From the Practice
We have our various strategies of numbing, soothing, suppressing, avoiding, and of course a favorite one, distracting ourselves from the anxiety. But we actually have an alternative, which is to gently and compassionately make space for what it is that we’re feeling.
Follow the feeling, staying with it long enough that we notice, oh, this is what so many others feel too. We begin to follow the thread of the feeling from heartbreak and heart contraction into heart opening and into connection.
You might want to say to your feeling of eco anxiety, you are welcome here. I will not try to avoid you. I’ll not try to suppress you. I will make room for you. Come along and practice with me.
If your hand is drawn to your belly or to your heart, wherever you’ve been feeling this anxiety, you can let your physical hand move there, placing it on your torso. Befriend. There’s nothing whatsoever that you need to do here other than welcome and befriend.
The transcript of this practice can be found here: Befriending – Transcript
