Let us, then, free from anxiety, live happily among those who are careworn; among the anxious, let us dwell free from anxiety. Let us, then, live happily, we who possess nothing. (Verses 199-200)

The fool worries himself thinking—"Sons have I; wealth have I." He himself does not belong to himself. How then sons? How then wealth? (Verse 62)

—The Dhammapada

Patients are often advised by their physicians to "avoid hurry, worry and curry." The message is plain: besides "curry"—spicy food—"hurry," haste or impatience, and "worry" or anxiety are the root cause of most diseases.

Modern man lives in a state of perpetual anxiety. It has become an inseparable part of our existence. We are anxious about trivialities: "Will I miss my 9:20 train? Will I reach the office in time?" Very often we are anxious about things that have not yet happened. Why cross the bridge even before we have arrived at it? We worry about the circumstances which are beyond our control. Having consulted the doctor, the mother worries no end about her sick child. Having prepared for the examination, the student worries: "Will I pass the examination or not?" In the article, "Spiritual Progress," H.P.B. advises:

Evil is often the result of over-anxiety, and men are always trying to do too much, they are not content to leave well alone, to do always just what the occasion demands and no more; they exaggerate every action and so produce karma to be worked out in a future birth....One of the subtlest forms of this evil is the hope and desire of reward. Many there are who, albeit often unconsciously, are yet spoiling their efforts by entertaining this idea of reward, and allowing it to become an active factor in their lives and so leaving the door open to anxiety, doubt, fear, despondency—failure.

When the surgeon performs an operation, he naturally wishes for the recovery of his patient. But, if he were anxious as to the success of the operation, he would only waste a lot of his emotional and psychic energy—unable to put in his best efforts. Krishna advises Arjuna in the Gita to "make...gain and loss, victory and defeat, the same to thee." We must seek the thing for its own sake. Some of the best works are done when we do not do them self-consciously. Anxiety shows our lack of faith in the law of Karma. We are required to do the best that the circumstances demand and leave the results to the law. Can we change the course of the law by being anxious? Neither our entreaties nor our anxieties can move the Karmic balance by even a hair's breadth. Some people ask: "Is it not natural to feel anxious, at least, regarding certain matters?" Mr. Judge's advice in Letters That Have Helped Me is very useful:

Don't be anxious. Don't get "maddened." Because in the fact that you are "Maddened" (of course in the metaphoric sense) is found the proof that you are anxious. In a worldly sense it is perhaps well to be anxious about a highly important matter, but in occultism it is different, for the Law takes no account of our projects and objects, or our desire to be ahead or behind. So, if we are anxious, we raise a barrier against progress, by perturbation, and straining harshly.

Mr. Judge observes that our anxiety works as an occult obstacle, hindering the course of action under Karma. His advice is to trust the law and accept the results—favourable or unfavourable. Thus:

There is never any need to worry. The good law looks out for all things, and all we have to do is our duty as it comes along from day to day. Nothing is gained by worrying...by being anxious as to things, you put an occult obstacle in the way of what you want done. It is better to acquire a lot of what is called carelessness by the world, but is in reality a calm reliance on the law, and a doing of one's own duty, satisfied that the results must be right, no matter what they may be. Think that over, and try to make it a part of your inner mind that it is no use to worry; that things will be all right, no matter what comes, and that you are resolved to do what you see before you, and trust to Karma for all the rest.

The "occult obstacle" might mean the barrier caused by our own thoughts. A mother, who worries about her sick child saying to herself, "What if my child does not recover?" may find that her thoughts have not only hindered the recovery but that the child actually does not recover. As Mr. Crosbie explains in The Friendly Philosopher; when a student wavers in his spiritual discipline, he decides that next time he will not waver so much. That shows that he expects to waver a little. The position to be assumed is: "I will not waver at all." Mr. Crosbie suggests: "It is better to expect to hit the mark, rather than expecting to miss it. There is a great difference in the psychological position and the quality of energy aroused." This equally applies to anxiety. When we are anxious as to the result, we are not able to put in our best efforts.

When we are anxious we seem to assert, in a subtle way, our own will. We want things to happen as we desired. Mr. Judge says, "By anxiety we exert the constrictive power of egoism, which densifies and perturbs our magnetic sphere, rendering us less permeable to the efflux from above" (Letters That Have Helped Me, p. 12). In other words, by being anxious, we mar our chances of receiving help from our divine nature. Instead, if we learn to accept that whatever happens is for the best, we will never have any need to be anxious. Sometimes, apparently adverse looking circumstances or happenings work to our advantage or at least prove educative for the soul.

Patience and anxiety often go hand in hand. We are anxious, because we expect instant results. Some of us get anxious as to our progress in spiritual life. A good gardener does not dig out the plant by the roots to see how it is growing. We cannot force the growth of the soul-plant. It may not be large or strong enough to bear fruit when we wish it to, but some day it will, if only we are not anxious and nurture it well. "What is to learn, is to be content, or, rather, resigned to ourselves and our limitations even while striving to get above them....We cannot all at once live up to these high ideals as some others live up to theirs." (Ibid., p. 162)

Often, we are saved a lot of unnecessary emotional torture if we learn to be flexible. For instance, we may make the plan to clean the city, but we must be prepared that it may or may not work out. Mr. Judge advises a student:

Why not take up an easy and fluidic position in the matter? An occultist is never fixed on any particular mortal plan....So decide nothing hastily. Wait; make no set plan. Wait for the hour to make the decision, for if you decide in advance of the time you tend to raise a confusion. So have patience, courage, hope, faith and cheerfulness. (Ibid., p. 124)

Instead of feeling anxious about the troubles to come, we can utilize the time in preparing ourselves to deal with the future calamities—should they arise. Mr. Crosbie writes:

I used to look calmly and dispassionately at the very worst picture I could conjure up as happening to myself, and found it helpful in getting rid of "fear of consequences." I mentally took account of the very worst, saw myself in it with all that it entailed, went through it in all its parts leaving myself alone, dishonoured, stripped of everything. Those very things have happened to me, but I knew them, had outlived them, and went on undismayed. (The Friendly Philosopher, p. 85)

Lastly, we can succeed in overcoming anxiety by developing detachment. The more attached we are, to things and people, the more we are likely to feel anxious about them. After all, we seldom worry if our neighbour's child neglects his studies! We must cultivate "detached attachment." True detachment helps us develop concern. Peace Pilgrim suggests that relinquishment of negative feelings is essential for acquiring peace. She writes: "One negative feeling which the nicest people still experience...is worry. Worry is not concern which would motivate you to do everything possible in a situation. Worry is a useless mulling over of things we cannot change." She mentions that instead of agonizing over the past or being apprehensive over the future, we must learn to live in the present.