This week I want you to focus on burning away your anxiety and negative thoughts.
By developing the visual practice of burning away your anxiety and negative thoughts you get a chance to free yourself from feelings that are holding you back. You get the chance to watch those feelings literally burn away and turn to ash, and then suddenly get swept away on a gust of wind. You get the chance to practice lettings go, which can be an exhilarating experience.
By developing the practice of physically burning away your anxieties and negative thoughts you get to make a conscious choice that is coupled with a physical action and strong visual representation. Choice + Action + Visual = Healing. By replacing the wet blanket of feelings, that keep you from moving forward, with this bold visual ritual you are empowering yourself with the energy of the crackling fire before you.
Start by writing your anxieties or negative thoughts on a small piece of paper. Or write “I am not my ______” and fill in the blank. You can also write this down on a bay leaf with a sharpie (PRO TIP: a silver sharpie looks most inspiring on a bay leaf), or any other kind of dried leaf. In a heat safe container light your anxiety or negative thoughts with a candle or a match and then watch them burn away, crumbling into nothing.
Take that sight in. Really feel the weight of the emotional pain lift as it turns to ash. Make a mental note of how you feel in that moment when your anxieties and negative thoughts have turned into ash.
Its empowering to watch a real representation of what ails you be lit on fire and turned to ash. Just make sure you do this in a fire safe container and keep watch over it as the things your wrote down burn into nothingness.
Things to Remember:
1. it might be hard to face your emotions and write them down.
2. remember that is it OKAY to feel this way.
3. use a heat safe container.
I know that this is going to be hard at times, but you have a choice and have taken the first step by clicking on this Weekly Spirituality Tip.
By developing the practice of physically burning away my anxieties and negative thoughts I have discovered that a sense of calm washes over me in the moment of watching them turn to ash. I have also found that the next time I experience the memory of those anxieties and negative thoughts that I am able to think about this memory that I just created. And call up that image of the paper burning away and crumbling into nothing. Then I am able to tell myself that my anxiety is nothing and that those negative thoughts that are plaguing me, are nothing. And then I think about their ashes being buried in my garden or taken away by a gust of wind.
