As the economic and political news reports continue to fill daily life with messages of fear, I find myself increasingly aware of the gift of being able to drop into the present moment.  Shifting my awareness to my breath, inhaling into my heart space and exhaling through my heart space as I drop my awareness into my belly offers me a continual resource in the face of ever-escalating disaster scenarios presented each day.

For this week’s experiment, I invite you to pay even more attention to the relief and ease that can come when you bring yourself into just this moment, just this breath, right here, right now.  For example, as you pay attention to the breath that’s happening right now, and notice the sensations in your body as you exhale, what do you experience?  Do you notice that some part of your body settles a bit with each exhalation?  Or, do you ride waves of fear or anxiety and then settle the smallest bit.  Even becoming aware of your capacity to ride waves of discomfort and then rediscover sensations of places in your body where you can settle between waves helps to shift away from escalating anxiety.  Just a moment spent in ease, a sense of being settled, or a bit of internal quiet is enough to stop the intensification of anxiety and fear.  These uncomfortable feelings may still be there, but they can more easily come in waves, rather than as a torrent, when you use the breath as a way to come into the present moment.

Notice that, in this moment, things are just what they are.  There’s no need to worry about the past or fret about the future.  There’s just this breath, just what’s right here, right now.  One of the ways you can support yourself in coming back into the present moment is to find something in your environment that is beautiful, moving, or in some other way helps you access a sense of ease, gratitude, or some other feeling that helps you to shift away from fear.

For example, there may be a plant, a picture or some other object in your environment that – when you look at it – invites you to relax or settle a little bit.  Imagine or actually experience the sensations that arise in your body when you gaze at something you love.  Also notice your psychological state – how you feel and the quality of your thoughts – as you gaze on this special something or someone.  

From an energy perspective and how it works, when we fear something we actually give it energy.  When we put our energy into what we seek, or how we want to feel, we also support that outcome in tangible ways.   Each moment offers us a choice – feed fear or nourish balance, ease, and comfort.  Having ways to come back into the present moment is a great gift, and I invite you to use this week’s experiment to generate an array of possibilities that work for you.