Practicing mindfulness with fear and anxiety is to bring nonjudgmental awareness to our experience in the present moment. That means paying attention to our fear and anxiety in a particular way, consistent with the mindfulness technique.
We typically do two things with thoughts and emotions, or anything that arises in our consciousness: Hold on to it, or push it away.
With mindfulness, we do something different:
- We don’t grasp onto thoughts/emotions, and we don’t push them away/suppress them
- We simply observe them, without judgment, and let them go
Easier said than done! That’s why it takes practice and training. With regular practice, our “mindfulness muscle” gets stronger and stronger, and we’re more able to sit with uncomfortable feelings/thoughts, let them go, and return to the breath.
Mindfulness FAQ 