Experiencing Anger To Release It

Victor Frankl reminds us that, "Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lie our growth and freedom." Awareness is key to cultivating that space for choice. So in today’s meditation, we will relive an angry experience and see what comes up.

Transcript

Can I ask you to please settle down in a comfortable position as always and close your eyes.

If you feel lying down is better then you can lie down.

And just be aware of the breath as you breathe in and breathe out.

Shift yourself,

Make yourself comfortable.

Everything is okay.

Nothing else matters right now.

You have nowhere to go and a thing to do.

Just simply be here and listen to my voice.

Do not worry or become agitated if you don't hear everything I say.

It is very natural to flow in and out of conscious hearing.

The deepest part of you,

Your core self is always listening.

Whatever is your experience today,

This practice will work because there is no wrong way of doing it.

So just simply listen without trying too hard.

You are in a safe environment,

In a protected space.

Feel your natural breath going in and out.

Coming into stillness and remaining still for space of deep rest and deep nourishment.

Feeling your natural breath flowing through your body and your bones becoming heavier and more relaxed.

Go deep inside yourself and listen to your heart's deepest longing for peace,

For resolution,

For closure.

What does your heart truly desire?

Create a sankalpa or an intention based on your heart's longing to release any anger or any hurt that no longer serves you.

I clear and release any and all ways I am holding on to anger.

I clear and release all my angry thoughts and feelings.

I release all this burning anger.

I am calm,

Focused and relaxed.

I am happy.

I am peaceful and joyful.

This is your sankalpa,

Your intention.

Now bring to your mind a memory from your past or your present when you were really very,

Very angry.

This is a time when you had a misunderstanding or a fight or a pain or a hurt from someone and it made you so angry.

Think of the person in this equation,

The other person.

This person may have harmed you or maybe is harming you even now.

They may have been emotional or physical abuse or it may have been a less serious incident but it left you very angry.

Allow this memory to play like a movie in your mind.

See what happened,

Feeling the anger again,

Allowing it to become strong within reason.

Now imagine the person who has hurt you is standing in front of you.

Take a deep breath,

Walk towards them and look the person in the eye.

Allow yourself to feel the anger.

Allow the anger to build,

Allow your body to experience that anger and start telling them how you feel.

What are you so angry about?

Tell them.

This is not a time to be polite.

Use the words you really want to use.

Say what you really want to say.

If you want to abuse,

Abuse.

If you want to shout,

Shout.

If you want to hit,

Please hit.

Whatever it is that you want to do to this person,

Go right ahead and do it.

They have caused you so much pain.

You can be as loud and as angry as you want to be.

Say it all.

Hold nothing back.

You know it is safe to do that right now.

So say whatever you want to say.

And let yourself finish what you have to say to this person.

Now watch this person leave without responding or retaliating.

You may feel other emotions as well right now,

Such as sadness or fear,

But I want you to stay with the feeling of anger.

Feel this anger in your body.

How does it feel?

How is your breath,

Your heartbeat?

How does it feel on your skin?

Are your ears turning hot?

Are you feeling a tightness in your neck?

What other qualities are you able to see?

Do you feel like screaming,

Weeping?

You're feeling angry right now and angry thoughts are flowing through your mind.

Let them flow naturally without restriction.

It's okay to be angry.

Just stay and watch the anger.

Now allow your awareness to travel through your body and release the anger and anxiety as I name each part of your body.

As I name each part,

Visualize that you are releasing the stress,

The tension and the angle from that part.

Simply feel each part being mentioned without moving while remaining still.

Begin with your mouth.

Feel the sensation in your mouth.

Feel your jaw,

Your lips,

Upper lip,

Lower lip.

Notice where the lips touch,

The inside of your mouth,

Your tongue,

Your teeth,

The gums.

Notice the taste in your mouth.

Feel your cheeks,

Left cheek,

Right cheek.

Now feel all the parts together as a whole.

Feel your mouth as a sensation and release that energy of anger with your outbreath.

As you feel radiance and light and peace in your mouth,

You have now released all anger from your mouth.

Feel your nose.

Notice the nostrils,

Left nostril,

Right nostril,

Both the nostrils.

Notice your breath in your nasal passages and release,

Release,

Release all the anger from your nose.

Become aware of your ears,

Left,

Right,

Both ears simultaneously.

Notice your ears receiving the sound and listening and releasing all the anger.

Feel your ears hearing only that which is for your highest good.

Now feel your eyes.

Notice your eyelashes becoming aware of your eyes,

Releasing all the stress,

All the anger from your eyes.

Your eyes are now filled with positive energy with a positive light.

Bringing awareness to your forehead,

Your face,

Your full head,

Your neck,

The back of your neck.

Imagine it being filled with empowered thoughts.

Now notice your hands.

The palms of your hands,

The thumbs,

First finger,

Second finger,

Gradually relaxing,

Third finger,

Fourth finger.

Your hands are alive with energy.

Feel your wrists,

Your forearms,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Full shoulder.

Your hands are now fueled with positive intent.

Becoming aware of your chest,

Your upper back,

Shoulder blades,

Releasing,

Releasing,

Releasing all anger.

Feeling your heart center.

Noticing your abdomen,

Your ribs,

Your solar plexus.

Feeling your belly,

Your navel,

Pelvis,

Hips,

All filled with beautiful light.

There is no more anger there.

You have breathed all out.

Feeling your legs starting with your toes,

Your feet,

Your ankles,

Your knees,

Your thighs.

All of it radiating with peace and calm.

Feel your root between your sitting bones,

Between your navel center,

The solar plexus,

The heart center,

The mouth,

And the third eye.

Imagine it all filled with loving and peaceful energy.

Now bring awareness to your whole body.

You will probably feel some tingling in your hands and your legs because the whole body is now alive with a positive vibration.

It's filled with light.

Pour this awareness like a liquid into your full body.

Feel your body as a whole completely relaxed and completely free of any anxiety,

Any anger,

Any residual pain.

Your whole entity filled with love and peace and joy.

Feeling the vibration in your body,

The support that the universe is giving you in helping you release all that does not serve your highest good.

Begin to notice your breath again,

Your natural breath as it flows through you.

It's so easy now.

Like a wave,

Bringing in love and taking out anger.

Bringing in calm and peace and taking out all anxieties.

Can we repeat the sankalpa with which we started?

I have now released and cleared any and all ways in which I'm holding on to anger.

I am now free from all my angry thoughts and feelings.

I have released all this burning anger.

I am calm and focused and relaxed.

I'm free to be happy,

To be peaceful and to be joyful.

You have now taken the first step to releasing anger from your past and becoming whole again.

You have also learned to see through your anger.

So whenever you're angry,

You know you can always come back to your breathing and this relaxation technique.

This knowledge now resides within you.

Remember that when you're angry,

You can always choose to walk away from the situation with a smile on your face.

Or if you need to respond,

You can do that with a calm and clear mind without any aggression.

Notice your breath as I say this.

Feel its peaceful rhythm and pace.

You are now completely relaxed.

We are now completing this release and relaxation practice.

Before moving,

I want you to once again remember the sankalpa that you made,

The intention that you made when we started.

And slowly,

You may wriggle your fingers and your toes.

You can drop your palms together,

Bring them to your eyes and slowly open your eyes and smile.

Are you able to notice the effects of your relaxation practice?

So thank you all.

Thank you for being here with me today.

May you all be filled with joy and may we all time these difficult times and this tricky moon together.

Stay blessed my friends.

Thank you.