Sitting With Anger

If, among many people, you were asked, “Who wants to sit with anger?”, would you raise your hand? Probably not. And that’s completely understandable because anger can feel uncomfortable and is often seen as wrong. But when you allow yourself to sit with it, you start to understand it instead of fighting it.

This practice invites you to be in a safe space with anger, to listen, feel, and respond with intention, instead of reaction.

Transcript

Welcome to this practice to make peace with anger.

My name is Ale Garnica.

Anger is one of those emotions that can feel draining,

And sometimes we judge ourselves just for feeling it.

This meditation is a safe space to sit with this emotion,

Without pushing it away or making it wrong.

With curiosity,

You will start to see that anger has something to tell you.

And when you give it room to be listened,

You will open the door to be at peace with its presence.

Let's begin.

Sit in a comfortable position,

Allowing your body to relax.

Gently close your eyes.

And we're going to take three deep breaths together.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

And one more.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

There,

Like any other emotion,

Is a signal,

An invitation to pay attention.

While it can feel very uncomfortable,

Often what makes it even harder is not the emotion itself,

But the way we think about it.

Those thoughts can lead us to resist anger or to push it down.

Preventing it from serving its purpose.

Notice if there are any judgments present when you think about this emotion.

Maybe thoughts like,

I shouldn't feel this way,

Or it's wrong to feel this way.

It's understandable to have these judgments.

Many of us have been taught that anger is bad or unacceptable.

Observe these thoughts and just let them be.

With a sense of curiosity,

Ask yourself,

What is anger trying to tell me?

Take your time.

If you want to pause the meditation,

Feel free to do so.

Just know that any response or no response at all is perfectly welcome.

Now I have some news for you.

You just sat with anger.

The more you sit with anger,

The more you will understand it.

And the more you understand it,

The more you will notice when it becomes present.

And when you do,

You will not react.

You will act intentionally.

As we begin to close the practice,

Notice if there are any shifts in how you feel.

Allow whatever is present to simply be.

Gently bring movement back into the body.

Wiggling your toes.

Moving your fingers.

Now take a deep breath.

When you are ready,

At your own pace,

Open your eyes.

Thank you for being here.

See you next time.