Anxiety and the Power of Now
Photo by Chrissie Kremer on Unsplash
NOW WHAT?
I’ve been dealing with some big issues lately, things that hurt my brain and stir my emotional pot; things that if not kept on a tight rein release a toxic tsunami of anxiety. So I picked up Eckhardt Tolle’s A New Earth to try to get some perspective. I figured Eckhardt might be a wise, helpful little Yoda. He certainly looks like a wise, helpful little Yoda.
The entire point to all of Tolle’s work — and it’s a point he makes over and over and over — is how powerful and important and life-changing being in “the now” is. “Now” is your point of power. Now is the only time that exists. Now is IT, baby.
There’s just one small problem: Being in the Now is HARD. It’s ridiculously hard, particularly when life is going sideways and things are gettin’ real. The ego — which is to say my personality and thoughts — reacts. It wants freaks out, gets defensive and/or shuts down, none of which is the least bit helpful. But that's all Ego's got, poor thing.
A LITTLE ABOUT THE EGO
The ego reacts to everything. It’s a reactionary little sh@#, is what it is. The ego wants to be the safest, smartest, sexiest, richest, most popular, powerful person in the room. It wants to be in control at all times, which is the crux of the problem because it’s never in control and it knows this. The ego is reactive because it is afraid.
It’s said that “ego” stands for “Edge God Out” which is not a bad summation. Put very simply, we are both human (an ego that is run by fear) and divine (a soul inherently connected to Spirit/God). We are both. Optimally, the ego is in the service of your Self, your soul; it’s not supposed to be running the whole show. It's when it tries to control the show that it all breaks down.
NOW IS THE TIME
When you are anxious, tight, scared, or confused, it is a sign that you need to shift paradigms; you need to shift out of your ego and into your soul. And that’s where the power of Now comes in. When you shift out of mental rumination and come fully into Now, into this precise moment—feeling the breeze, seeing the clouds, breathing deeply — you create space. Fear contracts, but Now is spacious. It's calm. Now is doable. Now is the antidote to anxiety.
BACK IN THE SADDLE
I used to ride a wonderful horse named Sampari. Sammy was an Arabian, which means that Sammy liked to bolt. If a bird startled him, or the wind blew, or a fly went by, he would react. He could go from standing stock still to galloping hell bent for Texas in approximately 1.6 seconds, with me on his back. For him it was normal. For me, it was fear on steroids.
One day, however, when Sam was a millisecond from taking me across state lines, I felt myself sink down into the saddle. This was not physical as much as it was psychological; it was as if I sank fifteen inches, as if I become part of him. As a result, I didn't lose my balance, Sammy stayed put, and the whole incident showed us both who was on top. For reasons I still cannot explain, I did not react to Sam; I responded.
REINING IT IN
The ego is a lot like Sammy: it's normal tendency is to take your mind for an out-of-control ride. But you have the power to shift this dynamic. When you choose not to react but to breathe and sink into the Now, you give your wise, inner Self the reins. You drop out of fear and into peace. Your breath creates space, loosening the constriction of the fearful ego; from this more spacious place, direction, clarity and wisdom arise. And from here, you can respond skillfully to the situation at hand.
The next time you feel your anxiety taking you for a ride, take a deep breath and come back to right NOW, to the moment. Be completely where you are and nowhere else. Try not to indulge any thinking, just become aware. You can handle this moment. And then you can meet the next moment. And that's how you stay very easily and comfortably on top of this horse and not allow your fear to gallop away with you. It's deceptively simple, but remember: a 2,000 pound horse is controlled by a very light rein.
