No wonder “Just for today- Do not Worry “ is the second Reiki precept.
Because we all worry about different things at different stages of our life; sometimes for a test, sometimes for our jobs, financial crisis and sometimes a more serious health issue. Our worries are linked to fear of an unknown future and our perceived lack of ability to cope with it. If we put it in perspective, most of our worries are a “what if” scenario that 9 out of 10 times won’t happen; however the fear in our minds are very real. If you have no worries, no fear of future; then 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, Universe, etc. Then, Congratulations! However, 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 guidelines that can help to deal with our worries:

  • First of all, recognize your worry and accept it. Recognize that we are all human beings and as long as we live in this world, we are not free J. We have desires, expectations, attachments that create a fear of separation. A fear of separation from our dreams, life styles, family, job, health; which triggers our worries.
  • Don’t beat yourself up because you’re worrying. Just accept your emotions and focus on your emotions for a while (without clinging to them too much). This will help you better understand the root causes and inner repercussions of your fears and worries. Let’s say you’re worried for your health, ask why? “I’m scared there is an undiagnosed disease”, “My health might fail anytime”, “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. This is the most important decision that you need to come back again and again when dealing with your worry: Your determination to neutralize the fear!
  • As you move to tackle your worry, ask your self if there is anything that can be done.The best way of dealing with a worry is to come up with an Action Plan to tackle it. If you are worrying for a test (or an interview), make an action plan on how you can best prepare for it. Make a study plan or find resources to help you. Don’t let the worry eat you, take action.
  • One way of dealing with the worry is to visualize yourself coping with it. First of all, put a smile on, it’s hard to worry with a smile on your face J. Then visualize yourself accomplishing the test, the relief after a successful interview, visualize having a completely healthy body, etc. 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.
  • Worries are sometimes based on negative beliefs about life that life is tough and requires struggle like you need to struggle to earn money, or if you laugh too much, sad things will happen, etc. Remove these unwanted belief systems. EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) works very well in these situations. I also got an excellent tip from “Finding your own North Star”. Book suggests, to do something different every time you indulge in the unwanted habit or worry. Every time you find yourself worrying about same thing, you can squat, or say a strange word, etc.
  • If the situation that makes you worry comes with prolonged uncertainty, or a life threat for you or a loved one, i.e. a serious disease; I’d recommend breathing techniques and positive affirmations. In these situations, it’s better to keep the mind busy with positive affirmations and breathing, so that the mind won’t engage or entrapped with negative thoughts. Here are some examples:
    • 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”, suck up that Trust into your very Being. When exhaling, accept deeply in your consciousness that “You Trust with your whole being”. Accept deeply that “You trust to this System, Universe, God, Creator, your life plan, and the outcome of your situation will be for your utmost good.”

    • I am Light

Inhale, say “I am” and feel your whole being expanding to Universe. Exhale, say “Light”, 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 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 is.

    • 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” or be more specific “It’s a benign tumor” etc.

In your mind’s eye, imagine yourself being completely healthy. You can use your breathing, inhaling “I am”, exhaling a deep trust and belief that “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 powerful to deal with worries. Pray to God, 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 gestures to 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 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 yourself” is a good guide for some of the root causes of problems. I suggest you work with a good therapist (especially an EFT or Tapas practitioner who practices these modalities along with Reiki) to make 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 how we can give up our attachments and surrender. It might be hard at first to be thankful for something that puts us into so much trouble but 10 years from now you’ll see why.
Zeynep Premdasi Yilmaz