Читать книгу A Mind of Your Own - Betty Shine - Страница 14

7

Anxiety

When you’re lying awake with a dismal headache, and repose is taboo’d by anxiety,

I conceive you may use any language you choose to indulge in, without impropriety.

W. S. GILBERT

1836–1911

FOR SOME PEOPLE, being in a state of permanent anxiety is the norm. Even when there is nothing specific to feel uneasy about, they imagine that something is missing from their lives. Having never experienced peace of mind, it becomes extremely difficult for them to dislodge such a long-standing habit.

Anxiety is a habit you cannot afford. It takes away the ability to see clearly and you make mistakes. However, minds that are fully occupied don’t have the time to indulge in anxiety and are usually healthier for it.

Through healing, I have been able to cure this all too common habit, many times, only to see it return as soon as the voice of reassurance becomes unavailable. If you are serving a life sentence because of this problem, make time every day to practise the following exercise.

Visualisation: You find yourself walking down a corridor of closed doors. As you reach the doors they swing open. Anxious and fearful, you try to turn back, and then you hear a voice saying, ‘Don’t be afraid. I will walk with you.’ You have a feeling of total peace and you walk on.

The first door swings open. You look inside – the room is empty. Leaving the door open, you move to the second door and open it, revealing a room full of sunlight. You open the third door and find a group of people meditating. The door to the fourth room reveals nothing more than three people in earnest conversation. But as the fifth door opens you come face to face with four miserable individuals. The negativity they radiate is so strong that you hurriedly close the door behind you. You know, without a shadow of doubt, that you do not want to join the unhappy people in the last room.

As you can see, most of the fears you had were unfounded. Those that weren’t can be shut out of your life whenever they unnerve you.

There will be many doors in your life that will need to be investigated. But in the end the choice of leaving those particular doors open or closed will be yours.

Affirmation: Anxiety is counterproductive – I don’t need it.