“In a mad dash to react away from the perils of anger, we went too far and lost a key piece of the emotional integrity and expression cycle. Anger is a legitimate emotion that signals that a person has been violated. By discouraging and shaming it, we actually disrupt natural emotional rhythms and encourage inauthentic ways of being. In addition, repressing the emotions simply keeps the anger alive. The negativity goes underground, manifesting in a myriad of destructive forms, including passive aggressiveness, self-destructive behaviour and all manner of disease. It is one thing to discourage the inappropriate expression of anger, but let us not throw the whole process out with the bath water. There is a place for healthy anger in an evolving world.” Jeff Brown
Seen this status up-date today from Jeff Brown the author of Soul Shaping, A Journey of Self-Discovery and creator of Soul Shaping University. I started to write this as an accompanying comment while sharing Jeff’s post on my Facebook page An Awakened Life. Soon, I realised it was a little longer than your average post on Facebook and decided to add it as a blog instead! Jeff Brown entered my awareness a few months ago after seeing some posts on a friend’s page and his approach of Ascending with Both Feet on the Ground instantly resonated with me.
I agree with what Jeff is saying here and felt it might be useful to expand on it a little further. It is important to make sure that anger from the past has been released, or we react unconsciously based on past accumulated hurtsresulting in over re-action which is usually pretty messy for everyone involved. As long as the anger remains within you the universe will continue to deliver more for you to be angry about until you learn what you need to grow and evolve from your anger. There are many effective techniques that can help you easily and effortlessly release a build up of past emotions including Time Line Therapy, EFT, NLP, Hypnotherapy to name a few.
Anger is a signal which is drawing your attention to something. It signifies a disconnection from source and as long as we stay in the anger state it’s difficult to see clearly what is really going on. Focus on something else entirely for a while, something that will make you feel good like meditation, dancing, reading, whatever it is you love to do. Be mindful of staying completely in the moment, not replaying the event over and over in your head, reliving and re-experiencing the pain. When you feel better be honest with yourself, if you felt angry about something acknowledge it, decide what needs to change in order for you to let it go, whether it be something in your environment, something in your beliefs or something in your behaviour.
You only need to look at a two-year old in the midst of a temper tantrum to see that we were born with a full range of emotions. Nature does not make mistakes so anger must have a purpose. I believe and think I might have read something a while ago by Lynne McTaggart that Anger is an innate response to who we are, being violated or mis-treated. This alone gives us reason to stop and pause, as many of the beliefs we have about who we are come from the conditioning we received since the moment we were born, or maybe even before that.
Jesus displayed anger on several occasions when faced with injustice. It was anger that motivated Rosa Parks to make the decision to sit at the front of that bus, a decision that changed the world. It was anger at injustice that led Martin Luther King to become one of the most inspiring men of the last one hundred years. MLK participated in the enormous civil rights march on Washington in August 1963, and delivered his famous ‘I have a dream’ speech, predicting a day when the promise of freedom and equality for all would become a reality in America. In 1964 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and he led a campaign to register blacks to vote in 1965 the same year the US Congress passed the Voting Rights Act outlawing the discriminatory practices that had barred blacks from voting in the south.
Anger can be a powerful force for transformation when used wisely, unfortunately it isn’t always used wisely and is more commonly associated with being a destructive force in the world today. As many people hold on to anger long after the perceived injustice has taken place it creates as Jeff mentions, a dis-ease state within the body which is reflected in the world around them.
How do we use Anger wisely?
Acknowledge it - Be authentic with yourself and if it was anger you felt, accept it. Resistance is futile and leads to more pain and suffering in the long run. We all have a shadow side and there will be times when Anger has served you well I’m sure. Problem is as long as we are shamed by it, feel guilty about it or are even angry at our self for it; it continues to hold power over us and we stay trapped in the pattern of re-action.
Examine it - Look at it from every angle, there’s more going on here than you think! This is a valuable opportunity for spiritual growth and your evolution as a human BE-ing. What beliefs do you have that are creating the response you feel? What behaviour did you bring to the situation? Is the environment in alignment with who you know in your heart you are? How would everything change if you chose to see it through LOVING eyes and not ANGRY eyes?
Learn from it - What personal growth opportunities does it offer you? Have you been speaking your truth? How could you create something more in alignment with who you are? Do you know who you really are? Can you ever really be hurt when the whole universe is set up for your personal growth and expansion? Is everything you believed to be true about the world really true or is it a reflection of your core beliefs? Do these beliefs still serve you?
And,, finally…
Let it go - Anger wasn’t designed to be carried with us on our journeys, again a two-year old demonstrates this beautifully. One minute they are yelling, shouting and screaming the next they are beaming from ear to ear. Anger makes for a heavy load and we all know what a heavy load being carried for too long does to the body. Anger suppresses the immune system which leaves us open to illness and the adrenalin it releases leaves the cells of the body in a state of dis-ease. We’ve all felt it, haven’t we? Even a short burst of anger can leave you feeling drained and emotional. So the only sensible thing to do is to let it go and Let Love Flow.
Love & Hugs,
Rashelle
