5 keys for Meditating on Anxiety

1. Meditate Properly
2. Choosing an Appropriate Object
3. Tatagathagharba
4. Virtuous Socialization
5. Never Give Up

Five key principles for meditating on anxiety. This is a multi-graded path where one principle leads into the next. Each of the principles infuses and supports the next making it stronger. 

1. Meditate Properly

The first principle is to learn to meditate properly. Proper meditation means that you learn the fundamental idea of what meditation actually is. Unfortunately, these days we’ve been given a confused transmission of ideas about meditation based on Westerners taking the groovy cool aspects and distorting it even further without learning about the basic fundamentals. The fundamental aspect of meditation is concentration upon an object of meditation. Object means what the subject, or the self / mind, perceives. An object of consciousness.

Not a physical object necessarily, but some visualized object, or mantra, the breathing. Once the mind stabilizes that concentration and becomes steady – meaning the mind does not forget the object – that is considered meditation. Before then, it’s only learning to meditate. This is so important but most people are trying to leap over this. They’re trying to do backflips on their trick bicycle without learning how to just basically ride it without falling over. I’m including a link in the description to a very detailed step-by-step instruction for learning the basics of meditation. It dates to the Buddha, the man himself and it’s called the 9 Stages of Resting the Mind.

2. Choosing an Appropriate Object

The second principle is picking the correct object of meditation in order to meditate on anxiety and for anxiety. Determining the correct object of meditation means not to meditate on anxiety. It won’t be that helpful. In a sense, you can meditate on the anxiety itself and see through the solidity of it and see the basic underlying energy. But then you’re not really meditating on anxiety because anxiety is just a concept. It’s superior, however, to meditate on something different and regard anxiety as a sort of arising nuisance or to see it just as it is, just pure energy that can be used in the meditation. But don’t meditate on anxiety. Instead, meditate on the better approach, which is innate confidence. 

3. Tatagatagharba 

That brings us to the third aspect, the view or the understanding, the idea, the philosophy of what is actually going on. This is not the explanation of how to meditate. This is the idea of how to relate to your mind and to reality so that meditating on anxiety will provide a benefit, will help you to emerge out of that darkness and into a light. So the view is that you have basic confidence. You, in and of yourself, within you right now, have this confidence within you, and it’s merely covered over by anxiety. The confidence is beneath that. It’s deeper than that. It’s more profound. It’s an abiding reality because it’s your own basic goodness. It’s what we call in Buddhism Buddha nature. 

This 3rd Principle is taking what we’ve developed – an ability to meditate and an appropriate object of meditation, and understanding it, at least conceptually.

So making a relationship with that Buddha nature or basic goodness and realizing that that’s your deepest essence and that it contains a lot of goodness, a lot of virtue. That virtue can be used in good ways, which brings us to the fourth point:

4. Virtuous Socialization

This means to extend it into your life. As you meditate on the basic goodness and the confidence that’s innate, you realize that you have a lot of virtue. This virtue is not like a moral virtue, like knowing the difference between right and wrong. It’s more in the sense of compassion or goodness or integrity or love or wisdom. Just an infinite amount of virtues that are embedded. They’re just who you basically are. And all that’s just covered over. 

When we say extending it into our daily life, we take one of those virtues that we think will be beneficial, especially say fearlessness or courage, meaning the willingness to face challenges. That would be a good one for anxiety or confidence or compassion or genuineness. Any of these self-existing virtues are helpful in overcoming anxiety. So we extend those out, and we take one, and we meditate on it in our daily life. 

At that point, it is called post-meditation or meditation in action. After our formal meditation period, we decide, this is the trait I want to work with today. We take it into our daily life and remind ourselves of it throughout the day. Do what you can call a flash meditation. Visualize something and you see it as so. Having established the view of innate virtues, we see ourself as completely, fully confident, as very compassionate, as very wise. We actually experience our own being in that way. 

5. Never Give Up

The fifth principle is actually quite simple. It’s not to give up or give in to discouragement. This is not a quick fix path. It’s a slow, steady progress path. So the results are not immediate relief which doesn’t last, like popcorn or Chinese food. It’s a sustained relief. It’s permanent. Once you develop it, it remains. It’s slow and steady, but you steadily and slowly overcome the anxiety. It works. It worked for me. It can work for you, but it requires commitment and effort. In fact, that commitment, that effort is a huge part, because it means we’re taking responsibility for our own mind. And that is a stance of real confidence. 

If you’re interested in this program, I’ve got a much more detailed course, including 75 lessons. The beginner course is free, and it’s in the link below. So hopefully, I’ll see you there. In any event, I wish you goodness, happiness, and supreme confidence. 

May all beings be happy

May all beings be peaceful

May all beings be safe

May all beings awaken to the light of their true nature

May all beings be free