relatable that it provided an effective framework to begin addressing it. No special remedies or miracle cures, but the ability to work with yourself, and your relationship to life in a way that empowers, as you say. This is what healing is vs management of a condition, which is our usual approach when we don’t have sufficient or full understanding.
I love what Julie has shared too Jenny; and agree that it is not natural to feel anxious, angry, stressed etc, but so often we have labelled ourselves as being an anxious person or an angry person, almost taking on the role, when in truth it is not who we are. For me, finally beginning to understand what is underneath the anxiousness, etc has been life changing.
Yes Ingrid, I have recently come to realise I have lived in such as way as to avoid anxiousness most of my life, disliking the feeling intensely. Understanding it more now and with many more resources at my fingertips thanks to Universal Medicine… I am becoming less inclined to avoid it and realise the falseness of thinking there’s anything I can’t handle.
Beautiful Jenny
Wow Julie, this is very powerful. There are several points I can relate to very much, but particularly your comment about appreciating the choices that have led to this point. I could feel a shift in me as I read this and let it sink in too… you are not the first to remind me of that, but it is the first time l’ve let more of it in. It’s so easy to stay focussed on what is still not right (perfect!) and miss the fact that there has been so much that was and is amazing in the choices made every day. Thanks for the reminder… such an important thing to be able to appreciate ourselves in this way.
I so agree Jenny this is an awareness I am coming back too as well, appreciating the choices I have made rather than seeing all the perceived wrong choices I have made. Appreciating ourselves in this way makes such a difference to our overall wellbeing as it supports rather than undermines. A great blog.
I agree Jenny,learning to appreciate the choices I have made is something I keep coming back to. I used to be in a fairly constant state of anxiousness as I was always fretting about something that was going to happen or that ‘might’ happen and playing out scenarios in my head of how they would play out – exhausting. Learning to be in the present and appreciate myself for who I am is a revelation.
Amazing Mary, such a simple way to turn around something that’s so universally debilitating… if only we were taught this at school, that would have changed an enormous amount for me in life, and l’m sure most of us at different times.
Yes Jenny This is a beautiful point! Walking in our appreciation is the best! It’s something I have also become aware of lately.
I too feel that appreciation is key and a powerful antidote to perfectionism. Appreciating the choices I have made that have all contributed to me being at the amazing place I am today supports me to let go of any lingering anxiousness and focus on the present moment.
So true Helen, without appreciation there is a forever striving to be recognised from outside, which almost always results in the need to do or be for others what we know they want. This means of course anxiety as what if we don’t live up to their expectations… and not living in the present moment, as you say. Great point!
Anxiety for me always had strongly to do with not feeling equipped to do what was ahead of me. So connected to worrying, striving for perfection and just like you wrote, Julie, wanting to get it right. However there is no right or wrong, there is only learning. There are heaps of opportunities to evolve and our souls keeps offering them in all sort and sizes to keep us moving back to the divine where we all come from.
Yes, Monika, like yourself I feel anxiety when I don’t feel equipped to do what is asked of me. I feel I must “get it right” – eg when writing something, when speaking up, when doing something for the first time. As you say there is no right or wrong just learning.
And with the help of the gentle breathe meditation I have learnt to reconnect to my body and feel the real me .
Awesome point you make, Lorettarapp, re-connecting to the body is the greatest support ever to let go of any anxiousness and the gentle breath is very helpful for that.
Yes Monika letting go of having to get it right ALL the time has made such a difference to my life and I love your reminder that ‘there is no right or wrong, there is only learning.’
Yes, it is a constant choice every second of the day. For if I don’t choose the learning in that second then I choose to complicate things and put strain on myself by getting it right or wrong again.
How amazing we must be if we can always feel what is ahead of us. I really love how you’ve shared “However there is no right or wrong, there is only learning. There are heaps of opportunities to evolve and our souls keeps offering them in all sort and sizes to keep us moving back to the divine where we all come from”
Thank you Julie, you have very clearly laid out the way anxiety can play out in our lives. It’s quite a bizarre but totally debilitating cycle when we don’t allow ourselves to feel and process things that happen during our day, the pressure begins to build and everything seems too much. I too have found the gentle breath meditation super supportive – especially before bed.
Yes I agree Hannah. With anxiousness it begins to feel like life is too much, and gets on top of us.
Well said. All I can feel from this blog is that anxiety is not something given or ‘randomly accuring’ but actually a choice we make to not be with ourselves. It actually makes sense, because if we are not with ourselves everywere we go will be scary basicly (and hence the anxiousness). Thank you Julie.
‘All I can feel from this blog is that anxiety is not something given or ‘randomly occurring’ but actually a choice we make to not be with ourselves. ‘
I can feel this too, Danna. We are choosing to dismiss our own truth, feeling that we can’t trust our selves, that everyone else is ‘in’ on the knowingness of how to ‘do’ things. However, when we stop, and connect, and feel our gorgeous essence flowing through our body, this is our marker of truth, this is our truth. There is no right or wrong, just truth. When we live our truth we are living the divinity of who we are.
By claiming that we choose the anxiety, it cuts it dead. How can it run riot with those ‘your unable to cope in this moment’ (whatever the moment may be), when here you have the fact of ‘I am choosing to believe and pretend that I am unable to handle this situation’. Something that does appear and feel at times to completely overwhelm and get on top of us is so simply shifted. What could happen if this approach was taken on a grander scale, because almost everyone in the world is anxious about something.
Beautifully said Alison.
”When we live our truth we are living the divinity of who we are”. I love what you are sharing here with us, as this explains us that truth is not just words or something outside of us, but actually a living truth that once we live it we actually can discover that we are this truth all along and that this truth is all based on divinity. So.. who we are is clear!
Yes Danna and Alison this is now my truth, I actually now feel the moment of potential anxiety and can in that moment recognise the old pattern trying to impose again then I have a clear choice to dismiss that imposing thought and stop, and connect. Alison your last two lines ” There is no right or wrong, just truth. When we live our truth we are living the divinity of who we are.” This is getting clearer and clearer for me as I get to know and appreciate my qualities and the divinity I walk in and the impact for humanity.
Yes, thats a big common misconception, one that I adopted for many many years only to realise that in these moments I was giving my power away left right and centre.
So true Danna: “if we are not with ourselves everywere we go will be scary basicly”
I love that! So well said. And if we stay with our bodies we never end up anywhere scary.
I agree Danna, If we are not with ourselves then everywhere we go will be scary!
Yes absolutely Harryjwhite!
Beautifully said Danna and Alison, it is in the essence of our beauty and divinity that anxiety has no space to unfold.
Anxiety and the fear of getting it wrong – according to who exactly? – and something I’m still mostly in the grips of. How real is anxiety anyway – even though it does appear to be very real the fact that it disappears when we reconnect to ourselves through the gentle breath meditation would suggest that we take on something that is not us. Thank you Julie for bringing awareness to this.
Really well done Julie. You speak for many millions of people around the world who suffer like you once use to. No judgment here, just a massive congratulation for dealing with this and finding a way to not just cope but to overcome this and flourish. This problem really cripples people, forcing people to live a life less than their true potential.
Julie I love this line – “I have all I need as I let go of the past and take care of the future by bringing focus to the present.” That just about sums it all up. Simply bringing focus to what is going on in my body I become an observer and that space allows me to choose differently. When I feel that old pattern of nervous tension start, I will allow the feeling. I used to try and fight it, or talk myself out of it. That didn’t work. What does work for me now is bringing greater focus to what I am doing on a physical level. I might become more gentle with my finger tips as I type, I may focus on my breathing and just feel each breath as it enters and leaves. I might make each step I take feel purposeful and just slow down each action and feel my feet on the ground. I too have built this new foundation by listening to the presentations of Serge Benhayon and have been especially supported recently by the Esoteric Yoga Stillness Program for Women.
This sentence really stood out to me ‘Anxiety is this perceived pain that we freak out about because we are terrified of doing ‘it’ wrong and humiliating ourselves in the process. ‘ I am left feeling the only thing holding myself back from being genuinely confident in relationships are the judgements I hold towards myself.
And congratulations for being able to observe those symptoms without indulging in what comes with them – that is truly the death knell for that old chestnut, anxiety!
This is a very relatable and refreshingly honest blog – thank you Julie for describing anxiety exactly how it is.
Julie, I can feel that solidness in you especially in the last sentence of your blog. It is great to be able to observe the old behaviours and patterns we have chosen and start to realise they are not us, just things we have taken on to seemingly protect ourselves. I say seemingly, because they don’t really protect us, they just keep us away from that solid true power within.
I feel anxiousness as a baseless fear of losing something of myself, that I am not me any more when I make a mistake. But building this relationship with myself builds a very strong foundation to come back to, it isn’t always there yet, but getting to know myself more and more, I know I am a huge support for myself.
If anxiety runs a large proportion of our lives then it would be wise to take count of its effects. In many respects I think we do, however in an age of business and rushing it has become a driving force to complete our days.
Julie this blog is so amazing because you have really touched on a state of being that effects so many. ‘Anxiety is this perceived pain that we freak out about because we are terrified of doing ‘it’ wrong and humiliating ourselves in the process.’ Having the ability to observe our feelings of anxiousness and not get swallowed into the quick sand is very powerful. Thank you for sharing with us the fact that we do have the choice.
After dealing with my anxiety for quite a while I have discovered that it is actually choice to be anxious, as you have so beautifully described Julie, by describing your choice to heal the anxiousness. Instead of choosing to be out in the open, raw and exposed in all my glory, I would choose to be anxious.These days, the feeling of being myself, no matter if I think I’m wrong, is a true beauty. you have described this so well Julie.
Could it be that we choose anxiety so we don’t have to be all that we are? Including our Power? It is great that instead of living this you are now just observing, the next part will be not having this in your body at all 😄 Just a distant memory. It is crazy that we use alcohol and drugs so not to feel these things because instead it makes it far far worse.
Anxiety is huge! I was a majorly anxious person, and still get anxious from time to time. I didn’t have any trust in my power, or inner knowing of who I was, I would instead give all my power to things I believed I needed to fulfil, for people and for my own self worth. But once I realised this was all false, because the anxiety was taking a toll on my body and mind, I began to change my ways.
Thank you Julie, what you describe is something I can very much relate to, trying to fit into the world wanting to make it right all the time for everyone. Not something we will ever be able to achieve so no wonder it is causing so much anxiety. Life is not about trying to fit in, it is about bringing that what we know is true to the world.
I like this and it resonates deep with me; Life is not about trying to fit in but it is about bringing that what we know is true to the world. I can stand for that and will not sell for anything lesser anymore.
So many of us live with anxiety. . . In fact, all of us experience anxiety on a regular basis. Some people are not actively aware of living with a low level anxiety but it makes it self known every time we are presented with an aspect of life we don’t feel completely equipped to respond to. Most of us have developed strategies to numb this feeling or distract ourselves from it.
But is anxiety a ‘bad’ thing? There are multimillion dollar industries incorporating many different health and mental health professionals, drug therapies, hypnosis programs, spiritual solutions and many, many other ways of trying to remove anxiety but anxiety can is actually a message. Anxiety is your body letting you know that there is an aspect of life before you that you haven’t mastered or that will trigger an unresolved issue.
If we learn to view anxiety as a communication and choose to listen to what it says, it becomes a tool we can use on our journey to self master life.
Connecting to the stillness within myself through the Gentle Breath Meditation and the Esoteric Yoga Stillness Programme has been fantastic for me too Julie, I love how it supports to connect more readily to the steadiness and confidence that is naturally there, throwing anxiety out the window. If it does occur it is easily remedied with these tools.
There is much in this blog that is very familiar to me. As a youngster, I would binge on sugar in an effort to try to deal with the anxiety I was feeling, and then graduated to marijuana and club drugs later on in my early twenties and through my thirties.
Quitting these things – drugs and limiting the sugar I was eating – then became what I would struggle with and become anxious about, but ended up distracting me from the root of the issue, which was the cause of the anxiety I was trying so hard to numb.
Through working with Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine that root cause has become very clear, but beyond that, there is a very deep connection to be had to a source of unlimited stillness within. In that connection the raciness of anxiousness holds no sway, and those little things which cause such tension in my body are put in their place.
This is such an important subject to write about and share your experiences and insights as it is a growing health concern that is effecting more and more people at younger ages with such huge intensity. I really enjoyed how you shared from a point of reflection rather than a point of a victim, sharing in this way offers a great deal of empowerment and insight to the many who find themselves also suffering from anxiety.
I agree Toni, this is a very important topic to write about to share and unravel what is going on when we are suffering from anxiety. It is even that we often to not think we are affected by anxiety as this state of tension/anxiety has become so normal for us.
I really resonate with your last line Julie.’That i have within me true power of what it means to live in this world, my unwavering commitment to be solid in my relationship with myself – with God’. Every time an occasion arises where I allow myself self doubt, which leads to anxiety, I am walking away from God. If I simply ask him to come with me I know that whatever arises will be dealt with in my fullness – no question or doubt. When God is with us we are complete.
How beautiful Julie to feel you coming back to you – and as you have claimed, we have within the power to feel life in any way we choose. As we learn that anxiety is just one of the many choices we make about how we will live life we begin to empower ourselves, as we learn to embrace each aspect of who we are, knowing that we are the Sons of God.
We are sons of god and there is no room for anxiety. We are divine beings held in god’s atma, why should we ever feel doubt and worry, there is no reason for anxiety in the presence of god, what we naturally are when we choose to connect back to ourselves.
Yes, Monika – the more that we connect to the presence of God, the more we can feel the purpose of a life lived truly embracing our undeniable place as the Sons of God, living a life in service. When we are held in God’s atma ‘why should we ever feel doubt and worry’ as we are connected to the all that God is – and the feeling of absoluteness, where we are truly connecting to ourselves in all our magnificence.
Julie thank you for sharing so honestly as anxiety is something many people experience. I love how you are choosing to observe it and address what really is underneath it.
Julie I love all you have shared here. I really connected to the line “…to relieve these pressures I daily placed myself under.” It’s quite confronting to realise we do these things to ourselves, that every moment we have a thought or make a choice it’s either going to support or harm us somehow, but either way it’s up to us to choose. For many years I played victim, never realising how powerful I was in my own life. Whether my life felt dreadful or wonderful, I was the power behind it.
Julie, what a great blog and what a great last line, bringing it back to responsibility and our relationship with self and with GOD – this is where the true power lay, acceptance, surrender, and staying deeply in our body.
This could be my story – a constant battle to convince myself that everything is, and would be, OK but so often I would be overwhelmed by the anxiety and I would hold back. Through Serge Benhayon, the other members of his family and Universal Medicine my life has turned around. I still get anxious at times but like you, Julie, I am able to observe the feelings and not get overwhelmed.
Julie thank you for sharing your story. It’s one I also feel ruled my life and as you’ve shared “Anxiety is this perceived pain that we freak out about because we are terrified of doing ‘it’ wrong and humiliating ourselves in the process.”. I’ve also come to understand that without a deep and true acceptance of myself there is an anxiety that exists in every thing I do. The more I appreciate this is simply being with me, in the present moment, the less occasions I feel anxious.
Wow David this is revelatory.. “I’ve also come to understand that without a deep and true acceptance of myself there is an anxiety that exists in every thing I do”
When we get anxious what we are really scared of is the reaction of others hence the humiliation aspect of it. As you share David when there is a deep self acceptance and a knowing of who we are, then it doesn’t matter if others react because we are coming from a foundation of absoluteness in the knowing of who we are. We can remain steady in the face of whatever is thrown our way – reading what is going on for another rather than reacting to their reaction.
The anxiety you lived with, Julie I am sure is an all too overwhelming condition that many live with on daily basis in varying degrees. What is so awesome about what you are sharing here is that is doesn’t have to rule your life and it is in fact something which can be let go of in the knowing that this is not you.
Yes, we have the choice to letting go of anxiety once we have realized that this is not us. There is so much power in this choice.
When we realize that our issues are not coming from inside of us, that there is no true anxiety inside of us, but that we led this into our body and dominate us, each time we are overwhelmed by those feelings we can stop and observe what is going on and clearly feel that it is not in us but imposed onto us. With this we can feel our true power and claim the grandness of who we are instead of making the issue bigger than we are.
This is a very powerful article Julie, as it highlights the pressure that we feel from the outside can also be how we live from the inside and this will make life very troublesome. It is not always so easy to see that this is how we are choosing to live when it has become our normal way but unpicking this is enormous as you have so beautifully expressed.
Julie I totally understand what you have written here and for many years I thought that I just had to avoid situations so as not to get stressed or anxious, but a while back a wise Esoteric Practitioner told me that anxiousness is a choice, so like you I also applied the Gentle Breath when I felt anxiety rising up in my body and I found that after two to three breaths my body reactions started to subside and the anxiousness reduced, and the steadiness came back again. For me it was always the thought of how my body would react to a situation more than the actual situation itself, but now I am finding that I am stronger and more confident when dealing with people than I have ever been before, and if I feel anxiety creeping in I know what to do.
Anxiety is like a coat we chose a long time ago when we were naked and someone decided it was not ok just being ourselves and expressing naturally. I know that is how my anxiety started; I can almost remember the instances that led to me feeling there was something wrong with me so in order to feel safe, I took the coat. It was however not a safe place at all, just one of hiding. Great article Julie!
What a set up of falsely it is – to say we are not right therefore we take on a other reality, what is a hide away from the truth.
Yes Monika, it is an indication of just how sensitive we are. It is using this sensitivity as a barometer of truth and using it as a strength now to stand up and be ourselves.
Julie, thank you for sharing your new relationship with anxiety. I can feel how you truly appreciate observing and not absorbing what goes on around you.
Yes – anxiety can easily creep into our lives but at the same time we can very easily numb this with food, drink or habits.
But to actually want to feel what is going on in our bodies and acknowledge that is is not our true state is a huge step in not allowing this all together.
It shows that being honest about where we are at in our bodies is extremely healing.
Anxiety can become a drug that like others that becomes addictive. When we do not have something that causes it… we create our own! Anxiety becomes a perpetual motion merry-go-round powered by us.
Stepping off this non-stop cycle is the start of coming back to ourselves, live the way we are meant to be and to feel the stillness within.
Sounds too easy. We can prove that it works with all of us who have come a long way.
Thanks Julie – I’ve felt a lot of anxiety in my life but I haven’t thought about some points you raise here as it being a choice to use anxiety and what you say about past made choices also feels interesting. I will sit with this for a while. It sounds true. I also have felt that a lot of anxiety comes from us not feeling confident in bringing more of the light of who we are into our physical body. Thanks for an interesting read, actually one of my favorites.
You raise an interesting point too Matts “I also have felt that a lot of anxiety comes from us not feeling confident in bringing more of the light of who we are into our physical body”. Is it not ironic that most of us choose to not be ourselves? There is nothing more sweeter and joyful to express our love and what we feel that is true.
Anxiety is a pernicious infiltration and is probably a recurring pattern in most in not all human beings to some degree or another. I have certainly allowed it to control areas of my life which has stopped me expressing truly and freely all that I could be. To have the tools and the immense support of Love offered through Universal Medicine which empowers us to free ourselves of this pattern is indeed a blessing.
A great reminder re appreciation. It is not often we are appreciative of all of our choices but the learning from our ‘mistakes’ can really grow us in lots of ways.
Getting it wrong and / or looking stupid has been a huge impediment in my expression. I feel it when I have something to ask in large groups, like courses and workshops. Even though every one of us is held in a super loving energy, when I come to express myself, I come face to face with all the moments where I felt hurt by getting it wrong. It might have only been a few occasions where this actually happened, but I have given the memory the power to stop me. The game of right and wrong is a matter of perception and it is whole world of illusion that is fed by us protecting ourselves. I am feeling more of the responsibility to express, be it truth or not, I will learn either way.
I totally love what you are saying here Jinya Mizuno. Its an exhausting to censor yourself and try to be perfect. I am really confident when it comes to speaking in workshops and courses but writing comments today has been hard. Feeling like every comment is under a microscope and feeling like I cannot post anything is so unproductive. Your words Jinya have snapped me out of it and reminded me that it doesn’t matter if I get it right or wrong… as that is the trick that stops us from just doing stuff and learning from it. Thank you very much.
Lovely offering Jinya. It’s everything to be yourself! Right or wrong does not matter then. Have you ever noticed those people who are themselves and stuff up and it doesn’t matter so much. There is such an investment in being right and therefore recognized – I have been a huge sucker for that one too. The way I beat this, and still in development, was to keep committing to life and me, being a full participant by surrendering when a feeling was new and allowing it all to come to me.
It is extraordinary the pressure we can put on ourselves to be a certain way to avoid ourselves from getting hurt… yet in doing so hurt ourselves more than failing at our self-imposed perfection ever could. To top this off we then abuse ourselves further to avoid feeling the anxiety we have developed and to not feel what we are choosing. It is truly crazy when all the while there is a stillness and a power within that is capable and equipped to face anything life throws at us. Thank goodness for Universal Medicine reminding us of this and teaching us how to reconnect to it so we can let go of all the self-inflicted abuse.
Anxiety is something so many of us, if not all of us, have experienced deeply at some point in our lives. I love your last line Julie, ‘I am steadily building a new foundation: one of knowing that within me I have all I need as I let go of the past and take care of the future by bringing focus to the present.’ Through the teachings of Serge Benhayon by dealing with my own anxiety by focusing on each moment as I am in it; knowing that there is only the present… the future will come to me in the present. This has revolutionised my relationship with time and anxiousness.
Well said Rachel, thank you for realising that anxiety is not us. What I have come to is that anxiety is a creation we have used to hide away from our responsibility.
So true Rachel – utter wisdom! “Through the teachings of Serge Benhayon by dealing with my own anxiety by focusing on each moment as I am in it; knowing that there is only the present… the future will come to me in the present. “
Julie I love how you are building a new foundation that has you not owned by anxiety. What an amazing healing you have undertaken to stand free of anxiety, no longer controlled by it or owned by it. But to be able to observe the reactions taking place within the body. Now that’s power.
Invaluable blog for all of us that have known anxiousness in our lives. Knowing that this anxiousness never has and never will own us and that connecting to ourselves is just a breath away, a gentle breath that is, we are well on the way of putting anxiousness to bed forever.
Great blog Julie, about anxiety, the largest plague in the world. I love how you describe the turn out of it, that observation now is key for better understanding and not getting involved anymore, and most of important understanding that you have been the creator of this way of existing in anxiety. That is profound and to me – the answer and healing for it.
How self-empowering is it to take the responsibility about our emotions and all states of being.
We just aren’t taught about the importance of having a loving relationship with ourselves as the key to our relationships with others and the only way we can do that is to choose to be present with ourselves in everything that we do so that we are more equipped to make a truly loving choice for ourselves which in turn ripples out to others. It’s lovely to feel your commitment to you. Thank-you for sharing Julie.
I totally agree Julie “I have all I need as I let go of the past and take care of the future by bringing focus to the present.” The importance is to make a practice of feeling that stillness in your body, otherwise so much of the letting go of the past is theory. I couldn’t do it till I really started to build that relationship – Esoteric Yoga was my tool of choice but it may be something else for others. They key for me was to get to feel the amazing strength that is offered when we connect to the stillness that is innately within each and every one of us.
So ture Lucy, the more we confirm the strength and just how amazing we feel when we are connected to the deep stillness, the more we trust that this is the way to live and living with anxiety or using the nervous system to get through life is totally exhausting.
I agree Lucy. What supported me was the understanding when something came up to deal with, I had everything at that moment to deal with it. Only through Universal Medicine did I learn this wisdom.
Julie it is great to read of your continuing development and that appreciation of the choices you have made that bring you to where you are now. I can feel in reading this that the choice between anxiousness and surrender is a hair’s breadth apart and that choosing surrender is deeply powerful. I am constantly amazed how just the awareness of how the body feels can so easily allow a surrender from the tension I am holding in my body. And anxiousness has no place to hide when that awareness is engaged.