A Personal Tao

What is anger?

Anger serves a purpose to release deeper issues, problems and internal conflict. It's a pressure release valve. Since from the body's perspective: it's better to release anger than to turn it around to destroy oneself.

However, anger is not very efficient and it's the last step/tool in a person's automatic release options. Suppressing anger is self destructive, as the negative energy redirects directly into your body. Anger is a path of destruction. Anger's purpose is to destroy problems.

How does one heal anger? The true key is awareness of one's inner self. Understand the root of anger is about releasing problems. It's better to release problems in other more efficient and less damaging manners. So dealing with anger means to develop positive habits to release internal conflict before it reaches the anger state.

I had a teacher who taught me all about anger. My father was a wonderful soul, yet his one weakness was anger. He let anger control and destroy his life. He showed me time and time again, to release in anger, would always result in negative feedback from the rest of the world: which in turn would cause him more harm.

The lesson was very clear:

The key: Resolution.

To lash out in anger is to still lash out at yourself, creating problems to still require healing.

So if you have anger

1. Don't hold it in.
   
2. Don't release it as pain.
   
3. Release it as acceptance.
   

Now acceptance has many levels, since as you practice acceptance, you can release the anger long before it even boils up to become anger.

Long before anger: look towards your feelings, find the internal conflict (or external) and work towards acceptance. Taoism teaches peace is the true warrior's path. The sword while an option is never used with anger or you have lost from the start.

Firstly: Don't remove all aspects of anger out of one's life. Anger does serve some useful purposes. More importantly at times you need some anger when dealing with other people. Occasionally you need to reflect anger with anger. Since anger is used at times as communication. Look at the wolf snarl above, it isn't anger as action, it's a statement of communication to indicate position.

However, having said that, I teach that 80 to 90% of anger is wasteful.

Basic Techniques to resolve anger:

When feeling anger.

Step one:

1. Take a breath, and just feel it.
   
   
2. Look at it, don't try to answer it, just look at it.
   
   
3. Accept it, and then release it as a long exhale.
   
   
4. Imagine it going into the earth as compost.
   
   
5. With your arms sweep it away:
   
   Literally use your arm like a sword to cut through the feelings of anger to say I see the anger: and it is as it was.
   
   

We maintain a lot of energy to hold onto the past: the past is just reflection of what we think happened. In the now... it's gone and only a memory... and memories are no longer truth, but rather guide lines only. It is as it was. Release the issue as most anger is actually a lie that people use to project and keep the past alive in the now. But doing so is actually a form of delusion: 80 to 90% of anger is based upon lies! Why give up your own power to such lies? A Taoist as a result just releases anger without fuss. Simply brushes it away as a lie and anger on its own has no power at all, except any power we give it to make it real.

Letting go of most anger is as simple as releasing a breath!

Simply release the past.

For a Taoist this fact resolves 75% of anger issues. However, when the anger is based in personal truth that must be addressed then we need to do something more.

Step Two:
After looking at the anger: then look closely.

• If it's a problem you can resolve now, then do so... No lingering excuses or apologies. Be decisive, apologize once and only once if needed, make your amends and just move on quickly and simply.
  
  
• If it's something you feel guilt over: then forgive yourself! Be giving to others in repentance for three to five times to put forth kindness in balance of the negative actions. But only a few times. Your life is never an apology, rather in kindness our actions are about now, not filling in the past. As I said before: the past is just that: past gone!
  
  
• If it cannot be resolve right away: then let it go.
  
  Instead resolve other smaller problems and be happy with that. Chip away at the anger in small resolutions/actions that over time will undercut the larger anger issue naturally.