Can’t stop worrying? Try these 5 simple techniques

If you look back at your life, you will realize most of the situations you worried about never really came true. A recent study found 85% of your worries never manifest! This illusion which is the creation of your own mind, which clouds your joy and makes your heart heavy is called Maya. You get so used to worrying, you forget to smile from within. You feel like someone has to shake you out of this habit of worrying! You forget there is a bigger power that exists and is taking total care of you; and everything is being provided for you by the Divine. Now even after knowing this, if your mind still reels in endless worries and fears, then I’ll give you five ways to stop them.

You have been worried before

Whenever you are worried, know that this is not the first time. You worried last year, the year before that about something or the other. All that worry back then turned out to be a futile exercise. You wasted time and accumulated toxins in the body, which was not worth it. Just this reminder will give you strength in the present moment.

In 2000, people thought all computers would crash; in the US people thought, California would sink, and the world would end. I went up and down the coast assuring people, “Nothing will happen.” And nothing did.

Invoke the valor in you

Know that you already have the strength to overcome your problems. Nature is very intelligent. A dog has a tail that it can wag, and an elephant has one that it can carry. A dog does not have an elephant’s tail! Nature does not give you a problem that you do not already have an answer to. If you are not a doctor, you will not be asked to treat someone.

All that you need to do is, invoke the valor in you. When you don’t feel the strength within to face a challenge, that’s when you worry. But when you know you have the strength — you’ve done it in the past, and you can do it again — that valor in you will see you through.

Breathe it out

Since 85% of your worries are unfounded, you only have to handle 15%. For those, breath is the best antidote. Just a few minutes of rhythmic breathing exercises like Sudarshan Kriya, some pranayams and meditation can help you snap out of the worrying mindset. They increase your prana (the life force) and bring such deep positivity, clarity, and calm. Worry then has no space to remain.

Worry big

When your worry is small, it bothers you more. But if you’re determined to worry, I’d say, worry big. Have worries like, ‘what will happen to this planet Earth in 200 years?’ Don’t just worry for yourself. Worry for everybody around you. How will everyone get food in ten years? We’re consuming one and a half times what the Earth can provide. If this continues, one day our resources will stand depleted! These kinds of big worries will lift you out of the small ones.

Feel it fully

The worries make home in your head while feelings come from the heart. The two cannot operate at the same time. When your feelings dominate, worry dissolves. If you worry a lot, your ability to feel dies and you get stuck in your head. Worrying makes your mind and heart inert and dull. It steals your vital life force and prevents you from thinking clearly. Worries entangle you; they trap you in a cage that does not exist. But when you feel, you do not worry. So feel your feelings fully and then let them go.

Feelings are like flowers, they come up, blossom and die. When your feelings are expressed, you feel relieved. When you are angry, you express your anger and the next moment you feel better. Or when you are upset, you cry and you get over it. Feelings last for a short while but worry eats at you for longer periods of time and eventually consumes you. Feelings make you spontaneous, much like children. Offering your worries to a higher power is prayer and prayer moves you in feelings.

(The author is a global humanitarian leader and spiritual master who founded The Art of Living in1981. As Gurudev turns 70 and The Art of Living steps into the 45th year of making life a celebration on this planet, month long celebrations are underway at The Art of Living International centre with eminent personalities from the sphere of politics, entertainment, arts, academia and faith arriving at the centre for thoughtful conversations, cultural showcases and launch of several service initiatives.)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

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