Mandala Your Fear of Flying Away
If you’re reading this, then you’re most probably not comfortable with taking a plane.
But you know that there are fear of flying release exercises helping with overcoming the issue. Maybe you never tried one, or maybe you never succeeded the challenge. I know for sure you would like to have that issue under control. Before going further with the actual practice, the most important thing is for you to understand what fear actually is.
How Fear Works
Fear of flying, like all fears, is man-made. Fabricated by our brain as a result of fears that have been planted in our subconscious by the adults around us when we were growing up. Having all the good intentions, of course, but still …
As babies we know no fear, but we start learning very quickly about it and assimilate it as our truth. Fear is being instilled subconsciously through mimic, tone of voice and body language, through language itself and physically through violent interactions.
When from an early age danger has been presented as a certainty, there’s not much room left for feeling safe and unafraid. There is a big difference from being aware of danger and being certain of it.
The emotional charge that comes with each is what separates us from enjoying or being petrified by an experience.
For example, when children start learning to ride a bike, most parents buy and make the child wear any and all means of protection. They justify their need for safety by outlining in detail all the potential dangers the child is exposed to.
The process of putting on all that gear can be traumatic enough, but if we add the very descriptive manner of presenting the dangers, it’s actually a wonder any kid ends up riding a bike! Unfortunately, lots do end up never doing it. What separates the ones who do?
The feeling of safety once they understand how it works. And the awareness that if enough attention is paid, the experience is fun and, although the dangers are still there, they are unlikely to happen, so fearing them is useless. The ability to focus on the positive is the key to overcoming fear!
Where Does Fear of Flying Come From?
Now let’s think of the fear of flying, a much stronger and debilitating fear due to the fact that there’s no escape. Once boarded and in the air, there’s no getting off until the plane has landed at its destination.
The most common reasons for the fear of flying are actually two bigger fears: the fear of not being in control and the fear of the unknown. All the rest derive from these two and they prompt the biggest fear of them all: the fear of dying.
The most recommended remedy is to understand where these fears are coming from and that taking a flight is just the trigger.
But that’s a process and it takes time and you are booked on a flight, so in need of an immediate solution, ideally a fear of flying exercise that actually works. Well, luckily, we do have a recommendation for you and hopefully it will help you navigate the heights of your emotions in a much smoother way. See what I did there.
Fear of Flying Exercises
1. Listening to classical music or guided meditation
As silly as it may seem, we recommend you listen to a wordless smooth melody, ideally a meditation, but it can also be classical music.
It has been proven scientifically that classical music tones sooth the mind at a cellular level, which in turn releases anxiety from the body. Start listening to this music as early as possible in your journey. Put together a playlist that is long enough to cover the length of your flight.
Should that be a tad too much for your tech skills, choose and play the same tune on repeat. Make sure you have an external battery that is fully charged so that you can recharge your listening device should your journey take a long time. Oh, and make sure you packed your headphones. Might be good to invest in a good pair of sound cancelling ones.
2. Mandala Colouring
Alongside listening to your chosen music, pick a mandala colouring book and pick blue, green, brown and yellow colouring pencils. These colours have a relaxing and calming effect on the brain. Furthermore, the shapes of the mandala drawings are specifically designed to release stress and anxiety and bring the mind to a calm and peaceful state.
By focusing on the colouring book, you become oblivious to the fact that you are on a plane, so your fear is less triggered. Also, by seeing the design transform, your curiosity is sparked, and you are focused on seeing the design finished, which leads to feelings of accomplishment and joy, which lead to a positive overall feeling.
The mind can only focus on one kind of emotion at a time, so by tricking it to focus on a pleasant and positive one, does not have the opportunity to get into the panic mode and trigger your anxieties.
I recommend you start practising these relief strategies on shorter flights. By accomplishing a few fearless flights in a row, your mind starts to replace fear with a more positive emotion, until you become neutral to the actual fact of flying.
One more important mention: if it happens that you do get those moments of fear whilst on board, acknowledge the feeling and tell your mind that you are not afraid, and neither should she. Return your attention to your fear of flying release exercise: colouring mandalas and listening to soothing music.
SparkYourBloom Today and Everyday!
- This article is part of the free SparkYourBloom library. You can read the entire collection of free features in our Editor in Chief’s Pick category.