Anyone live fear/anxiety free?

[Jumbo10]

Originally Posted by Aleister Crowley

What you are describing is known as meditation. That is an Asian art. The term zen means a state of being. It requires no thought.

Any tips for getting better at it? I'm not that great at just sitting and meditating but willing to give it a shot if some people find it beneficial.

[JrzDefector]

Originally Posted by Jumbo10

Any tips for getting better at it? I'm not that great at just sitting and meditating but willing to give it a shot if some people find it beneficial.

The easiest book I have found on the topic is "Wherever You Go, There You Are" - very digestible tidbits and a step-by-step process. https://www.amazon.com/Wherever-You-...jon+kabat-zinn

I need to get back to meditation - it was very helpful for a long time, but then life kind of got chaotic again. It did show me how to quiet my brain though.

I'm all about creating reading spaces in my house, but really I should do a meditation room.

[jonesg]

Originally Posted by Jumbo10

I've made huge strides and am pretty close to living fear and anxiety free. What have I done? A bit of a of a deeper dive to overcome my fears and feeling that anxiety is the desire to control the future and an irrational thought. Planning for the future is one thing, but mentally living in the future is futile and even detrimental.

For example, looking into my greatest fears my thought process is:

What was my greatest fear? dying
What will happen after I die? I don't know and accept I never will until I die
Why does that scare me? I have young kids, wouldn't want to leave them so I can help them more
But that's the desire to control the future? Yes
What can I do about it? Do everything I can to help them now and not worry about when I die


That helped me. I'm guessing it won't resonate with most, but just wanted to share incase it does.

I had those same fears until I allowed for the existence of god. Then all my fear fell away.
A fear of death and nothingness was replaced by a sense of purpose in life.
That was about 20 yrs ago, the more time goes on the more i realize how I was quite mad.

[staywarm2]

Originally Posted by Jumbo10

Any tips for getting better at it? I'm not that great at just sitting and meditating but willing to give it a shot if some people find it beneficial.

I had one yoga instructor who had meditation at the end of the class. Clear your mind as much as possible. If you start to think about something, accept that and try to clear again. It works and gradually I got better at it. I need to start that again... it helps if you sit quietly in dim light. There is most likely instruction on U tube.

[Mightyqueen801]

Originally Posted by JrzDefector

Working on it. I almost always feel like I'm on the edge of disaster. It's the ADD. :/

Or OCD.

In my early forties, it occurred to me one day that it was possible that everyone's first thought upon awakening is not "Will this be the day that I die?" It was my first thought upon opening my eyes, accompanied by a sense of panic, and had been since I was six. That was my normal.

I didn't really address it until I was talking to a therapist upon the death of my marriage and it came out. I was working on the anxiety problem when life handed me a fast-track to healing: I suddenly found myself in a moment where I might ACTUALLY be facing the moment of my death.

I didn't die, but other people around me did, and from that moment on, I knew that I could die at any moment--and la-di-da if I do. The sun will still come up the next day.

I think it did help that I was already exploring ways to overcome the anxiety when it happened, though.

It can be done. It's so nice. The loss of anxiety makes life better. For example, I used to be terrified for weeks in advance when I had to fly, and now I just enjoy flying and anticipate it with pleasure.