In first meeting Royce Morales there was a instant connection and familiar feeling of of understanding the same language. Her Love and enthusiasm, for her work was evident. Her years of commitment, walking her path, and awakenings have been clear contributors to what she shares as a spiritual teacher. Royce generously offers her guest blog here, The Gift of Anxiety. There is sure to be more to come from Royce here at PureEsperanza. See Royce’s Bio on our Community page.
If you’ve been living on planet earth these last few “interesting” months, it’s safe to assume you’ve been riding a rollercoaster of justifiable anxiety.
Maybe you spent time curled up in fetal position binge-watching Netflix or participated in various (unmentionable) strategies to numb yourself. Perhaps you tried anything to soothe that gut-wrenching angst.
This unexpected, unprecedented global shake up was unnerving to say the least.
You labeled anxiety in various ways: Concern, nervousness, apprehension, trepidation, worry. But whatever term you branded sitting in the unknown, it was undeniably uncomfortable. Most humans, loath uncertainty, except when it’s a beautifully wrapped box tagged with their name.
It’s Really Fear
Truth is, anxiety is a euphemism that makes fear, what you’re really feeling, sound more palatable.
Fear’s “job description” is messaging your primitive fight/flight/freeze response, and it came in really handy back when we were cave-dwellers. With fewer dinosaur attacks to be concerned with, you’re probably not faced with as many blatant, life-threatening situations now.
Until now.
Permitting Anxiety
Fear is your Operating System, your brain’s primitive default mechanism. These months of uncertainty have caused your fear-based consciousness to be obsessively perceiving danger everywhere, thrusting it into hyperdrive.
However, since humans have evolved to be more rational, it’s possible to change your thinking about fear.
Not by suppressing it (“Everything will be just fine!”), acting-as-if (“Look at me, I’m so happy!”), using spiritual bypass clichés (“Everything happens for a reason!”), or dulling it (“Another martini, please!”).
Rather, you can train yourself to feel and mindfully observe fear without pushing it into a corner. Like a compassionate adult would do for a frightened child, you just recognize what’s going on and offer reassurance.
Keep in mind that fear is usually a loud wake-up call, a trigger of something unhealed from your past. If you hear its messages, you can receive Higher Consciousness lessons, for yourself and even the planet.
Since fear is just trying to keep you safe, by not denying it, it has less control over your life. So, thank it. Maybe even love it.
A great fear-relief tactic is verbally expressing it, getting it all out. Preferably, find someone who will listen compassionately, not try to fix you, save you, or tell you not to feel that way. Acknowledging fear releases that angsty energy and magically grounds it.
Simultaneously, don’t buy into fear; that only makes it stronger. Remember: It’s just fear, your primitive survival mechanism, that’s temporarily running your show.
Choosing
Here’s a Spiritual Truth to choose:
Every single moment is a gift of awakening, chosen by your soul to help you learn, evolve, clean things up and get in touch with denied aspects of yourself.
Feeling and understanding your fears is the inner gift that can take you into the present.
