Forest of Curiosity (Reduce Anxiety and Stress)

Q: Why does it matter that nothing can hurt me?

Because anxiety is your body scanning for threat. Putting you somewhere with no threat in it lets the scanning stop, and the calm turns up on its own once it does.

Q: Can I do this anywhere?

Yes, and that is rather the point I make at the end. In a car, in a waiting room, wherever. You do not even have to close your eyes fully.

Q: What if animals or forests do nothing for me?

Then take the tree and the stream and leave the rest. The essential ingredients are somewhere safe, somewhere to sit, and nowhere you have to be afterwards.

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The transcript

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anxiety · stress · forest · nature · visualisation

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Just while you're making yourself comfortable and getting settled in, I just want to tell you about another podcast I

have. It's called Stillness in the Storms Podcast.

And it's a podcast that helps you to get a little inner peace when you need it most and you

probably have it least.

And it's just... Seeing life from a different perspective. And I'm also choosing not to have any

sponsors for either of these podcasts. So if you would like to treat me to a coffee, you can head

over to StevenWebb.uk or if you'd like to download the five simple practices for inner peace, also head

over to StevenWebb.uk. You are awesome. Settle in and enjoy the meditation. I won't disturb you

after the meditation.

This is a guided meditation that will help you to relax and quieten the mind and open your awareness while

using your imagination to enjoy a wonderful forest experience. First of all, we'll settle in. We do

this by just becoming aware of our breath

And First we invite the body to become comfortable

And When you feel a little settled, just let your mind know that it does not have to be active

while we do this meditation. The narrator can have a little time off.

And the simplest way of doing this is to move your awareness from your mind down through your body to

your heart centre and just to become aware of your breath.

I'm breathing in. I'm breathing out.

Breathing in calm. Breathing out relax

Breathing in calm. Breathing

out relax

There's nothing you need to do in this moment. There's

nothing your body needs to do your mind can be Your mind can be simply quiet and be

restful.

You don't have to do anything with your breath. Just notice how your breath automatically becomes deeper, and the

out breath automatically becomes longer and slower.

Just become aware of how much quieter the mind is now,

And your body is naturally relaxing on each out breath

You can imagine a wave coming down from the top of your head, going right down through your body. On

each out breath, just relaxing any pockets of tension and maybe a bit stubborn and staying behind. Just imagine them

fading and dispersing and relaxing and softening.

Imagine that you've just got to the edge of this wonderful forest. A place where you know is full of

charm and wonderful friendly animals. There's nothing in this forest that will harm you.

Anything you come across is friendly and welcoming. As if they have known you all their lives.

This forest is like your home.

As you walk into the forest, you notice it is slightly darker. But the sun rays are poking through the

tops of the trees. You can feel the warmth every now and again land on your face.

It's just the perfect day for a gentle walk in the forest. You

have all the time in the world. You don't have to get back for anything.

As you continue to walk in the forest along the path, there are bushes either side. There's wild flowers everywhere

The trees are really tall and you can see for quite a distance.

Every now and again you can see a little animal popping its head up, looking, being a little curious about

you. And then without fear they carry on doing what they're doing.

You can hear the birds in the top of the trees. You can hear the smaller animals foraging around amongst

the dried twigs. Every now and again you can hear a little twig break

There's nobody around apart from you and the whole of the forest and nature.

As you continue to walk deeper into the forest, you start to feel even more comfortable and more at home

in this wonderful place.

With each breath you have a deeper feeling that this place is where you belong.

You feel safe, secure and free in this wonderful forest.

There's nothing you need to worry about. Just completely opening your heart and letting all the senses be open.

You can smell the distinct smell of the forest, the greenery around.

As you continue to walk, you can hear a little river in the distance.

And as you approach, there's this wonderful tree that's really tall but opens up at the bottom. And it

forms a perfect seat for you to sit on the ground just next to the tree.

So as you get closer, you can hear the water trickling. And you sit down and it's really comfortable. Perfect

shape for you to sit and be still.

There's lots of little animals that start to become closer. And they start to become more curious about you. And

you just sit and watch them.

You notice the butterflies. Just fluttering around on top of the bushes, moving from flowers to

flowers.

The butterflies seem to be interacting with each other, flying close by, then flying away from each other,

then landing on a different part of the bushes.

The butterflies are so delicate and they so calmly fly around. You just watch

them for a while.

It's almost like time stands still here in this beautiful forest. There's nothing to do but just be

curious. Be open to what you can hear, what you can feel and what you can experience.

And from start at the bottom of this wonderful tree, you look around and what can you see

And what can you hear?

And as you continue to open all your awareness to what you can hear and what you can smell in

this whole moment in this forest.

Do you feel at home? Do you feel at peace?

Notice the way that just sat on the base of this tree, listening to the birds, watching the butterflies, gives

you a sense of calm, inner peace.

You don't need to do anything in this moment. Just enjoy.

In a moment we're going to bring this experience to a close. I want you to bring back this peaceful,

calm curiosity back with you

And what it would be like to come from this place of peace and calm the rest of the day.

To see the magic and be curious about everything. It is easier sat in a wonderful mysterious forest. But can

you keep this curiosity right here for you wherever you are?

Now I'm going to come back from five and we'll come back to the physical surroundings. So five, four,

open your eyes gently. Three, stretch out your arms, wiggle your hands to take a deep breath. Let the breath

out and smile. Welcome back. We

can use the imagination to do anything. And that's one of the things about being human is our ability to

use this wonderful imagination. And we can sit, whether we're sat in a car or a doctor surgery or wherever

we're to, we can just gently clear close our eyes a little. We don't have to close them perfectly. And

just recognise that we can transport ourselves away from this area, away from this current anxiety and

stress. We

can go to our peaceful place. Thank

you. I'm Steven Webb. Namaste.

Length	12:26
Subject	Anxiety & Stress
Best time	When you are keyed up and need somewhere safe to go
Position	Sitting or lying down
Style	Guided imagery, a forest where nothing will hurt you. Music underneath

Forest of Curiosity (Reduce Anxiety and Stress)

Who this is for

What happens in this meditation

How to get the most from it

Questions people ask

The transcript

One calm email.
Every Sunday.

Forest of Curiosity (Reduce Anxiety and Stress)

Who this is for

What happens in this meditation

How to get the most from it

Questions people ask

The transcript

More quiet minutes

One calm email. Every Sunday.

One calm email.
Every Sunday.