Sometimes it can be hard to tell the difference between anxious energy and positive harmonious energy. They both can get you going, taking action and getting things done. The difference is, one is motivating you out of fear, depleting your energy, and leaving you exhausted afterward, while the other is more consistently and calmly moving you forward in your life in a positive way.
Here are some of the ways to tell the difference between anxious and positive energy:
Anxiety feels like:
~ Stress
~ Feeling scattered or overwhelmed
~ “I have to get everything on my list done”
~ Feeling rushed and frantic
~ Feeling depleted afterward
Positive energy feels like:
~ Accomplishing things in a calm way
~ Intuitively knowing what is next to do
~ Taking time to rest and take care of yourself
~ Feeling happy and relaxed
~ Consistently feeling harmonious energy
It’s easy to delude ourselves, especially around the holidays, that the only way to get things done is to be stressed and overwhelmed. I hear things like “I don’t have time to take care of myself because I have so much to do” and “I am so stressed!” from many of my clients.
There can be more anxiety and stress this time of year, but really, this is optional. You are creating your own life. You are in charge of your calendar, your body, your mind, and your energy! You are not a victim of anything, you have set up your own life, and if it is creating too much stress, it’s up to you to change it.
Empowering yourself by taking charge of your energetic vibration will help you to feel good not just during the holidays, but all year long! It is possible to let go of your anxiety, have much more energy flowing through your mind and body, and be able to get the things you want to be done, while feeling great!
Here are some practical energy tips to move from anxiety to positive energy:
1. Exciting Energy!
Our brains and bodies give off a similar chemical response when we are anxious or excited.
Knowing this, if we are able to reframe our anxiety about something into excitement, our energy feels much more optimistic than scared.
I recently had a client who spent a large part of our session repeating that travel is stressful. She wasn’t aware of how frequently she was thinking this until I brought it to her attention. We came up with a new way to look at it together. Instead of being stressful, the chemicals and feelings her body was giving off are really because she is so excited!
I gave her the homework of practicing repeating the phrase “I’m so excited for my trip” proactively throughout the day, as well as when she is feeling “anxious” about the trip. Changing her internal dialogue will help her have more fun preparing for the trip as well as making the trip more enjoyable!
The chemicals and hormones your body is releasing are preparing you for a new and exciting chance to expand your energy. For anything you are stressed about, remind yourself “I am so excited and happy that my body is preparing me for this new experience!”
Everything is a learning opportunity, there are no problems or mistakes, only opportunities to evolve and expand! There is nothing to worry about.
Part of why my client was anxious about travel was also the way she was fearing possible problems on her trip. We talked about practicing visualizing having fun, laughing, and having amazing stories to share when she returns instead.
Visualizing what you want instead of what you don’t want is a big part of shifting from anxiety to positive energy. You can do it, it’s not that hard. It just takes time and practice to change this habit over time.
2. Be Your Own Energy Healer!
Energy is everything, and while trained energy medicine and Reiki masters are super helpful, it is also possible to be your own energy healer! There is no trademark on energy, it is timeless, free and available for everyone to utilize for healing!
This is an exercise taken from Reiki energy healing, that is gentle enough to use any time. Reiki energy can be used to harmonize our energy and bring us into balance and alignment.
For this exercise, begin by lying down, close your eyes, and start by grounding your energy. Slow your breath down and imagine that your big toes are breathing. This can look and feel however you want, use your imagination. Move the breath to the rest of your toes breathing, then your feet, and legs, etc. This helps you to ground your energy and prepare you to shift your anxious feelings.
Then gently place your hands behind the head, cradling back of the skull.
For two minutes, breathe deeply and imagine palms are sending healing energy into the mind to release the energy and thoughts that no longer serve you, and your mind is filled with peace, light, and calm thoughts, once it has softened, place hands over heart.
Allow the same energy of light to come into heart release any heaviness, pain, stress or burden and you emit energy and light from your palms to your heart.
Open your eyes and see how the mind and body feel together.
3. Energy Makeover!
Another way to move from anxiety to positive energy is to use the energetic technique of charging your energy. This allows any anxious energy to be made over into powerful positive energy you can utilize in your life.
Start by making sure you have some quiet time and space, at least 15-20 minutes.
For this exercise, find a comfortable position, and repeat the grounding, breathing through your toes and feet exercise from step two to calm and relax your energy.
As you begin to feel calm, relaxed and grounded, start to imagine any negative, stressful, or anxious energy floating out of your body. Again, this is unique for every person, it can look like sparkles, or knives, or dirt, or anything your imagination comes up with.
Continue to imagine this energy leaving from any part of your body that is holding anxious energy. Take your time.
As you feel the flow slowing, and the energy moving out of your body, now imagine that it is sent to the universe (god, creation, source, any belief system is fine here). As it flows into creation, it is released and recycled into magical powerful energy. The universe understands exactly how to transform this energy into the most perfect, harmonious, high vibration positive energy uniquely for you!
The last step is to imagine this transformed energy flowing back into your body while smiling. Smiling increases the flow of high vibration energy particles. I like to imagine it flowing through the top of my head, like beautiful sparkles. But again, any visual that works for you and feels beautiful, magical and positive is perfect. It could look like sparkles like mine, or butterflies, or birds.
You can do this version once a day at least. A smaller version that you can do throughout the day any time, is to just keep noticing any tension in your body, sending it out to the universe, and allowing the positive energy to flow back in.
Repeat this exercise as much as you want to keep your energy high and harmonious!
You are so capable of transforming your anxiety into positive energy. It just takes a little time and practice, I know you can do it and I hope you have fun with these tools!
Read more about Anxiety Treatment with Shana Olmstead.
