How We Handle Anger Matters – Self Help Portal

An
old Japanese tale goes, a belligerent samurai once challenged a Zen master to
explain the concept of heaven and hell. But the monk replied with scorn,
“you’re nothing but a lout…I can’t waste my time with the likes of you!” His
very honor attacked, the samurai flew into a rage and pulling his sword from
it’s scabbard, yelled, “I could kill you for your impertinence!” That, the monk
calmly replied, is hell. Startled at seeing the truth in what
the master pointed out about the fury that had him in it’s grip, the samurai
calmed down, sheathed his sword, and bowed, thanking the monk for his insight.
And that, said the monk…is heaven.

Anger is a trap. When we allow
ourselves to dissolve into fury, we do damage to our soul and spirit. Anger can
come upon you suddenly, like a flash. And you are engaged because it is a trap.
It is a trap of the sinister force, the forces of darkness and it is a trap we
lay for ourselves because we don’t deliver ourselves from the
dweller-on-the-threshold.
(The
dweller-on-the-threshold is a term used to designate the anti-self, the
not-self, the anti-thesis of the real self.)

But the will and the determination,
the surrender and the consciousness of wrestling with ourselves to get rid of
those points of darkness, that’s something only we can do. Taming the wild
horse of anger. We all remember times when we were angry or completely lost our
temper.
At other
times perhaps we were seething with anger, altho’ we didn’t express it
directly. Some of us
believe our anger is a good thing, and furthermore, you may feel better after
you’ve yelled it out. Frankly it gives me a headache after I exert anger.

Perhaps you see
nothing wrong with venting anger. Yet when we understand how energy works, we
realize that angry vibes(made even more powerful when we yell them) are
explosive energy. It’s an emotional bomb that disrupts clear reasoning. And
the aftermath of negative vibes doesn’t just go away. It keeps us in a grumbly
mood, pollutes the atmosphere and impacts people around us.

Most people
don’t like those vibes one bit. They usually forget the point we were trying to
make midst the fury. Think of one of those times in your life when you were
seething with anger. Then ask yourself, “What was I angry about? How did I
express it?” Now remember a time that you wouldn’t say you were angry but you
felt irritated, disgusted, annoyed or frustrated. When you look deeper, you’ll
discover that those feelings are simply variations of the theme, they all track
back to anger.

Anger, even when it’s just simmering
or seething within us, actually creates emotional pollution in ourselves, our
relationships, our home, our neighborhood, our work place and the planet. What
can we do about it? Checking a runaway temper is like taming a wild horse. If
you have ever ridden high-spirited horses, you know not to let them just run,
especially if they are jumpy or upset. You use the reins to guide them, a soft
toned voice to calm them. We can do the same with anger.

We can bridle the beast. If we have
our mouths closed, we will not misuse our power verbally. If we refuse to
strike out with our fists or feet, whatever, we will not misuse our power
physically. Even when our anger isn’t a reaction to people but what may be going
on in daily life around us. Such as, terrorism, pollution from chemicals,
trapping of dolphins in a tuna catch, the conditions of the world around us etc.
All the causes we feel passionate about.

The principle of how we handle our
feelings is exactly the same. Whenever we are angry, we need to find a
“constructive” way to approach the situation that is incensing us. We need to
seek ways to take constructive action in our own sphere of influence.
Meditation i.e. Yoga, getting out and going for a pep-step walk or any form
of exercise, can do wonders for anger (and stress). Anger is normal, every body
has it, no one is exempt.

But how we handle that powerful
energy is our choice. We always
have a choice. If we adjust
our perspective, we can take dominion over our passions. When we bridle our temper, we begin
to tame that wild horse of anger within us. Now we can rein him in, turn him
around and head off that display of human volatility.

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