Feeling Safety: A Guided Meditation

This is a guided meditation for when we are struggling with anxiety or negative thoughts.

 

Before I explain the meditation, it’s important to understand that the underlying cause of anxiety and negative thinking are false beliefs. These false beliefs are fear-based. Quite simply, we don’t feel safe in the present moment. We don’t feel safe in our bodies. We feel that, just around the corner, there is probably a menace, a terrible awful thing that is about to happen—and so we stay on guard.

 

This is the origin of anxiety comes from. This is the root of worrying, dark thoughts. The brain is simply trying to save itself by planning for worst-case scenarios.

 

This meditation, “Feeling Safety,” is very simple and versatile. We can practice it anywhere, anytime. We can do it during a meeting at work. We can do it while we’re with our children or at the grocery store. It can be done with our eyes open or closed. We can do it while sitting still or moving.

 

The meditation brings a feeling of peace, ease, and safety because it draws our attention away from the vicious loop of negative thinking. It places our attention squarely on three simple things: hands, feet, and mantra.

 

Through this meditation, we replace negative thinking with a positive truth that will instill confidence to return to our daily life. Understanding that we are, ultimately, safe and protected within the home of our bodies gives us a sense of ease and confidence. The fact that our bodies are firmly rooted to the Earth through our feet is a metaphor for what is true on a spiritual level: We are always protected, we are always safe.

 

As with any meditation, please make this practice your own. Feel free to add your own elements, and/or skip parts of this meditation that don’t make sense for you. Play around with it and have fun. Feel it out. Take what works, and discard the rest.

 

Step One

Acknowledge that you are feeling anxious and having negative thoughts. In your mind say, “Okay, now I will do the Feeling Safety Meditation.”

 

Step Two

Begin to gently tap your right fingertips against the palm of your left hand. Simply observe the sensations. Are your fingers hot? Cold? Sweaty? Sticky? Is the skin of your palm soft or rough? Are your joints flexible or stiff? Is the movement fast or slow? Are there sounds? Are your nails sharp? Simply notice, on a physical level, how it all feels.

After a few minutes, switch hands: Tap the left fingertips against the palm of your right hand.

 

Step Three

While continuing to tap, repeat the mantra: “I am home in my body. I am safe in my body.” If you are with others, you can say the mantra silently in your mind. If you are alone, you can say it out loud. Say this mantra until you begin to feel a little bit calmer.

 

Step Four

Finally, stop tapping your fingertips against your palm. Begin to gently tap your feet against the ground. If you are in public amongst others, this can be a very subtle thing—just a very light tapping will do. If you are alone, you can tap more forcefully, if you wish. You could even stomp on the ground, feeling the vibration rise up through your legs.

As you tap or stomp your feet, continue to the say the mantra “I am home in my body. I am safe in my body.” Do this as many times as you wish until you feel better and ready to continue your day.

♥♥♥

 

How did this meditation go for you, dear one? I’ve love to hear about your experience in the comments below.