Personal worrying, now, is partially the result of old cultural beliefs

 

How do you handle worry, especially when it involves someone you care about? We often fall into the habit of worrying as a way to show concern or love, believing it somehow helps or protects the person. Yet this pattern, deeply ingrained in our culture, usually drains our energy, turns us into emotional martyrs, and prolongs the challenges our loved ones are experiencing. Far from helping, it can amplify the very issues we're trying to ease.

💬  Quote of the Week

Your personal worrying, now, is partially the result of old cultural beliefs: you worry about someone you love, and this somehow helps them, and shows them your concern even while it may make you miserable. It also fills you with feelings of being a martyr, and this drains you of your own energy. It is the opposite way, unfortunately ingrained through cultural upbringing—the opposite of the way that should be followed if you want to help a loved one or yourself. For worrying is the prolongation of fearful, negative thoughts directed against another. Here imagination is negatively applied. Turned around however, with even a quarter of that energy used in the opposite direction, you can have a very helpful secondary support for the person in difficulty. You can tell yourself even that the person might after all take the opposite course than the one that you are imagining, and for a moment reverse the direction of your imagination. Done correctly this will automatically begin to relieve you of the pressures of responsibility felt earlier, and telepathically the other person will pick up feelings of support. The means and methods should not be stressed however, for these will automatically follow. That is, in whatever way you can, see yourselves having a productive, enjoyable, creative journey. Ruburt should not wonder, for example, how he is going to manage in the morning, but overall see himself as enjoying himself, and the rest will follow. You do not need to imagine him arising with your flexibility, nor should he at this point, but you should each expect continued improvement, and gradations of ever-growing freedom of mobility. Above all, you are from this point to stop structuring your lives upon the bedrock reality of Ruburt’s condition. For that “condition” is not a permanent thing, but a changing reality, an improving condition. —Seth, The Personal Sessions: Book 2 of The Deleted Material, November 12, 1973

🔬  Integration: Reverse the Flow of Worry

Identify a current worry, perhaps about a loved one's health, choices, or challenges. What problem do you tend to dwell on, and what negative outcomes do you imagine? Notice when the worrying starts. Catch yourself in the moment and gently recognize it as an old cultural habit that no longer serves. Flip the direction of your thoughts. Imagine the person taking a positive path, thriving, or finding their way through. See improvement, freedom, and joy unfolding naturally. Picture continued positive change. Then shift focus to something uplifting in your own present moment. sethcenter.com