Update on 1/19/19:  My memoir, Angels in the OR: What Dying Taught Me About Healing, Survival, and Transformation, can be pre-ordered now. It is a #1 new release in several categories.  I would love it if you helped me make near-death experiences more mainstream.

Addressing Anxiety:  In class today, one of my students decided to focus his research paper on connections between technology and anxiety.  Many other students chimed in, talking about how anxiety is one of their biggest struggles.  I assured them that I understood completely, and I know that anxiety plagues countless people.  Research has taught me that students perform better on tests and write better essays when they are confident and not anxious.  I encourage my students to get plenty of rest and to try to have fun writing their essays.  There is always a way to make the writing process more enjoyable.

In general, we perform better in our lives with less anxiety and more belief in ourselves.  We talked about all the common ways to address anxiety such as exercise, eating well, and taking care of the body.  Since I felt no fear or anxiety during my NDE, I believe that being more in touch with our inner self and believing in angelic assistance/the divine is a way to expel anxiety from our lives.  The closer we are to our source, the less there is to worry about.

Research also shows that mindfulness meditation reduces anxiety. There are many ways to meditate, and if you like to focus on an image or a statement while meditating here is an image that I find helpful for dispelling anxiety.

Dispelling Anxiety Meditation:  Take several deep breaths and imagine becoming stronger and more grounded with each out-breath.  All the many directions that your mind can take, slow down into one moment with each breath.

After several calming breaths, imagine a white, loving light above your head.  As you breathe out, imagine that a very large feather is sweeping out all the debris from your mind and body.  All text messages, all thoughts, all plans, all the things you think you must do are swept away.  You do not have to worry about the future or mourn the past in this moment.  You are completely pure and clean.  There is nothing to fear.

There is no room for anxiety, just expansiveness.  If negativity or anxiety continue to pop into your mind, keep imagining the large feather sweeping away all fears and troubles.  Keep breathing until you are relaxed, and know that you are free and safe.

Addressing Physical Pain:  For many years after my accident I was lucky and ran races and felt little or no physical back pain. The last five years, I have dealt with neck and lower back pain.  The journey to find a way out of pain has been a long one, but one component that has helped a lot is my own belief in the power of angels to heal us.  I saw the angels work on my back while outside of my body, and I know I can call on them to continue to work on me.  Each person is different, and there may not be one way that works for everyone.  No matter if you find eventual relief from pain through traditional medicine, functional medicine, alternative healers, prayer, or your own healing power, deep breathing and meditation can be a great added component to your healing journey.

Healing the Cause of Physical Pain Meditation:  Take several long breaths to ground yourself.  With each out breath, picture your body as a receptive vessel, empty and ready to be filled with the intelligent, healing light of the angels.  Let every breath immediately transform your body, healing you in ways you didn’t know you needed healing.  Believe in instant healing, even if the completion of this healing takes months to fully manifest.  Believe healing begins now by loving yourself enough to open yourself to this possibility.

You might repeat the line, “I inhale and open completely to the healing light of angels” if this helps you focus on being completely receptive to healing.  Even if relief is only found with each in-breath, know that you are making progress toward healing.  The key is being completely empty with a very long out-breath.  At the end of that breath, you are completely empty and completely ready to be filled with the healing light of angels.

Side note: Because I am American and a rebel, I don’t always meditate in traditional ways.  For this meditation, I lie on my stomach and try to duplicate a massage table with pillows.  Since I was positioned face down during back surgery, it is easier for me to experience profound healing from angels while in this position.  Maybe you must decide what position is best for your healing.  There is nothing wrong with sitting in a traditional pose, but when it comes to pain creative measures sometimes take precedence over traditions.

Healing Heart Pain:  Over the years, many of my students have written narrative essays in English 1301 about a first heartbreak.  Usually, the story is one of a first love who cheated or broke their trust with unexpected violence.  People feel a need to share the ways they have been hurt and wronged in the hopes of someone understanding their pain and lessening this pain somehow.  I see these students as becoming more beautiful because of their stories of heartbreak.  My stories of heartbreak allow me to empathize with my students, and they are able to care for one another because of their experiences.

I have discovered a meditation/writing exercise that can help heal some of this pain rather quickly.  Switching to a place of hope and joy is an easy way out of pain.  What is lost is lost, but there is still a world to gain—a world of great possibilities.

Meditation or Writing Exercise to Help Heal Heart Pain:  The heart needs a home, so imagine a perfect home for your heart.  Maybe your heart’s home is a crystal palace or a warm cabin with a fireplace.  Imagine a home that is the best possible home for your heart.  Your heart can never be trampled or disappointed in this place.  Your heart is protected.  You can either imagine this perfect home for your heart and reside there for several breaths, or you can write about a home for your heart.

This is not the time to invite anyone into the home for your heart.  This is a time to simply be safe and imagine who is worthy of being invited in later.  No one can take this home away from your heart.  You are safe.

For the Future:  I would like to make a few meditation videos with Solfeggio frequencies to address anxiety, physical pain, and emotional pain in deeper ways.  I hope that the ideas or images might be of benefit to anyone who tries the exercises.  Here is a meditation video with unknown angels.