Anxiety Escape

When people first try for meditation, such as  practicing a Twelve Step Program of Recovery from some addiction, or people think meditation is a way to feel better, the initial energy for doing this is to escape some feeling such as fear or anxiety.  For Recovery people by the time they get to the Eleventh Step which is mediation, they are often slackening off.  They feel better from working the first ten steps and go to less meetings, are less available to newly recovering people, are of less service, and so the fear issue begins to come up again.  Meditation makes them feel less fearful, but it is momentary.  Daily practice plus the other steps and meetings, service are all necessary to keep fear away.  For people wanting to feel better it is much the same thing.  They need to keep at it or the good feelings will dissipate readily.  The hardest part of mediation for these people is when they practice, but do not feel better or less fearful.  It happens.  Don't give up.  It is normal.  We are never in control of the spiritual world.  Control is one of the things we will let go of if we are going to continue with meditation.  Addicts love control almost as much as the stuff they used to ingest.  I am sitting on a plane going nowhere due to fog in LA.  Been on for two hours.  Time for more mediation.  Hope I get to LA someday!