I’ve long been interested in spiritual growth. Teachers like David Hawkins, Alan Watts, Eckhart Tolle, and Sadhguru have shaped how I view the mind, emotion, and our connection to awareness. One truth they all express in different ways is this:
Anxiety cannot exist in the Now.
Why? Because when you are fully present in the moment, you often find that right now, everything is actually okay.
Life Is Good in the Moment
The more we practice being present, the less anxiety we experience. That’s because anxiety lives in the future — in the imagination — not in the moment.
When you strip away the “what ifs,” the majority of our current moments are manageable or even peaceful. Very rarely are we in actual danger right now.
Think back to a day when anxiety took hold.
How much of that time was spent worrying about something that never happened?
Often, clients will say: “Nothing bad actually happened. I just spent the whole day anticipating disaster.”
Anxiety Is a Conflict With Reality
Anxiety stems from a conflict in the psyche — a resistance to what is. You’re trying to control something that cannot be controlled: the future.
But the present is always available.
Awareness: The Antidote to Anxiety
Let’s make this real. Try this:
- Feel your body touching the chair.
- Notice how your clothes rest on your skin.
- Feel the temperature in the room.
- Notice your breath.
This is awareness.
It requires no thought.
It is not judgmental.
It simply is.
If you feel an itch, your conscious mind may want to scratch it. But awareness just notices. It observes without resistance.
This shift from thought to awareness opens up a space — a space in which anxiety begins to dissolve.
A Practical Example: Driving Anxiety
Let’s say you have to drive later today. You’re sitting on the sofa and your mind starts racing:
What if I panic? What if I can’t handle it? What if I get stuck?
You now have a choice:
- Let your mind dwell in the imagined future, creating hours of unnecessary anxiety.
- Return to the present — experience sitting on the sofa, watching the moment unfold.
Ask yourself: “Do I have a problem right now?”
The answer is almost always no.
This is how we reclaim the Now — by refusing to leave it for the illusion of control over what’s next.
But What If the Present Moment Feels Bad?
Sometimes the Now is uncomfortable — you might feel anxious, upset, or even panicked. Can we stay with that, too?
The answer isn’t to change how you feel — that only increases resistance.
Instead, ask:
“Can I accept what I’m feeling right now?”
If your answer is, “No, I hate how I feel,” then try this:
“Can I accept that I can’t accept it right now?”
Paradoxically, even this small shift creates space. It allows light into the darkness and begins to break the cycle of resistance.
The Universe, the Moment, and Acceptance
Every moment is here because the universe unfolded that way. We don’t control the Now. We only control how we respond to it.
If you’re anxious about a person, a situation, or a feeling, remember:
You’re not reacting to the situation. You’re reacting to your thoughts about it.
That insight gives you power. You can choose to accept, or you can choose to change. But what you must not do is complain.
The Three Choices We Always Have
- Complain – This is mental resistance. It adds negativity without changing anything. Most complaints are internal, making them even more pointless. They simply keep the suffering alive.
- Accept – Acceptance means allowing the moment to be as it is. It may take courage, especially when the moment is painful, but it’s often the most powerful route forward.
- Change – If you cannot accept something, consider whether you can change it. But do so mindfully, not from a place of resistance.
Example:
I had a friend who was deeply depressed. I tried to support him, but he began projecting his pain into my life. I didn’t want to cut him off, but I needed boundaries.
So I stopped letting him come to my house unannounced and limited the time I spent with him. That shift allowed me to maintain the friendship and protect my own energy.
Conclusion
Complain less.
Accept more.
Change what you must.
The next time anxiety rises, stop and ask:
“Am I in the present moment?”
If you’re caught in thoughts of the future, gently bring yourself back. If you’re struggling with the moment itself, ask if you can accept it — or at least accept your current inability to do so.
Either way, you are stepping out of resistance and into awareness — where anxiety can’t survive for long.e, observe them and allow time for them to float away.
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Tim Grover - Bedfordshire Therapies 