Let the Tao Heal Your Anxiety

What is anxiety? We all struggle with it. When you think about it, anxiety comes when you are deviating from the Now. Anxiety is a product of the mind, you disconnect with your Self and your environment. There is nothing per se that you can do when anxiety hits, all you can to is to look for the interferences that have temporarily disconnected you from the Now. Accept it! When you notice that you are anxious, you actually already detach yourself from it. Experience your anxiety just like the Tao is experiencing you. The more often you practice this, the more skilled you will become and the quicker you will manage to recover from an anxiety attack. Just know that anxiety is like a signpost that says “stop everything here and now and just watch”. When you can treat anxiety this way, she has become your friend already. She becomes a positive force in your home-coming journey.

When you face a difficult situation, you become tense, you make mistakes so that the situation you are in becomes even worse and your mind suddenly goes into overdrive. Learn to disconnect from this voice in your head, it is just that, a voice that doesn't have to be connected to the real You. Whenever you panic, know it is not the situation or the environment you are in, it is you having temporarily lost faith in the Tao and yourself. Try to connect with yourself again, pay attention to your body, experience how it feels. Is it tense, do you have your arms and legs crossed? Is your face looking old and haggard when you pass a mirror? Is there any message that your body tries to communicate to you? Be your body at that moment and step outside of the tension as you gain this awareness. It is possible.

Another way you can reconnect with your Self is by focusing on your breathing. There is something very powerful in your breathing. Did you know that "spiritus" means breath in Latin? In the same vein, in the Indo-Germanic language connection, the expression Atman (Soul or True Self) is connected to the word "atmen" (to breathe). So the different cultures have long figured out that meditative breathing can instantaneously connect you with who you truly are. So don't think about calming yourself down, but just focus on the breathing instead. Try to breathe as deeply as possible. In the beginning, it is probably very difficult for you and annoying, however, if you make it a habit, you can witness how this simple technique changes your life.

By being present while you are experiencing your environment you can reconnect with the Tao. You must have experienced that sometimes you are overwhelmed by some worries, but when you go to office and concentrate on your work, suddenly, your worries go away and never come back. They just disappear. Or sometimes when you experience the environment you have been dreading, somehow it doesn't look so scary anymore. To the contrary, it becomes interesting to see everything unfolding in front of your astonished eyes and you can't wait for the next moment.

Take some time off and do something you really enjoy. This will give you a good opportunity to disconnect from your worries. It is like magic. You probably think when you are so worried that time is running away from you. This is not so. Time is just a reflection of your inner state. If you approach a problem with the attitude that time will be running away from you, it will. If you approach it with the mindset that you have everything you need to handle the situation, you will master it instead. So work on your mindset first. Find the activity that disconnects you with your worries first. Play wholeheartedly with your kids, be present when you are cooking. The Tao is ready to reconnect with you whenever you are.

Once you re-connect with the Tao you realize that you can handle any situation at hand. And if you can experience this magic turn-around once or twice, soon the confidence will grow that you will always have access to this magic force. You will also get a feel for what your interferences are and you will learn to avoid them at any cost. You can stay centered regardless of the situation. Yes, you can follow the flow of the Now always. For the experienced Tao master it is as if there is a red line on the ground, plain to see but apparently invisible to everybody else. If you are a novice spiritual path traveler you will have your phases of magic with the occasional moment of panic sprinkled around. You may claim yourself as a victim of the environment but as a matter of fact, you are only a victim of your self-imposed interferences.

Study these different phases in spiritual consciousness. Observe the environment you are operating in when you are anxious and contrast this to the environment when you are calm. Observe your breathing, be mindful of the voice in your head. Fact of the matter is that you are literally emitting very different levels of energy dependent on which state you are in. Learn to perceive these energy states in yourself and your environment. Only when you are not present, the environment you are in and other people can hurt you. Otherwise you are centered as a massive rock; that is your natural state in fact. The Tao will bring you lots of opportunities to practice being present and centered; appreciated these disturbances instead of complaining about them.

The Tao always knows what is best for you from the perspective of your soul development. Do not dread things you are afraid off, see them for what they are, learning opportunities to connect you with who you truly are. Without a little challenge you would never focus your energies in the same way to accomplish that feat. The Tao is here to help you. Soon you will learn that there is only one natural state, one of happiness, love, peace and light! This is not a slogan, this is for real. Embrace life and let Her show you the Way and a new master will be born. Please join us in this fun-filled learning classroom!

By Christian and Su Zhen