As someone who has suffered from anxiety for years, I’ve learned how to manage its effects not only through therapy but by exploring new ways on my own. Two strategies that have made an immense difference for me are meditation and manifestation. Meditation helps calm the mind and manifestation gives a sense of hope.
Recently, they have gained traction through social media to the point where they are often referred to as trends. As I’ve been meditating and manifesting before it gained attention, I can say these so-called trends do work. While these tactics can appear intimidating, mainstream practice methods have made it more attainable to slowly incorporate them into your routine. Here are some steps to begin doing so.
Meditation
Simply sitting in silence is a form of meditation. A great way to begin this is sitting in silence while letting go of lingering thoughts. You can do this in your room, on the bus, in a waiting room, etc. I recommend starting this practice for a one-minute duration. It can be done anywhere that is relatively quiet and for any length of time that best suits you.
Some, like myself, struggle with the silent aspect of meditating. To help maintain a better focus, add in meditation music or calming sounds. YouTube is a great way to find this type of background music. It’s also an essential resource if you are not ready to begin using an app.
Here are some music and sounds that you can try:
– https://youtu.be/Lju6h-C37hE
– https://youtu.be/mPZkdNFkNps
– https://youtu.be/ySL3NllIhfA
Guided meditation is also a great strategy. There are many apps that you can download that have courses and segments on guided meditation. You can also find free guided meditaions online or on YouTube.
Here are two of my favorite and highly recommended meditation apps:
Manifestation
There are many methods of manifestation. One way to manifest is to visualize what you want as if you already have it or it’s happening. All you do for this is picture your desire and believe it is real. This tricks the subconscious mind into thinking the visualization is true. Visualization can be done anywhere at any time. By using this method, you are allowing your mind to see what you desire. The saying “Seeing is believing.” can be applied to your goals and dreams. If your mind can see what you want, it will be convinced to believe you already have it. Doing this can help you know that your desires are already yours because you are actually seeing them, which will help pull those things into your reality a lot faster.
Similar to visualization, another manifestation method is the use of affirmations. Affirmations are statements of what you desire to occur in the present moment. For example, you want to attract more self-love into your life, but you are struggling to do so. To begin bringing in this desired self-love, you say to yourself, “I am surrounded by love.”. You can say this statement out loud, in front of a mirror, or write it down. Doing affirmations repeatedly convinces your subconscious into believing these are true in your reality.
Here are some of my favorite affirmations to use:
– https://www.taylorstracks.com/self-love-affirmations/
A common way to manifest is by journaling. Journaling allows for your desires to be written out in a physical format. This is great if you have trouble visualizing because writing down what you desire on a piece of paper will make it physical for your mind to process. Having a specific journal dedicated to meditation is crucial. In this journal, you can write out your wants or desires in the present tense. This can be written as a typical journal entry or letter to the universe. One suggestion is to listen to frequencies or meditation music during this time. Frequencies can be found on YouTube.
Here are a couple of frequencies I like to listen to while manifesting:
– https://youtu.be/D2KRO0qRDhU
– https://youtu.be/_RYTOgmbB5g
Another method you can do is guided prompts. To find prompts, search online for “manifestation methods”. There will be an abundance of strategies of manifestation through writing that you can choose from through this search or on social media. When starting to explore manifesting, it is encouraged to try different methods until you find one that works for you.
When I am feeling overwhelmed or anxious, I utilize the steps described above. My routine begins with a guided meditation using a meditation app I subscribe to. Then, I find manifestation music or frequencies to listen to as I do a manifestation method of my choosing. Once done, I always find a great sense of relief and am ready to tackle whatever is ahead of me. I hope you too can begin to use these steps in your routines or during times of stress. They will help provide you with much-needed relaxation.