Hi Lisa,
As shr33m suggests, there are lots of methods. I will suggest a few from a different perspective, as you can access these things you want to effect, through different approaches. One way, is what you are doing in your visualizing of releasing it, in your exercises and meditations. It is good, that you don't limit yourself to releasing just physical blockages.
I think an important key is being more aware. By that, I refer to what one is thinking or experiencing at any given moment. While exercising, it is easier to focus the mind and hold an intent that addresses what your intention is focused on. The mind assists, or is given a task that focuses it, or , you relax and quiet the mind while your singular focus is perhaps on something else, like your breath and releasing, or just nothing, sitting in quiet, and benefitting from that. Now, holding awareness, after you do an exercise or technique that addresses releasing fear, is a different matter. The phrase, "walking your prayer",comes to mind. What are you doing for the rest of the day you 'aren't' practicing whatever exercises/meditations you do in specific sessions. Those sessions, by the way, are probably a small part of your waking day.
The mind can sort of take off on its own, and you can easily go off and revisit 'past' events connected to anxiety or fearfulness, or, travel into the future and think of all sorts of possible things involving anxiety or fear. This is , of course, true for other negative emotions. So, the goal, can be, to be more aware of staying in the present moment, and not doing all the travelling back and forward in time, thinking things, that generate anxiety and fear. I can suggest a few ways to hold awareness that I have used, but these are my experience, and you may find something different that works for you.
- set aside a day(24hrs) to focus your intention on not experiencing fear or anxiety. Get a small notebook to carry with you. The night before, call on the master's energy. Ask your master to help you wake up, the next day, fully aware of your intention for that day. As you wake up, and 'know' what you are going to be doing, you might find yourself extremely conscious of your thoughts, and find it very difficult to not think of something you shouldn't! Keep a sense of humor, the universe has one! You will relax into a comfortable state, at some point during the day, but you may find this process very distracting. The distraction is actually better defined as self awareness. You are paying more attention to what you are thinking. There may be lapses in awareness, but also, some experience of following observing thoughts from moment to moment. It can be very tiring, and alot of work to do this, but it gets easier over time, and you relax with the process more, and your mind settles down. Anyway, everytime you click into awareness, and find yourself having gone someelse else, past or future, experiencing some negative scenerio connected to anxiety, make a note of the time, and start over. You may find you are time travelling alot, and thinking of all sorts of things that feed your anxieties. Work hand in hand with the master's energy. This is not an easy task. If one does this sort of exercise, you will find yourself 'observing' your thoughts , much more. You will perhaps then experience having a negative thought, and becoming aware of it, midstream. At that point, you can stop the thought from completing. At a further point of development, down the road, you may have the 'awareness' of a thought forming, before it even forms, and neutralize it. You are simply staying aware, and in the present moment. There is no fear there , or anxiety. This is one method. It is not from SFQ, but you can put it in that framework, because of how you engage with the Master's energy throughout the process. Take a day off afterwards and reflect on your experience. Try it again if you like, in cycles.
Shr33m mentioned a mantra. I once had greater awareness of thoughts, as a side effect to practicing a mantra. I found myself aware of my thoughts, and knew, the mantra was triggering the awareness.
Let's say your anxiety is deeper, not necessarily from this lifetime. Your SFQ practice is a very useful tool to use. It helps you clear yourself at deeper and deeper levels, just naturally, through ongoing practice. Eventually, as the surface stuff is eliminated, you sit in meditative states, and gain insights, as you pursue self healing. Be patient with deeper blockages. Sometimes it can take awhile to work through and release deeper blockages. Don't feel stagnant in your pursuit, if you feel something deeper sets there. You are in movement, practicing self healing, in the process of healing. See it that way, as moving, not stuck. Moving in the right direction to release and self heal. Never stuck anywhere. As I have said before, you may plateau here and there and feel stuck, but, diligence and daily practice eventually bring shifts to better levels, or higher states of being that can involve releasing deeper blockages too.
Another simple method, I use , to stay more aware.... I have this spirit rock I got from the shores of Lake Superior, during a level 4 retreat. I keep it on my altar. Sometimes , when I finish my qigong session, I will choose, not to separate from the Master's energy. As I don't want to forget that I am connected, and be respectful of maintaining that connection, I take this rock, and put it in my pocket. During the course of the day, there will be several times, where the rock reminds me of the fact I am still connected, and I experience a higher degree of self awareness and connectness, during the day. I may remember having the rock, I may feel the rock in my pocket, or whatever, I immediately click into the present, when the connection is made. The gaps in leaving the present moment become shorter.
Another method of release: Writing. A way to actually hold your anxiety in your hand, is to write it down. This applies to aspects of anxiety or fear you are aware of. Once you have written it down, turn the paper over, and write the truth about this experienced anxiety on the back. Usually, the fear or anxiety one experiences, is not the truth of the situation, and you know it, whether or not you embody that truth. You can rationalize why you shouldn't be feeling that way. Again, write that down on the reverse side.
Call on the master's energy to help you release the fear you wrote down, and help you transform it into the higher understanding, of the truth of the situation. Then burn the paper, as let the anxiety go with the smoke. Fire and transformation. Releasing and transforming, with the help of the master's energy. Again, this is not specifically qigong, but it can be done utilizing the master's energy, and in the qigong context. Again, qigong to me, is just a state of being, not some specific Eastern exercise. The term is Chinese, a state of being is universal.
Base your self healing and increasing awareness, in your SFQ exercise and meditation, and try some excursions on the side, inbetween sessions, that help you stay centered in the present more, self aware, not travelling forward and backward in time, 'thinking' anxious thoughts.
love,
gallen
