Driving up Interstate 35 this weekend on my way to Dallas-Fort Worth to lecture about the Moon, I passed at billboard admonishing us to prepare for an eclipse in 2027 over Jerusalem. It made me smile.
Thirteen years seems generous preparation time.
In April 2014, many astrologers and astrology lovers are also in the throes of apocalyptic angst. This month, four planets – Pluto, Uranus, Jupiter and Mars – are engaged in a four-way tug of war, which astrologers call a grand cross. The internet yields predictions of death, destruction, epidemic, political collapse, economic collapse, natural disaster and more. In the face of cosmically induced global catastrophe, what's a being to do?
We humans do seem to enjoy our apocalyptic thinking. In fact, there have been more than 140 predictions of the End of the World since the beginning of the common era. (That’s 1 A.D., for those old-school types.) And yet, apparently the more the world ends, the more we wake up the next morning and think: "Now what?"
Psychological studies suggest that humans have evolved a "negativity" bias. We tend to ruminate on failures, worse-case scenarios, and other difficulties perhaps because the risk of immediate failure (such as being eaten by a tiger), outweighed the necessity of immediate success (such as finding something to eat). Those negative, stressful thoughts also raise the levels of some positive hormones, such as dopamine, which can gear us up to take action.
Difficult things happen, whether the stars are aligned or not. However, allowing catastrophic thinking to paralyze you won't help you cope with whatever comes. Neither will attempting to banish all negative thinking from your mind.
Instead, when you find yourself feeling anxious, try one of these techniques:
- Stay in the present moment. Remind yourself that you are safe right now (which you are if you are reading this.)
- Consider what inner resources you have that can help you cope with a situation. Preparation is often a more empowering sensation than anxiety.
- Go ahead and imagine the worse possible outcome you can think of. Then give equal time to imaging the best possible outcome. Watch how your body responds to both scenarios. Then laugh, and let them both go.
- Notice your thoughts and feelings without judging them. Beating yourself up for what you think or feel only leads to more emotional angst. There's no need to pile on yourself.
- Redirect your anxiety into action. If you find yourself anxious in the daytime, walk away from your desk and take a walk. Or if you awake in the middle of the night, instead of lying still and ruminating, get up and do something. Both physical activity, and checking small things off your do-to-list, can actually increase your body's ability to manage stress.
This month's "heavenly writing" is neither good nor bad, but it is energizing. Could you use that energy in your world to push through and make some lasting changes in your life? If so, what would you create?
