The Underlying Cause of Anxiety
Your life from the start, along with the beginning of time for the Universe, is like a potter’s wheel. It began to spin a very long time ago, and it is still in motion and will never stop. All that has happened in the past is applying itself and bearing down on you right now. How you react to it will create your future. You’re not only dealing with what you did in your life, but also in past lives. When you know what the underlying cause or issue is of anxiety, you begin to learn to let it go.
There can be many levels of cause and effect in your life that have brought you to this point. When you take a deep look into your history, the journey is very much like an onion. You peel away a layer, then find another layer, and so on. There is energy still attached within these layers that needs to be recognized and processed. That is how peeling away at the past can result in enlightenment. The great thing about Spirit, the Universe, or whatever you want to call it, is that it never has, and never will, give you anything that you can’t handle.
It is within your power to determine what you will do with everything that happens to you. If you choose to see this truth, you’ll find the gift of healing. — Derek O’Neill (Click to Tweet!)
Using Worry to Create A False Sense of Security
Anxiety can start when you are very young, even as an infant. Our connection and sensitivity to the world we come into and its circumstances can teach us anxiety, almost as a coping mechanism. If we don’t feel secure, or nurtured, or loved, or understood, anxiety takes hold. In nature and human development, fear exists on a certain level to protect us from harmful things, but fear also exists in a larger harmful realm, where too many of us have been conditioned from a young age to feel fearful. Low-grade, constant anxiety can give us a false sense of security, as if worrying about it will control it somehow, but it actually has us acting and responding from a place of fear rather than love.
Feeling Powerless
Anxiety often feels like powerlessness. Think about your past, and who or what you felt was more powerful than you. What was the power dynamic in your family? Did you see power as something to be shared or as something to control other people with? Take a moment and form a picture of what power means to you. What does it look like? What does it feel like? When you recall these pictures are they positive pictures or are they negative pictures? Did power ever sound abusive to you? Or did it sound loving and supportive? What time in your life do you remember starting to feel anxiety? What happened then? How did the people around you behave? How were difficult or extreme events and situations handled? Did you learn that life would be a series of ups and downs, or was high drama and emotion an ever-present factor in your home?
Finding A Healing Path Forward
We cannot undo the past, and in fact we need to accept the circumstances and in doing so understand what we were meant to learn in the process, and look further into what we gained from the experience. Looking at anxiety in your present life is a useful road map back to your past and the subconscious belief systems you adopted as a result of past experiences.
How you cope with life’s stresses and detours will determine how much, or how little, anxiety you feel. Peace is inside you, not in your external circumstances. Managing anxiety is impossible without self-reflection and eventual knowledge. And that is an ever-evolving process. Reflecting and deconstructing the past can bring about anxiety for many, but the relief it provides once you have done it helps tremendously to lessen worry, angst and fear.
Breathe Meditation to Promote Calmness
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Derek O’Neill, fondly referred to as the Celtic Sage, inspires and uplifts people from all walks of life, offering guidance to influential world leaders, businesses, celebrities, athletes and everyday people alike. Distilled from his life work in psychotherapy, a martial arts career and study with wise yogis and Indian and Tibetan masters, Derek translates ancient wisdom into modern day teachings to address the biggest challenges facing humanity today. For additional insights listen to his free radio archives or or explore over 20 personal development books including Bullying, Love/Divorce, Grief, Mindfulness, Anxiety, Stress and Depression.
Image courtesy of Jhonis Martins.
