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Embracing your true self radiates a natural beauty
that cannot be diluted or ignored.
Confident, powerful, untamable, badass you.
-- Steve Maraboli
Albert Einstein said that you cannot solve a problem from the same mind that created the problem. Thus, the point in this chapter is to learn how to live beyond anxiety and struggle by assuming your natural flow and authenticity. That is the goal. It is accomplished one step at a time.
You have been instructed to worry and fret all of your life. This has occurred through all sorts of means—school, friends, religious doctrine, literature, television, movies, history, and family. The idea of worrying about your family has even been exalted as a form of love. It is NOT! Worry is a mental construct that obstructs flow and naturalness.
Ignoring Natural Rhythm?
The ego has been trained to ignore natural rhythm, at times even forcing nature to do its bidding—changing the natural course of a river; building flood walls; the atomic bomb; water, earth, and air pollution; drilling and fracking for oil that puts thousands of miles of landscape in jeopardy. Other ego constructs: our inability to properly rid nuclear waste or convert to clean energy; investigative reporting that has been reduced to sensationalism; corporate decisions that place profits ahead of people’s welfare therefore putting thousands at risk for toxic poisoning; and medicine that poisons the body. These are a few examples of global toxicity.
Along the same lines, you will find the ego (false self/ personality) pushing and forcing you out of natural rhythm in your everyday life. Examples: overflowing schedules, rushing, perfectionism, impossible deadlines and quotas. There are people who would do anything for money—harm others, steal, and lie. They believe they are making progress and getting ahead, yet actually they accrue mighty karmic debts which come due at some point.
Innovation: Potentially Positive or Negative
We have access to marvelous inventions: technology makes the events on the other side of the world instantly known (people can be assisted when a tsunami strikes, or an earthquake wreaks havoc), there are engines and vehicles that allow us to travel cross country in hours or days, the ability to keep in touch with friends and families anywhere in the world with the touch of a keystroke. Many consider these incredible advancements and they potentially are. And they may also increase stress, depending on how they are used and your dependency on them. It is up to you to decide what stays and what goes so that you are ever moving toward simplicity and peace.
Innovations can be positive or negative just as electricity can pierce the darkness and provide light or burn and destroy. Thus, the debate is not about good or bad but about intention and force. Do we advance our technologies and science to expand consciousness and quality of life, or create struggle, competition, and stress? Can we align our efforts with universal principles that support life?
That is what we seek—to harmonize, to live life fully, to collaborate with instead of against others, and to align with the universe to enhance our existence.
Opportunity Is Present In Every Moment
Let us be fully awake and alive. Instead of being swallowed up with all the great advancements, you pick and choose what makes sense for your lifestyle and supports your highest good. There are many people who love having their schedule on their phone. I personally like having a paper calendar. I receive great comfort in knowing that it will never crash, and it has no battery to go dead. I love the simplicity and having space to make copious notes. It is all about choosing what works best for you.
Activity:
Take note of how much time you spend with technology. Are you doing practical things like withdrawing money from your bank account or are you spending hours on social media? Are you entertaining or educating yourself? Either is good if it aligns with your purpose.
Pay attention to sitting too long, thinking too much, and when you need to walk away from your computer or phone. Make sure that you are using these advancements and they are not turning you into a techno robot with no ability to communicate person-to-person.
How many hours do you spend on your computer or phone? How often to you move your body, take a walk, get into nature.
Go to your heart and ask if there is balance. If not, make adjustments. Is there a better way to connect with your natural rhythm, entertain the need for movement, and be healthy? Pay attention; your answer will come.
The Purpose of Anxiety: Something Isn’t Right
When life’s responsibilities elevate beyond your capacity, anxiety can keep you aware of what matters most at any given time. Even though we often feel like the fellow juggling plates in the air, we can take a moment and realize that there is a plan B and C. There always is. Thus, anxiety can be a signal that there are adjustments to be made—perhaps a plan B or C to devise.
Anxiety is basically a sign that something we care about is at risk and we might not be able to protect it. Essentially, anxiety is grounded in a cause. Something isn’t right.
The Need to Re-balance: Examining Priorities
We can alter our mood by changing our perspective and beliefs and that is important to know. Yet anxiety has another purpose. It signals a need to take a moment and examine priorities. Often, there is the thought of just getting rid of nervousness or restlessness, but perhaps a better plan is to first acknowledge that anxiety is a defense mechanism that is alerting us to a need to re-balance.
Do you have an over-full schedule, or priorities that are out of balance, or you are placing too much pressure on yourself over issues that aren’t worth it? Is it time to step back and examine where you are in life?
We have incredible natural instincts and intuition that can be trusted. We can heed that we are receiving an important message and there is wisdom in this innate system. Just as we would not hesitate to run from a tiger racing toward us, we can note that there is something of urgency to be addressed. Perhaps it is set to tear us limb from limb, but attention is needed to acknowledge and make adjustments.
What Happens Next?
Mindfulness expert John Kabat-Zinn describes our inner power in this way, “like subterranean water or vast oil deposits, or minerals buried deep within the rock of a planet, we are talking here of interior resources deep within ourselves, innate to us as human beings, resources that can be tapped and utilized brought to the fore—such as our lifelong capacities for learning, for growing, for healing, and for transforming ourselves.”
We have enormous capacity and inner strength. Anxiety can serve as a tap on the shoulder, nudge from the universe, or a catalyst or motivating force that moves us to ultimate growth, success, and even peace. Stop and examine cause. Then decide what must happen next.
©2020 by Jean Walters. All Rights Reserved.
Excerpted with permission of the author.
Publisher: Inner Connections.
Article Source
The Journey from Anxiety to Peace: Practical Steps to Handle Fear, Embrace Struggle, and Eliminate Worry to become Happy and Free
by Jean Walters
Everyday stress takes a toll on your well-being and sense of joy and can even cut your life short. In this book you will discover practices to help you move from anxiety and worry to peace of mind and you will read stories of people who have successfully made the transition. It is a process. Others have successfully transitioned in this way and you can too. It is like crossing a stream, jumping from rock to rock. Take a step and the next stone (step) will appear before you. The main thing is to start!!
For more info, or to order this book, click here. (Also available as a Kindle edition.)
About the Author
Jean Walters is a Saint Louis based teacher of self-empowerment principles for over thirty years. She has studied metaphysics extensively and applies universal principles to every area of her life. Jean has written weekly and monthly columns for major Saint Louis newspapers and publications and been published all over the United States. Her books include: Set Yourself Free: Live the life YOU were meant to Live, Be Outrageous: Do the Impossible; Dreams & the Symbology of Life; Look Ma, I'm Flying. She has designed and presented classes and workshops in empowerment, meditation, universal laws, dream interpretation, and strengthening intuition for organizations, colleges, universities, spiritual groups, and businesses around the Midwest. From her Saint Louis office, she works with people around the world as a Transformational Coach and Akashic Record reader. She has given over 35,000 readings with the emphasis on providing insight regarding personal growth, life purpose, strengthening relationships, and moving through obstacles.
