The other day I went into a crystal shop. I wanted to feel the energy around me and connect with the stones. As I walked in, however, I felt a surge of anxiety. The saleswoman opened the door for me and asked me to disinfect my hands, which is standard procedure nowadays, but then it went a few steps further than I’m used to; Don’t touch anything unless you really have to. If you do touch something, don’t put it back, place it in the disinfectant bin at the front of the store. Take a tiny basket and put your selection there, don’t hold it in your hands. All these new rules activated my Sympathetic Nervous System, which signals the brain to release hormones that boosts the body’s alertness and heart rate as an involuntary response to a dangerous or stressful situation, and I began to feel the anxiety rising within me. But something happened in that moment. I took a deep breath and said to the saleswoman “honestly, this is just too much sometimes…”. She inhaled deeply as well and said it’s been hard for her, too. So I asked her about it. What has it been like? How is she coping? What was she doing to ease her anxiety when it comes, as it was coming for me in that moment.
“I take a deep breath,” she told me. “I breathe deeply and imagine the energy of the fear and anxiety drop from my body, through my feet, and into the ground.”
Yes, I know this technique very well.
I looked her in the eyes and saw a person, trying her best, trying to make ends meet. We had shared a moment of two people, together in this confusion of the new world. She released a few tears she had probably been holding onto for a long time and we exchanged a 2-meter distance, energetic hug. Arms flung open towards each other and full of love between two perfect strangers.
I often have a thought come up that “I don’t know how to live in this new world. Where do I fit in? How do I navigate the social minefield of this society?” Every person I pass on the street has a story. That was true before as well, but this time, I can feel it radiating off people. Every single one of us has been affected by this pandemic in their own way. And the fear and anxiety (my own included) is shaping our new world.
To be fair and honest, I didn’t exactly feel like I had fit into the world before this shift. I always felt a little different. A little bit “not quite the right fit” with the world. I didn’t understand how the world worked, I didn’t agree with it, and I was struggling to accept it as it was. This resistance made for some difficult years growing up. I decided to explore that feeling and discover my place here by going on an inner journey. Finding myself from the inside out. Alas, that world is changing, and in its place a new one rises.
There is so much unknown. There is so much fear and anger building up deep inside. And it’s absolutely understandable. There is nothing wrong with exactly what we’re feeling and experiencing. The only thing we can do is discharge as often as possible so it doesn’t accumulate and get stuck in a place close to our hearts.
How would we discharge? For one, the wonderful soul at the crystal shop said it beautifully. Breathe. Take a few moments and follow this short meditation. So many people hear that word and run away. Meditation is not about sitting still for hours on end and chanting weird sounds. Well, it can be, if you follow this path deeply enough. But meditation is simply giving your mind a break from your thoughts. Tuning into your heart, and giving your head a chance to rest.
Imagine going to the gym and working out your muscles for a few hours. If you do it right, you would include time for stretching afterward. Otherwise your body will have a much harder time recovering. To me, that’s the equivalent of meditation to some degree. You’ve worked out your mind with persistent thoughts, now it’s time to get it a chance to recover.
Let’s have a short and powerful meditation right now, yes now!
I recognize that you cannot read and do the exercise simultaneously, so just read the next paragraph first and then close your eyes and follow instructions. It’s simple enough that you won’t need to open your eyes to read the next steps. If you can, save the final short paragraph to read for after you’ve done the exercise. It will make a difference, I promise.
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Short and sweet meditation exercise:
Sit or lie comfortably. Take a couple of deep breaths. Begin visualizing yourself as you are in this moment. Now, imagine a gentle white light softly caressing the top of your head. It continues to caress your Crown Chakra, slowly dropping down over your eyes, your nose, your jaw. Let your jaw relax as the white light moves through it, and over it. It continues to drop, down your throat, and past your shoulders. Taking another deep breath as you allow your shoulders to relax. It continues to drop through your heart space, and down into your Solar Plexus Chakra, your abdominal area. Stay with this light as it passes through your body; gently cleansing. Allow it to collect the anxiety, the fear, the anger, the sadness as it drops lower still. Down below your stomach, past your Sacral Chakra and down to the Root Chakra, located at the base of your spine. Your Root Chakra, where energy of survival, security, family, and safety is stored, could use a gentle cleansing as well. Continue visualizing the white light going down, lower, down your legs, past your knees, and down to your feet. All this white light that has accumulated what no longer serves you, is ready to discharge into the earth. Picture this light going down through your feet and into the ground. Continuing until it has discharged completely.
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Once you have visualized all this, take a deep breath, and remember that you are ALIVE!
You are LOVED!
Everything will be OK. Even if we don’t know what “OK” looks like right now.
As always, I’m sending you so much love and light.
I hope you have a beautiful week ahead, and I hope something happens this week that will make you say “Oh Yay!!” (even if it’s just to yourself) <3
With love and kindness,
Liron
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