Working Wisely With Feeling Furious: Honoring The Wild Heart

This is a meditation on working wisely when anger arises within us. For so many of us, anger has been taboo; it has been something we have stuffed down and locked away-and in that process, we have denied ourselves and overlooked what matters most in our own lives.

In this session, we will touch into that fire within us- in using it to share ourselves- to build bridges to others, to support wise ways in relationships, and in honouring our own hearts. It will support those who have historically had a hard time owning their needs- and those who have judged themselves for having strong feelings.

We will come to see anger as information- as a wise guide who helps us feel more fully, and which ultimately lets us live more of our love.

Transcript

Welcome.

This session offers good guidance on working wisely when anger arises within us.

For so many of us,

Anger has been a taboo.

It's been something we need to stuff down and lock away.

And in that process,

We've denied ourselves and overlooked what matters in our own lives.

In this session,

We're going to touch into that fire and use it to share ourselves,

To build bridges to others,

And to support wise ways in relationships.

We're going to use our anger as information to honor our own hearts.

This session starts with a short talk exploring anger,

Exploring feeling furious,

And then we'll move into a little bit of sitting practice where we can touch into the feelings within us,

Work with them in good ways,

And use them to back ourselves up and to bring more love into our own lives and into the lives of those around us.

We'll be warmed by this fire.

We will come home to the heart.

We will learn to work wisely with the hard feelings within us.

So get comfortable.

Sit and settle.

If you're listening to this session,

It's likely you already have some agitation.

You're a little riled up about something.

So have a wiggle.

Move your shoulders.

Blink your eyes open.

Drop your shoulder blades back.

Sit up tall.

Feel the strength in your body and the potency intrinsic in being alive.

When you've let the energy that is moving through you move,

Then see if you can come to a seated position where you can settle and rest a little.

Our inner good guidance comes to us in weird ways.

Sometimes what we need to do to move forward in our life isn't a process of gentle letting go.

It is a roar and a righteous raging that turns us towards life,

Towards love,

Towards the heart.

Sometimes living well requires us to say crystal clear,

I cannot tolerate this any longer.

I have given too much for too long.

And I need more for myself,

For my soul,

For all of us.

Sometimes the next wise way through is an uprising,

A willingness to wait in the unknown,

Because something inside us deeply knows that we cannot go on as we have been.

There is a voice of wisdom within us when we're feeling furious.

It knows we have to have a hard conversation.

It knows we have to address something that has been pushed down.

Something that has been tied too tight.

Something that is limiting us when we don't let ourselves live and feel fully.

Many of us have stuffed down our anger,

Our rage and our frustration.

We've surrendered and done our duty.

At times that is rightful.

We have to care for others,

Show up in capitalism,

Give,

And it is so rightful to be generous,

To think of others,

To contribute.

And yet at times we know that there is more waiting for us.

And that the rightful way is now to release all the longing that lives within us.

To step into the daring,

To move towards what matters,

To let ourselves burn bright and begin anew.

So as you sit now,

Feel into the anger,

Feel into the frustration,

Feel into the righteous rage and welcome it some.

Touch into it bit by bit.

Often anger comes as a strong surge,

An upwelling within us that we do not know where it comes from.

Because from naught to a hundred,

Just like that,

And that can be a hard thing to drive.

But as you sit,

Invite anger in as a flame of truth,

As something that burns away the BS,

As something that honors our heart.

Invite anger in to be a thing that we sit quietly with,

Not as something that we vomit all over the universe and rage and make huge drama out of.

It's simply a feeling.

It comes with information.

And from that we get to act in wise ways.

Sometimes we'll need to forgive ourselves for ignoring our anger.

Many of us have been taught to dismiss it,

To push it down,

To push it away.

Many of us have been taught to push ourselves aside,

To caretake others,

To satisfy the clarion call of capitalism,

To adhere to deadlines that suck away the life force from our own lifelines.

Yet there are times to reinstate anger as good information.

Anger is guidance.

It tells us where we need to act and what we need to do to course correct.

I want to be crystal clear here.

I'm not talking about accessing our anger as permission to go about screaming at others,

Smashing things,

Or being lost in reckless rage.

I'm not talking about breaking windows or punching walls.

There may be times we want to move it through by dancing or hitting pillows,

But we need to do that in ways that is safe for us and safe for others.

To learn to wield the fire within our hearts well.

What I am talking about is letting down the self-hatred and self-judgment that we may have for having a feeling.

It doesn't make us wrong.

It simply tells us where something in our lives has been overstepped.

Anger has its own immense intelligence.

It has integrity and tells us about what is and isn't right for us.

Your rage has been reliable,

Rational,

And relational all the way along.

It's just that we've never been taught how to drive it.

Call a moment when anger arises.

Perhaps that somatic surge of sensation can feel overwhelming.

And as you sit here,

Notice you can observe that feeling.

When you're not right in it,

You can let anger arise.

You can touch in quietly.

Yeah,

I felt kind of furious about that.

No,

That didn't sit right.

Sit with a slow burn of truth in your heart.

There is no need to act on it yet.

But for the next few minutes,

We'll just sit quietly and tell ourselves the truth about what isn't feeling right in our lives.

Touch gently into what we're feeling angry about.

Knowing that sometimes anger and sadness are very close.

We can feel furious because we wish it hadn't gone that way,

Because we wish it had gone differently.

So let's sit and practice and see what anger has to say today.

As we practice touching into our feelings,

We get to learn to work with our nervous system.

It's called titration,

Where we touch into a feeling for a little bit and then go away from it and touch in again,

Let a little bit more in and then do something else.

We're looking to develop compassion and curiosity about our own anger.

It's simply a sign that we need to take clear and kind action in service to life and in service to our own lives without harming those around us.

So as you sit today,

See what your anger is telling you.

It's often a call to action.

Our next rightful response is to consider what we do next with the information it delivers.

Wielding our fire has to be done well.

In these times,

We don't need to burn down more bridges.

We can't force anyone in our lives to act differently.

We can simply share our inner world,

Invite them into how it is for us and act in safe and respectful ways.

We can let our anger be a creative act.

We can turn our anger into love.

Sometimes our anger is going to tell us we need to have a card conversation.

And that doesn't look like,

You,

You,

You,

You,

You,

You.

It looks like,

Ow.

It kind of hurt when that happened and I made it mean this.

And I just wanted to tell you,

I feel vulnerable at how that went.

When we touch into our anger,

We don't get to blame others for it.

Although maybe we have been plenty wronged.

We do get to work with it,

To own it as ours and to take responsibility for it.

We get to turn our anger into a holy fire that burns away what isn't right and heats the heart that brings light,

That brings love,

That brings more aliveness,

More passion to our lives.

We can let anger be a thing that purifies and protects.

So let's spend some time thanking our anger for the messages it brings us,

For the hard information it is calling forth in our lives.

Sense into your body,

You might feel a little hotter.

Anger as a somatic sensation is something that rises up.

Depression is something that takes us down.

Anger brings energy up in the body,

Up from the belly,

Up towards the mind.

See if you can just sit with this life force energy in you.

You don't need to shed it out of you to shake it all over the place.

Own it,

It's yours.

Reclaim your life energy,

Your rage,

Your fury,

Relish it as yours.

Use it to name and claim your power and your choice over your hours and your days.

Use your power to build bridges,

To create connections that care,

To speak up and speak out.

I know,

This is easier said than done.

But trust that by feeling the fire within you,

You can gradually learn to wield it well.

Trust that by daring to touch into your anger today,

You are titrating it,

You are making it a friend.

You are learning to use it in service of your life and all life.

Let your anger tell you that you're alive,

That you live,

That you love,

That you care.

Anger tells us when a boundary has been crossed.

It says,

Ouch,

That shouldn't have happened,

Or I wish that had gone differently.

Anger tells us that we care,

That we have power and passion and potency.

It tells us that our feelings matter,

That our heart hurts,

That we need to act in wise ways.

So as we finish,

Thank your anger.

Thank you,

Anger,

For teaching me that I matter too,

That I stand for something in life.

That I can reclaim my fire in service of life.

Feel your heart a little more lit up now,

A little more passionate,

A little more present,

A little more bold.

Thank your heart for learning to feel in wise ways.

So many of us have not been taught that.

And as we practice,

We get better at being human.

We get to be kinder humans.

We get to be more fully alive humans.

So as you walk through the rest of this day,

Let your anger walk with you.

Not as a force of destruction,

But as a force of creation and care.

As a heart that lives fully and cares deeply.

Let your anger light the way,

Light truth.

Be a call for connection.

Place your hands on your heart.

Know that your blood is still pumping,

Your passion is still flowing.

That you are here and that your life matters.

Reclaim your passion,

Your anger,

Your fury,

Your willingness to have it go well.

Let your anger light up your love,

Light up your life.

Make you stand for something,

Stand with someone.

Let your anger be a call for love,

A call from love.

Thank you for daring to touch in and looking to learn to work with your anger in wise ways.

This is a huge topic and I respect you deeply for touching into it.

Thank you for being here and human with me.

Thank you for daring to be fully alive.

Drop a comment,

Let me know how you're getting on,

How all this is moving through.

And I wish you a day of passion and potency,

Of care and connection and of feeling fully alive.

Reviews

This is one of the most brilliant meditations I have listened to on Insight Timer. Thank you Tess!

Looking at anger as a feeling changed something within me. I am the kind of person who has bottled up my emotions for a while now and these kinds of meditations are giving me a chance to relearn in a new way. I am ever so grateful to these guided meditations to help me in my spiritual journey. 🙏🏻🦋😊