Anxiety is fear about the future that we keep experiencing for long enough that it becomes a habit. It's easy to know when you are anxious, the thoughts and feelings are all too familiar. But how can you dismantle anxiety and get back to a relaxed state that is more pleasant and productive? This article will show you one way to do just that by using the Body's Map of Consciousness, which was developed by Lansing Barrett Gresham through thirty years of empirical research working with thousands of clients. The Body's Map of Consciousness is the foundation of the healing discipline known as Integrated Awareness.
Anxiety is a Behavior
Here are things we do with our body, brain, emotions and energy to feel anxious. According to The Body's Map of Consciousness, there are a number of sites in our bodies we use to do this behavior. By exploring how we use those body sites by becoming more aware of our behaviors we can re-pattern them and free ourselves up to create new behaviors.I've included a personal exploration you can use to discover for yourself how two of those sites --your eyes and the visual cortex in your brain-- contribute to your anxiety behaviors. In the second part of the exploration, you can discover how to use your eyes and visual cortex to reduce your sense of anxiety and return yourself to the present moment.
When you are ready to do the personal exploration, make a time when you will be undisturbed and can focus on yourself for about 20 minutes. Read through the entire description before you start. Then refer to the summary notes as a cheat sheet while you actually do the exploration. Pace yourself so the exploration takes about 20 minutes.
This exploration guides you to become more aware of feelings that are normally outside of your awareness, and for some people may be emotionally evocative. Before you begin, if you have any conditions that may be made worse by experiencing strong emotions, consult a qualified health care professional.
Find a chair in which you can sit comfortably upright, where there are no strong lights shining in your eyes. Pick a spot, look at it, and focus your attention as narrowly as you can. Now pick a new spot and focus intently. Continue focusing sharply on new spots so that your sight is darting about the room, each time focusing sharply on something and then moving on to the next spot. Keep doing this for several minutes until you start to feel a significant increase in your level of anxiety.
While continuing to focus sharply on new spots, take some time to also pay attention to what is going on in the rest of your body. What sites have new or intensified sensations? Gathering this information will be important for shifting your anxiety in the second part of the exploration.
Now that you've expanded your awareness of how you make yourself anxious, you can explore how to reduce anxiety and feel comfortable in the present moment.
Close your eyes and adjust yourself to a comfortable posture. You may notice that your eyes have become tight from the previous exploration. Hold the intention to relax your eyes. Do this for long enough that you can feel the beginning of an expansion and softening of your eyes.
Imagine that your gaze is softening. Do this as if you were staring off into space like the soft focus lens used in romantic photos and movie scenes. When you are ready, open your eyes, keeping a soft focus.
Continue softening your eyes and softening your gaze. As your eyes soften, keep adjusting your posture and the rest of your body to match what is going on in your eyes.
Take a few moments to scan your body. How have the places you identified earlier as being associated with anxiety changed? What other sensations have you become aware of?
Rest.
Next... Integrate your experiences
