Do you ever feel worried? Have you ever awakened in the middle of the night with a pit in your stomach, worrying about yourself or someone else you love? Do you worry about finances, your health (that’s a big one these days), an issue in a relationship or at work, or even just the state of our world? Does worry impact how you feel physically, mentally, or emotionally?

When I was a little girl, I worried about EVERYTHING! My dad used to call me a worry wart. Mostly, I worried about something bad happening to my family, but I also worried about school, friends, and the future. I often worried that I would get sick; interestingly, the mere habit of worrying actually made me sick. I had frequent stomach aches, and spent lots of time in the nurse’s office at school. I went home sick a lot, and missed a lot of school because of not feeling well. I did feel genuinely sick, but my real issue was worry.

When I became an adult, I worried much less, but it still affected me from time to time, especially after I had kids. Becoming a mother gave me four more people to worry about!

I can’t say that I never find myself worrying now, but I have learned some ways to prevent it from taking root as often, so that I can keep it from hijacking my physical health and emotional well-being. 

You, too, can let go of worry and its detrimental effects to your health. 

Thought

Where do our feelings, such as worry, come from? They come as the result of the circumstances we experience in our lives, right? Not exactly. To quote the Scottish mystic and visionary, Sydney Banks, “Our feelings are a barometer of our thinking.” When we feel worried, we are actually thinking thoughts that cause us worry. And our thoughts are powerful. They take form. They create our experiences from the inside-out. 

It is said that human beings have between 60,000 and 80,000 thoughts per day; and of those thoughts, 98% of them are repeated day after day. Have you ever heard the phrase, “What you think about, you bring about?” Or how about, “What you focus on you get more of?” If 98% of our thinking is repeated every day, and we are often thinking thoughts of worry, it’s no wonder that we see them take form in our lives in one way or another. 

So what can you do to alleviate worry? One action you can take is to remind yourself that your feelings of worry are coming from your own thoughts about a situation in your life. When you feel worried (or any other negative feeling, for that matter), practice saying to yourself, “My feelings are a barometer of my thinking. What am I thinking about?” Sit with this question for awhile, and listen to what comes to the surface for you. What are the deeper thoughts underneath your thoughts of worry? Just having this short conversation with yourself and realizing where your worry is coming from, may be enough to ward off some distress. 

The Present Moment

It is also helpful to realize that when we are worried, we are not living in the present moment. When we find worry in our experience, it is because we are preoccupied with the future. Somehow it might seem helpful to prepare ourselves for the worst-case scenario of any situation, but it really does nothing other than breed more worry. It’s not helpful to anyone. It doesn’t make things turn out better. 

Learning to live in the present moment is one of the most effective things we can do to alleviate thoughts of worry. Our power lies in the present moment. When we experience presence, that is when we can tune in to Universal Intelligence, Spirit, God, or whatever name you give your higher power. Thoughts that come from this point of infinite potential create form from a place of divine wisdom. From this place of peace, we respond to situations with the most clarity and make the best decisions, with the added benefit of a sense of calmness, confidence, and balance of emotion. When we are present, there simply is no room for worry. Regardless of what circumstances we face in our lives, when we learn to stay truly present in every now moment, we can move forward through the thick and thin with a deep knowing that we (and our kids, parents, significant other, and anyone or anything else we may, otherwise, worry about) will be okay no matter what—

No. Matter. What. 

Practicing Presence

As with anything, we tap into getting present more effortlessly the more we practice. Like a well-worn path through a tall grassy meadow, we create and strengthen neural pathways in our brain through repeated thoughts and actions. (Just think how well-worn our worry pathways can become!) By consciously taking time to get present throughout each day, you will soon be on your way to making it your natural way of being—as it is supposed to be—and those worry pathways will disappear among the tall grasses of presence. 

One of the best ways to practice present moment awareness is through a breathing meditation. You can do this in just a few seconds or spend several minutes steeped in this relaxing practice. No matter whether you are lying in bed awake in the middle of the night, standing in line at the grocery store, or working at your desk, you can practice getting present anytime, anywhere. Use the following steps to guide you. 

1. You may want to sit or lie down comfortably, and close your eyes. If you are in a situation where that’s not possible, just keep your eyes open, but allow yourself to become still. 

2. Take a few deep breaths to relax and then start paying attention to your breath. As you focus on each inhale and exhale, allow any thoughts that come into your mind to just pass on by. 

3. To borrow from Michael Brown’s The Presence Process (a book and process that I highly recommend), you might want to say the following words in your mind along with your breathing. I - AM - HERE - NOW - IN - THIS. The first word is said on an inhale, the second word on the exhale, the third on the next inhale, etc., so that three breaths in and out complete the statement. You can do this continuously throughout the meditation practice, if it is helpful, or perhaps return to saying it anytime your mind begins to chatter with thoughts and worries. 

4. Notice how your body and mind relax. 

5. You might want to finish up your meditation practice with a statement such as, “All is well in my world.” 

Even just one deep, cleansing breath can bring you back into Presence and allow you to dismantle worry, so don’t let the thought that you don’t have time to do this practice keep you from trying it. You might experiment with setting the alarm on your phone every hour to take 30 to 60 seconds to breathe and get present. The more you practice, the faster you will be able to return to a state of relaxed awareness. The goal is that in time, you will automatically breathe your way into the present moment whenever you begin to feel worry creep into your consciousness.  

For a guided meditation to help you shift into present moment awareness and release worry, click below. 

“Don’t worry about a thing. ‘Cause every little thing gonna be all right.”

~ Bob Marley