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.