Anxiety

December 29, 2006

I suffer from more or less chronic anxiety, and am trying desparately

to avoid the drugs suggested as remedies by conventional medicine,

because I sense intuitively that the anxiety has a deeper root, a

purpose of some kind.

Can any one suggest a way of dealing effectively with anxiety through

KY techniques? Thanks.

December 30, 2006

Dear Doran Giles Hunter:

We have addressed anxiety in this discussion group before. You may

want to do a search and read some of the wisdom that was shared at the

time. It may help and this way we don't need to repeat what was

already said.

This said. Your insight is right that there is something to be learned

from your experience of anxiety because as you confront what you

experience you will start recognizing that you have a choice to go

into the anxiety or choose another response.

Like anything we do, it takes a lot of effort to change our response

to things, to change habits. I suggest you stop thinking of anxiety as

something that owns you but instead to notice what creates the anxiety

feelings in you and to play with changing your goals in the middle of

an anxiety struggle.

Say you are late for an important appointment and you struggle to

remain peaceful. Soon your heart is speeding up and you are sweating.

You can't stop thinking about everything wrong that's happening and

what wrong it will cause, etc etc Then the traffic lights seem to last

forever and OH! NO! an accident just happens blocking all lanes!

Do you see what your goal would be in this scenario? Self destruction!

What ever thought that could hurt you you are willing to entertain. In

the middle of anxiety we are self centered. We worry about our self

and how others will find fault with us. There are other thoughts we

might entertain but we don't. We don't usually think: Well my being

late will help because someone else is late and this way they won't be

fired, what a blessing! We don't usually think: In what way could my

being late be beneficial for EVERYONE involved? Now if you practice

this kind of inner questioning you invite the positive that could

happen and another reality soon offers itself to you. The traffic

lights seem to be "helping" you, someone lets you go ahead and this

has a calming effect on your nerves etc etc

Then you can go even higher: "God," you may say "I wish to arrive at

the right time for everyone involved so that your goals may be

fulfilled and that my accountability to everyone and myself is preserved!"

See anxiety comes from thinking that we are responsible for everything

so we need to control everything so they come out right. But after

trying that for a while you may realize that there is more and more to

control! Perhaps more than you can really carry on your own shoulders.

So the trick is to notice what control you are taking on that you

should not and the control you should take. And learn to trust God and

the universe to serve all for the best. Stop the guilt trip and think

of what the broader picture might truly be like.

Your choice I mentioned earlier in this e-mail is to notice that you

can choose anxiety or you can choose trust. You cannot do both at the

same time. Practicing anxiety is easy but hurts much, and practicing

trust leads to surrendering your ego and brings you closer to the

experience of the divine. It is a diving into the unknown. Who said

you had to know why things are happening the way they do before they

happen? It is not easy at first. And it brings a lot of peace and

happiness and laughter because everything that apparently goes wrong

only goes wrong in our own minds... in reality it does not come out

wrong at all. But once we have made it wrong in our minds it certainly

opens the door for everyone else to see it that way to. How could we

blame others from seeing something wrong if that's the way we see it.

Even the atomic bomb has brought some really nice things to humanity.

Human beings got so scared of what they had created that it brought us

closer than they we ever were before (perhaps there is still a long

way to go, but we are closer). At a cost you might say, of human lives

and emotional pain. But what's the cost of temporary material loss and

physical lives (the souls of those who sacrificed their lives are

happy to have contributed to the pain that leads mankind's desire for

solution and for closeness)in the face of the infinite experience of

closeness that humanity can now no longer unlearn?

Best wishes to you and blessings,

Awtar

December 31, 2006

Dear Doran,

It seems from your letter that you may be a beginner. Be assured that the regular practice of Kundalini yoga and meditation will certainly help you become more calm and contained. Directing your self inquiry with Awtar's suggestions can be quite helpful. Using the technology makes us more aware of our programming. The idea to to become more conscious.

There are 25 free on-line classes and a lot of information on www.kundaliniyoga.org I suggest getting the manual RELAX AND RENEW on www.yogatech.com Every technique you need is in that manual. At least 1/2 to 1 hour a day will give you speedy results. Be sure to include alternate nostril breathing (in RR)

Blessings,

Gururattana