We live in an era in which many people are obsessed with social media, physical appearance, money, status, fame, and sex. Our culture is overwhelmed with work, emails, errands, phone calls, and projects. The world is bombarded with wars, terrorist attacks, cruelty toward animals, and injustice. Our relationships with others and ourselves may include heartbreak, depression, neuroses, psychoses, divorces, disasters, and anxiety. Many people growing up in dysfunctional and broken families end up being partially (or completely) deprived of attention, affection, guidance, acceptance, belonging, unconditional love, and nurturing.
The ancient spiritual Yoga tradition tells us that our ultimate and true nature is bliss, ananda. Isn’t one of the gravest maladies of our time the way we live solely in the physical realm, rather than expand and awaken to our ultimate blissful nature? How can we offer what we do not have? How can we use the spiritual process to manifest a harmonious and compassionate world if we don’t first heal our wounds? We need to get rid of anxiety, frustration, negativity, and anger; these negative emotions hold us back from achieving our greatest human potential.
How to overcome anxiety, frustration, anger, and negativity:
1) Anxiety, anger, and frustration are mainly caused by your inability to cope with the present moment. You are living too much in the past or the future. You need to bring yourself back to this present moment mindfully. Just acknowledge what you are experiencing in this moment, hold it gently, and nurture yourself like a baby. This is practicing mindfulness.
2) Depending on where you are, take a cool shower and make sure to get your hair wet. This technique seems so simple, yet it is effective. Water will wash out your negative energy, especially if you chant an ancient powerful mantra while doing so, such as “AUM Namah Shivaya” out loud, or another beautiful one, “AUM Mani Padme Hum.”
3) The simplest technique is mindful breathing. Close your eyes and take deep breaths by following your inhale and exhale as they go up and down along your spine, especially after taking a cool shower or swimming. The spine in the spiritual yogic tradition is called the Merudanda, and is the bridge between earth and infinity. Don’t overestimate the power of your breath. Put a smile on your face. You can even mentally chant, or preferably out loud, “I breath in peace in my heart. Exhale peace in the world.” Or “I’m calm, at ease . . . ” Do this as long as needed.
4) Become a witness by becoming aware of your thoughts, and create a distance from your thought processes. When you have calmed down more, go sit and meditate. If you don’t have a meditation practice yet, you can meditate on your breath caressing your spine up and down. However, I highly suggest you get initiated into one meditation technique.
5) Go swim in a cool lake or river. I have done this many times when I was much younger and was on the path of healing. In my book, Becoming the Light: Realize Your True Enlightened Nature, I discuss how water retains memory, and I talk about its power and how one can use it. Water can be so healing at all levels. Or maybe you can go running or hiking in nature, and do a walking meditation. You can get wet first, then go in the hills for that hike, and even have a short meditation on your breath with your eyes closed while you are in nature. Also while you jog or hike, chant a mantra out loud or mentally. It is magical! Submerging your body in cool water and chanting ancient mantras brings the power to change your energy very quickly. This has been my experience, though these phenomena are universal.
6) Don’t give power to your thought process or make it significant, because ultimately it is garbage you have accumulated and have been conditioned to hold on to. By doing daily spiritual practices (sadhana) with self-effort and grace, you will get rid of this false sense of self and identity. With time you will develop more clarity, ease, and peace within, and will become a master of your being by awaking your own inner guru.
You can do it!
You can combine all of the suggested techniques & tips by exploring them. Remember that if you are not on the spiritual path yet, you might want to start. The benefits are tremendous. You can do it!
For more insights on how to overcome anxiety, frustration, anger, and negativity, tune into my YouTube channel and watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOm_wJQFNMg&t=9s
All worldwide copyrights reserved by Vivianne Nantel, 2018 (Devi)