calm down or anchor in?

[MelliOBrien]

Thanks buddy. I'm happy to be here in this forum chatting all things mindfulness and hopefully lending a hand here and there as well and sharing my own trials and tribulations.

I have found the above 6 step method incredibly potent in my own times of challenge.

[KernelOfWisdom]

I have find that meditations that help me cope with the anxiety or feeling are best> In this case I start with some breath focus to calm me and anchor me in the beginning and then I use the breath as a "check-point" to keep me on track and keep looking inward. I have found that works well, and I tend to explore away from meditations that are overly breath focused in general and it's worked really well for me.

[piedwagtail91]

hi ezzo,
i too have eye floaters and found they can be very anxiety provoking.
they don't bother me too much now.
as you say they're more obvious on a sunny day but i can notice them even now on the white part of the laptop screen.
i have, in the past, meditated on them .
obviously with my eyes open and looking at a white sheet, or the sky(away from the sun ) if it's sunny.
just sitting watching them float around, exploring them, curious as to what they do.
this helped by allowing me to not just allow them to be there but also to be with the anxiety, experience the sensations of it in my body and just 'be' .
i found practicing like this helped me to 'see beyond them' and lessened the anxiety to the point where it doesn't bother me now, i notice them, say hello and leave them to it.

i have different practices, morning is mindfulness and night is more sort of yoga/pranayama or slightly more buddhist /metta - i've been reading pema chodron, sharon salzberg and matthieu ricard, so like to go that way. i wanted to explore the bits jon kabat zinn and the others didn't bring over to mbct, mbsr.
if anything i feel they compliment each other.
separating the mindfulness out of all that to teach is the biggest problem!!

i don't think it does any harm it's all awareness .

[JonW]

"Separating the mindfulness out of all that to teach is the biggest problem!!"

Interesting point.
My teacher, Nick, has just started graduate courses for those who wish to explore questions raised by the 8-week course. A post-mindfulness course, if you like.
I would sign up but I've got my hands full with teacher training right now…
Cheers,
Jon

[Happy Buddha]

Hi Terry, my sense is that you are thinking about this too much. In my view there is only one practice and that is awareness.

It seems to me that tou re still wanting to get rid of the anxiety and until this is seen not to work Terry you will probably continue.

Instead of trying to get rid of it challenge yourself to see how anxious you can get. Take your seat and say to yourself, ok let me see how anxious I can get. You may just be surprised.

It is ll about relationship Terry. The quality of our lives are determined by the quality of our relationships and the primary relationship is to our own pain. How you you relating to it...actually the anxiety may be trying to tell you something...are you listening?

Hope all are well, Suryacitta

[rara]

When im feeling anxiety, should i revert to deep breathing or should i simply 'feel' and be with the anxiety in a mindful way? The 2 contradict each other

Hi Terry,

On the contrary, no they don't!! I still "suffer" from anxiety but breathing is the only way to bring it further to the surface. Once you do, it is there staring me in the face, and as the breath has regulated my heart rate to a nice, calm state, I can see it in its actual form (a trivial illusion)

Breathe, breathe, breathe. Eventually, the anxiety will be powerless