Do not worry

By Zeynep Yilmaz

No wonder “Just for today- Do not Worry “ is the second Reiki precept. We all worry about different things at different stages of our lives; about tests, our jobs, a financial crisis or a health issue. Our worries are linked to the fear of an unknown future and our perceived lack of ability to cope with it. If we put them in perspective, most of our worries are a “what if” scenario that nine out of ten times won’t happen; however the fear in our minds is very real. If you have no worries, no fear of the future, then congratulations! You are one of the select few who don’t have any attachments or one of the few who can completely surrender and trust the higher power, higher plan, or universe. Mastering this is extremely difficult. For those of us who are not completely free, and those of us who fall into the trap of fear, worry and anxiety, here are few suggestions that can help deal with worry:

First of all, recognize worry and accept it. Recognize that we are all human beings and as long as we live in this world, we are not free. We have desires, expectations, and attachments that create a fear of separation; a fear of separation from our dreams, life styles, family, job, or health that can trigger our worries.

Accept your emotions. Don’t beat yourself up. Focus on your worries (without clinging to them too much) so you can better understand their root causes and inner repercussions. Let’s say you’re worried about your health. Ask yourself why. You might think, “I’m scared there is an undiagnosed disease”, “My health might fail anytime”, or “I might die”.

After you recognize your worry and the root fear underlying it, accept it and make a decision to free yourself from that fear. The most important decision that you need to come back to again and again when dealing with your worry is your determination to neutralize the fear!

Take action. Ask yourself if there is anything you can do. If you are worrying about a test or an interview, make a plan for how you can best prepare for it. Make a study plan or find resources to help you.

Visualize yourself coping with what is worrying you. First of all, smile. It’s hard to worry with a smile on your face. Then visualize yourself completing the test, the relief after a successful interview, or having a completely healthy body. Send Reiki to that image and let that be so. Remember the rule of attraction: Your thoughts are energy and what you think is what you attract.

Remove unwanted belief systems. Worries are sometimes based on negative beliefs about life like that life is tough or that you need to struggle to earn money, or if you laugh too much, sad things will happen. EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) works very well in these situations. I also got an excellent tip from Finding your own North Star. This book suggests doing something different every time you indulge in the unwanted habit or worry, like squatting, or saying a strange word to help you break the habit.

Breathe and say affirmations. If the worrisome situation comes with prolonged uncertainty, or is life threatening for you or a loved one, it’s better to keep the mind busy with positive thoughts so that the mind won’t engage or become entrapped with negative ones. Here are some examples of affirmations:

I trust. Inhale, say “I” and open up yourself up, feel as if your whole being is opened up to whole Universe. Exhale, say “trust”. Inhale again, and suck up that trust into your very being. Exhale and accept deeply in your consciousness that you trust with your whole being. Accept deeply that you trust this system, universe, God, creator, your life plan, and that the outcome of your situation will be for your utmost good.

I am light. Inhale, say “I am” and feel your whole being expanding into the universe. Exhale, say “light”, and imagine drawing Reiki in the form of light from the universe into your very being. Imagine yourself lighten up with the power and light of the universe.

I accept myself the way I am/ I love myself the way I am. Feel a deep acceptance of your fears, worries and anxiety and your whole being as you are.

I am surrounded with everything I need. Feel a deep trust that you are surrounded with divine power and love and you have everything you need to tackle the situation.

I am completely healthy. You can also be more specific, for example: The tumor is benign. In your mind’s eye, imagine yourself being completely healthy. You can use your breathing, inhaling “I am”, and exhaling a deep trust and belief that you are completely healthy. You can send Reiki to this image in your mind.

I give up all negative thoughts, I am all positive. Imagine opening yourself up and offering up your negative thoughts with each inhalation to a higher power and exhaling in pure light.

Praying is a powerful way to deal with worries. Pray to God, the universe or any higher power that you believe in. Imagine that you are being loved, cared and fully supported throughout these troubled times.

Stop pitying yourself and try to continue with your life. Write down a to-do list, a list of all the things you want to achieve or change once you get out of the situation. Don’t wait until you are out of the woods to start getting to it.

Watch funny movies and try to keep smiling. It’s harder to be negative with a smiling face.

Do nice things for others. This opens your heart and reminds you that you are not alone but connected to everyone else.

Express your worries by writing. Writing can be very healing.

If you feel like you can’t deal with your worries, reach out to talk to your family, friends, therapists and ask for help.

Remember that everything happens for a reason. It might be time for you to work on the root cause. Louise Hay’s book, You Can Heal Your Life, is a good guide for finding out some of the root causes of problems. Work with a good therapist to help you realize the root causes.

Go back and revisit what you’ve learned from this experience, be thankful and move on. Earth is a laboratory for us to experiment with how we can give up our attachments and surrender. It might be hard at first to be thankful for something that causes us so much trouble but ten years from now you’ll see how much you’ve learned from it.

May we all reach a stage where we can live completely worry-free.