If you are not already an expert at the art of worrying like most people are here’s a little insight into the world of worry and how it works.
Most people's lives are a continuous series of worries. That is not to say I have never worried or don’t worry. That’s not true. Contrary to what I hear people think of me I do actually worry from time to time. It’s a silly state of mind really. Today I was worrying about something and caught myself doing so. It was actually during my morning spiritual practices. As soon as I became aware that I was worrying I used my will to harness my awareness. I grabbed it and said to myself I am going to take it as deep within me as I can. To a place within me that never changes. That’s what Gurudeva, my guru, would often say to me. So I did. The deeper I went within my mind, being as concentrated as I possibly could with all my will, the more I started to see my conscious mind. Because that’s what happens when you go within.
Most people aren’t taught this. When you meditate and if you are able to leave your conscious mind the next state of mind you encounter is the subconscious. And if you are able to go past this subconscious state of mind then the next state of mind you encounter after that is the superconscious mind. How do you know you are in the superconscious state of mind? Well, you become observant. My guru taught me that observation is the first sign of the awakening of the superconscious mind.
Now looking from the superconscious mind, looking from the inside out really, you see the conscious mind for what it is. I see that I am worried because I allow my awareness to wonder away from the present and allow it to go into the future to create a situation that has not yet happened. And usually it’s creating a situation that is negative because that is what we worry about. Then we bring awareness back to the present and start worrying about it. Worrying about this false future that we have created. It has not happened yet so why do we have to worry about it. We can change the future. We can create a different outcome. An outcome we choose to have.
So that is the state of worry. Allowing awareness to drift into the future and create a negative situation that is purely conjured up by your mind and then coming back to the present and being fearful of it. Repeatedly perform this exercise throughout the day and you create a habit pattern in your subconscious mind. Now worrying becomes easy. The same way water flowing down the side of a hill eventually carves the hillside to create a stream which will one day turn into a river and a waterfall. The same thing happens when we repeatedly move our awareness up and down the same path in our subconscious. We create a groove so to speak, a rut or rail, which then allows awareness to easily travel and move from the present, the now, to the worried area of the mind.
This is how you become an expert at worrying. The next time you find yourself worrying, observe how your awareness has drifted into the future and into an unwholesome area of the mind. Once you are conscious of this, gently and lovingly bring your awareness back to the present. You can’t experience worry when you live in the now. Bring awareness back to what you are doing and repeat this affirmation “I’m alright, right now”.
