Breathe in Love/ Breathe out Fear

In one of the Facebook groups I'm in a discussion began about fear. I started this discussion because I am feeling totally fed-up with feeling fear can overtake me at any moment. I'm done with that powerless feeling. I had gotten really overwhelmed about something and reached out for help. As the discussion went on one of the women posted a poem she spontaneously wrote, in that moment, about fear. When I read it I felt the poem was so much more than the words written. It felt like it carried this divine energy, and that the poem, the combination of her words and this energy, had been divinely channeled through her as a gift for her and anyone it reached. 

I wrote the poem down and kept thinking about it. One line in particular really helped me, and I kept repeating it. I took it in and made a shift, a real change, based upon it. When I started to feel overwhelm I asked myself, "Am I breathing out the fear?" I could see then how in scary moments I didn't allow myself to feel I had a choice. Remembering you have a choice is so crucial to reclaiming and maintaining your sense of self power. So I began to breathe the energy of love deep into my stomach, let it surround the fear, and then slowly breathed out the fear.

I'm taking this moment by moment. When that fear comes up I breathe into it. I acknowledge it's there, and then I say, "Thank you but no thank you," and I breathe it out.  I am commanding myself to remember that one of the few things I can control in this world is how I feel. And by remembering that, I am realizing that fear can only overtake me if I let it. 

What a difference this has made! This is such a simple tool and one I can use for the rest of my life. Breathe in love / breathe out fear. Since this was all inspired by this beautiful poem I asked Carol-Anne if I could share it here. She graciously allowed me to, and here it is for you to reflect on.

Before you read it, take a moment to calm and center. Take a deep breath in through your nose, feeling your chest rise. Slowly let it out through your mouth, pulling your stomach in to help push the breath all the way out.

Relax. Let go. This moment is for you.

We all have moments that leave us breathless 
Some happy, some sad and some that are just plain ugly
 
It's how we respond in the moment that matters

Do we exhale our fears

Or bottle them up and hold onto them

It's our reaction that heals or hurts

The next time we are breathless 
If we close our eyes and allow our fears to escape 
We will be able to feel the beauty of our breath

- Carol-Anne Schneider