wisdom

Rest in Your Rage & Grow from Your Anger.

I have a deep, complex relationship with anger, as I’m sure many of you can relate to.

I’ve always looked at it as a burden, especially when it would express itself outward in the form of rage. But anger can also generate energy to initiate change. Our bodies produce what’s necessary to help us confront our challenges and speak our truth.

Hormones such as epinephrine and norepinephrine, the very same ones that are released when we are under any kind of stress — from being chased by a cougar to perpetually stewing about all the emails you need to reply to — cause our bodies’ processes to elevate, and that can often create an uncontrollable surge of explosive yang energy, which is what I consider rage to be.

You can release anger in healthier ways — like through simple, mindful acts such as deep breathing, writing, screaming into the forest or to the ocean (trust me, they are always willing to take on the stuff that weighs you down… take one walk in the woods and you’ll come out of there a believer!), hitting a punching bag, performing a release ceremony (like burning letters and old wounds), etc.

Through these actions of mindful reassertion of our own energy, we allow a birthing of awareness to take place. This, in turn, will prompt us into looking at making more balanced life choices and ultimately will help us assert ourselves in more positive ways that focus more on the greater good rather than what serves only the self.

Here’s a beautiful challenge. Think about the last few times you lashed out in rage. Whether it was in the privacy of your own mind, or whether it was expressed outward toward another (which more times than not ends up being those who are dearest to us… like our friends, partners, parents or siblings).

Think about that experience in that particular moment. What physical manifestations arose? Reflect on the heat that you felt engulf your entire face and head as soon as you were triggered.

Close your eyes and feel the sensation of that indistinguishable surge of forceful, potent, masculine energy that runs up from your base all the way to the top of your crown. The tightened chest, the wild eyes, whites exposed. Think about the lifetimes of patterns and lessons that led to this moment.

Think about the look in the eyes of those who are on the receiving end. Stop to ponder how this sudden explosion happening inside of you might affect them. Listen to the sounds that come out of your mouth, and how those who are obligated to listen might hear them.

Words said in rage definitely appear to cut the deepest. And they are excruciatingly difficult to forget, and they can’t be taken back. So know when to choose silence. You must recognize, understand and appreciate the weight of your words.

And above all else…don’t forget to contemplate on all the choices you have in that very moment. All the things you can do with that energy.

In this reflection of self, think about how you can transmute that power into something proactive. How you can take that huge potential and turn it into new ideas, new perspectives, learned lessons, creative explosions, compassion for self and others, and whole new levels of empathy.

Use anger as a tool for growth. Sit with it when it creeps up on you. Be with it. But remember to also love it. Be gentle with that part of you. Because anger only breeds more anger. In loving those darkest parts that reside within your own being, you can in turn more effectively love those very same parts that exist in others.

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CaseyParsonsDr. Casey Parsons appreciates an integrative approach to health and healing. Holding degrees in Biochemistry and Traditional Chinese Medicine, as well as having personal relevant life experiences, she deeply understands and appreciates the need for every form of healing to exist, cohesively and without judgment. You could connect with her via Facebook or e-mail.

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Jeet

Jeet

In his spare time, which is sparing at best, Jeet loves engaging his geeky side to the fullest extent -- and obsessively engages in solving puzzles of any and every kind, primarily crosswords and sudoku. A lifelong and certifiable black sheep (irrespective of skin color, since that would have qualified him as a 'brown sheep'), Jeet feels uncomfortable with certainty and strives for a meditation-driven comfort in uncertainty. He tries to spread positive awareness through Facebook, random acts of kindness, and recruiting of fellow dreamers -- a la John Lennon -- and Rebelles to be his kindred souls in this short journey called Life.
Jeet