There is no need to experience anxiety. No need. How do you quickly and easily short-circuit anxiety? Simply observe yourself experiencing anxiety. “Here I am, experiencing anxiety. My breathing is shallow, my mind races, crushing bands enfold me.”

If you can observe this thing, anxiety, why would you not as easily observe any other thing you chose? If you can observe anxiety, this also means you are larger than it. It only exists to you, to the extent that you can observe it. Why pay attention to an unwanted, unlovely thing?

 

You see, your attention is the ground and being of your experiential world. Be careful about where you place your attention. As often as you wish, remind yourself of what things you want to increase in your experience, whether unshakable calm, peace, or love.

 

Let me be the servant of that love. Let all be well here. My mind does not have to wander down the byways of misery.

 

Whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely,…think on those things

Philippians, 4:8

Observation is powerful.  As soon as I observe myself experiencing an emotion, as soon as I acknowledge to myself, “I am feeling sad”,  and then in the next moment observe myself feeling sad, sad goes from being a monster that has me by the scruff of the neck to being a yappy little dog I can easily frighten away.

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May all be well here. Invoke light. May all be well here.  Withdraw attention. Your will be done.

Observation is a powerful technique for short-circuiting an ego rampage.

“I observe myself experiencing sadness” is empowering.

“I am sad” is only frightening.

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Observe the emotions at work in you, trying to get the upper hand, to catch you off-guard. See yourself experiencing fear. See it, visualize it.  Then send it away. Let all be well here.

We are inescapably involved in bringing about that which appears to be happening. We are not only observers. We are participators. In some strange sense, this is a participatory universe.

John Wheeler, American physicist