A Dozen Steps

If You Can Worry You Can Meditate

by Anne W. on December 21st, 2005

Rev. Guy Williams, Minister of the Fallbrook Church of Religious Science and both friend and teacher of mine points out that if you know how to worry, you already know how to meditate! I love this approach. It took me years and years to develop a regular meditation practice, in spite of Step 11. (Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood God*, praying only for knowledge of God’s will for us and the power to carry that out.)

If I’d understood how similar worry and meditation really are, I would have had an easier time of it.

Meditation is really about focusing or concentrating – so is worrying! How many times have I spent hours thinking about some problem or another… I was focused on the problem. Now I know that I can take that same energy and focus it on God’s will… I can hold the idea of what God wants for me in mind in much the same way I hold worrying.

Of course, there’s a huge difference. When I’m worrying, I’m trying to figure it out all by myself. When I meditate, I’m opening up or letting go and letting God or Source inform me. Worry keeps me stirred up; meditating tends to calm me and put me in mind that the God of my understanding is really in control.

Next time you catch yourself worrying, open up to God’s idea of whatever and see what happens. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

With love, blessings, and gratitude,

*Yes, I use gender neutral terms for God.

You may want to read an article I wrote on Spiritual Practice.

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