In today's session, we're going to

work on befriending our anxiety.

A lot of the meditations we've

done up until this point have been

about settling, calming learning,

how to relax around thoughts in the

body, even finding a happy place.

Today, we're going to move a little closer

to our anxiety, learn a bit about it, and

actually shift our relationship to it.

So I'll walk you through that.

For now, let's just find

a comfortable posture.

Close the eyes, if that feels comfortable.

And we'll start by listening to the bells.

Taking a deep breath.

In through the nose.

And out through the mouth.

Inviting the jaw to relax and soften.

Letting the shoulders be at ease.

And relaxing the belly.

Take a few moments just to

feel your body breathing.

Letting that anchor your attention.

And also soothe any tension that

might be lingering in the body.

Now from this place of groundedness,

I want you to imagine that

you're meeting your anxiety.

And to do this while, give the

anxiety some shape or form or color.

It might even manifests as an image.

And so just imagine that you're

sitting on a park bench next

to this form, this anxiety.

Notice if there's some tension there.

Just let the anxiety know you're

not here to hurt it, you're

not here to get rid of it.

In this meditation, you're

purely here to get to know it.

And the one question I want you

to ask is, what do you need?

What do you need?

The anxiety probably has never

been asked that question.

So notice how it responds.

What does it say?

Does it need safety?

Does it need love?

Does it need to feel in control?

Chances are the anxiety is

trying to serve you in some way.

Not trying to hurt you.

He just wants to take care

of you to protect you.

And so this is your opportunity to

give something back to the anxiety

So whatever it says that it needs,

imagine that your body can turn into

a sweet nectar that can satiate your

anxiety, that can give it what it needs.

So that nectar can be the substance

for love or care or safety.

And imagine the anxiety.

Just drinking that nectar, taking it in.

And watching it become increasingly

satiated, watching it get what

it needs, and then also feeling

more calm in the process.

And as the anxiety is taking in

this substance, the two of you

actually start to morph into one.

And that nectar, your bodies together,

dissolve into a warm, soft light.

So that there's unity,

integration, wholeness.

And you see that this anxiety is a part

of you, a part of you that's just trying

to help, just trying to serve you.

And sometimes when we can give

it what it needs, it might

just become our greatest ally.

So from this place of light, feel

yourself reconnecting into your body.

And just sensing a greater

feeling of wholeness right now.

And see if you can experience a

sense of ease that might be here.

In a moment I will ring the bells

and this will close our meditation.

When you're ready, you can

allow your eyes to open again.

And great job.

You know that meditation can feel a little

tricky sometimes or strange, and it might

take some practice to go back through it.

But the idea is to help

integrate these different parts

of us, the parts that we often

compartmentalize, suppress, turn away.

And once we can befriend those on a deeper

level, ask them what they need and even

offer something, those parts tend to not

cause us as much stress or overwhelm.

It's a bit counter intuitive,

but it's a practice that works.

So if you'd like to go deeper into some

of my teachings, I have a book called,

Stop Missing Your Life: How to be Deeply

Present in an Unpresent World, that

will take you even deeper into all these

practices and a daily podcast called

Practicing Human, which will give you

short insights on a day-to-day basis to

help you get a little better at life.

It was great spending this time with you.

I can't wait to talk again.

And until then, as always, take care.