Dear Burt

I would appreciate your insight on a problem I’ve been experiencing. For 20 years I’ve been having anxiety attacks. I’ve tried drug therapy, energy psychology, accupuncture, counceling, nutritional therapy,energy healing and hypnosis. The anxiety has not diminished despite all I’ve done. I’ve taken an interest in non-duality as a way to get to the root of the problem. I’ve followed the teachings and looked for the separate ‘me’ which I could not find and I make time everyday to sit quietly and watch thoughts and sensations move through awareness without attaching to anything but when anxiety shows up I fall back into resistance and avoidance. In spite of my efforts there is still a belief in separation and the anxiety continues.

I’ve done hypnosis sessions where I contact the fearful part of me. When I make contact with it I experience visions and I feel tremendous energy filling my body, especially the solar plexus area. I stay with the energy as long as it takes which is very uncomfortable and frightening. Eventually it passes through and I feel relaxed for awhile. I’ve had at least 3 sessions where this has happened and each time I think that I must finally be free of anxiety But so far it has not seemed to have made any difference. I don’t know what else to do and I very frustrated with the whole thing. Do you have any experience with this type of thing? I would appreciate any insight you could share with me.

Thanks R.

Dear Sweet R.,

Thank you for the sincere inquiry into panic and anxiety attacks. I am familiar with them and they are more common than most people are aware of.

You have tried everything and it didn’t work -- good for you! Conventional therapy doesn’t work as effectively as the Truth does. I have studied psychology,metaphysics, philosophy and had my own TV show on mind/body connection but it was years later that I realized the Truth that freed me from feelings of separation.

R., the harder you try to get rid of anxiety feelings, the longer they cling to you. Anxiety is the fear of the future (what might happen to you). Anxiety is a strong uncontrollable emotion that has emerged gradually through the years gathering force with every attempt to get rid of it. Anxiety builds with resistance. The more you want to get rid of it, the more real it becomes to you.

Please become body-aware, that is, the moment you start feeling anxiety coming on, watch it and see what symptoms are occuring. Observe these symptoms while you breathe consciously into them. This will help you to release some of the built-up pressure by letting them play out without resistance.

Then, place your thumb and forefinger against each other and press them together to the extent that you feel the anxiety contraction in your body. Thus, the more anxious you feel, the more you press them together. When you feel that you have reached the optimum pressure akin to your bodily contraction, start breathing slowly while gently and very s-l-o-w-l-y releasing the fingers pressure telling yourself that when the fingers are relaxed so are you. This is an effective way to tell your conditoned mind that you are allowing this anxiety to play itself out and you are NOT resisting it. Once you have done this a few times during the crucial emergence of the symptoms you will ‘burn’ the residue from the nervous system.

Anxiety can start in childhood when your parents expected too much from you or when you didn’t feel appreciated or loved. It gets triggered when you feel you are going to be tested or become something you know you are not. It could take very little to trigger anxiety and the feeling is that you are not safe. Remember, you can’t help these feelings because they are all unconscious and locked in your nervous system. Just recognize that you are NOT these conditioned responses and that you can observe them just like you can observe someone else having such an attack.Ê

Please be patient and compassionate towards this anxiety and treat it like you would a naughty child. Above all, do not blame yourself for having these attacks... you couldn’t help them anyway because they are resdues from unconscious resistance. Every time we say to a feeling, “I don’t like this...” it is like rejecting your child and it feels unwanted and starts acting up. Learn to observe the symptoms as they emerge and you do this through body-awareness.

If you are still not clear please send for some CD’s on body-awareness and dealing with emotions.

Let me know how things are going with this finger-method.

With love,

Burt