Welcome to your daily meditation.
In today's practice we will explore the emotion anger and then use our practice to help alleviate and reduce that particular emotion.
Other words used to describe the emotion anger may include irritability,
Envy,
Loathing,
Outrage,
Frustration,
Annoyed,
Grouchy,
Grumpy,
Jealousy,
Torment,
And rage.
Sometimes being able to identify using a different term other than the term anger creates a greater connection with the emotion and greater understanding of the trigger or root cause of the emotion.
When someone is angry we can interpret it as a violation or a thwarting of standards,
A person,
A property,
Someone's freedom or goals.
So what this tells us is that there's an opportunity for the individual to regain respect,
Dignity,
That the individual needs rights or perhaps even boundaries.
In the absence of being able to perhaps remedy some of these needs,
Emotional needs,
One of the ways that you can start to effectively create an increase in your own rights and choice and freedom is by practicing meditation.
And so in today's meditation we're gonna explore this a little bit more deeply by expressing some compassion but also taking forward an exercise of forgiveness.
When we practice forgiveness it enables us to take control back of the situation and own what we can as well as let go of what is beyond our control.
Lastly one of the benefits of meditation with dealing with anger is that it does enable us to let go and detach from intense emotions but also rumination of particular negative thinking.
I'll also just preface by indicating that this is not about pushing away the emotion or being adverse to it but rather engaging with it.
So coming into a comfortable position seated perhaps sitting onto a bolster block or a cushion feeling rooted at the base at the seat and lengthening up through the spine through the crown of your head take a deep breath in through the nose and as you begin to exhale closing the eyes softening the shoulders and the jaw and lastly your forehead breathing in through the nose and exhaling through the nose.
The hands are placed upon the thighs or the knees you can face the palms up or have them face down today for practice see what feels right.
We're just gonna do a quick body scan noticing any tension that you may have brought into the practice with you today so if you're carrying any tension in any part of your body on the next exhale just let go target the breath on the inhale to that location and then letting go finding ease in that location of the body.
Let's do one more just like that deep breath in through the nose and as you exhale finding ease softening.
You might find that the mind is busy today and so maintaining this attention to breath can help with concentration and also more importantly not being carried away by the story by the narrative in the mind.
Sometimes focusing the eyes on one location like the center of the forehead between the eyes can really help with that focus.
If you continue to have thoughts coming into the mind and that sensation emotion of anger what's important here today is that you're not pushing or ignoring that experience rather seeing it for what it is and then saying to it no not right now and letting it just glide by almost as if it's a cloud in the sky.
It's really important in this practice again to stay present with your breath to also stay present with your breath noticing the coolness as the breath enters into the body and how it transforms on the exhale into more of a warmth.
Allowing anger to be left to its own devices can perpetuate thinking and take us down a negative spiral.
So instead in today's practice I want you to notice the particular thoughts that are associated with the anger and then actually imagine that you're embracing so just like a child or an infant cradled in your arms I want you to take that emotion and those associated thoughts and just take them into this visualization of you holding that story that particular sensation.
When we imagine cradling an infant or child what may come to mind is another set of emotions or characteristics such as being cared for such as compassion or love.
So rather than staying focused on the anger and feeding that I want to encourage you as much as possible to have some kindness towards the fact that it's a normal emotion to experience however perhaps feeding it some nourishment may actually balance it out.
Sending some warmth and kindness.
And continuing to stay aware and awake to the thinking not being guided to continue to fuel a potential fire but rather start to bring the flames down just as if you were either putting a lid over flames to extinguish or reduce the oxygen that feeds it.
Notice any changes in the breath and see if you can even extend the exhales finding a little bit more ease and softness here.
Sometimes when we're able to explore the anger in a neutral way we can also discover or better understand the origins and its connection whether that's anger at others or ourselves.
So having perhaps identified that now there's an opportunity to extend forgiveness.
Forgiveness being the act of acknowledging something and letting it go.
Letting go of attachments.
Letting go of its control over you.
Recognizing that you're human and those that we interact with they too can make mistakes.
Mistakes are an opportunity for us to grow and do better.
Continuing to create all that emotion and saying to yourself it's okay I'm still here I'll be okay.
From here I want to encourage you as much as possible to stay present with your breath.
Not getting carried away by anything staying truly present with the sensations whether that's the temperature whether that's the qualities of the breath.
If you're still holding on tightly this is a chance for you to loosen the grip.
To literally detach.
To let go of the control anger and associated thinking has on your today experience the now.
As we begin to close this practice you can stay here for ten full more conscious breaths in and out and with every exhale letting go and taking control by simply being present with the breath with the present moment.
Choosing how you wish to take this expression this life forward.
Wishing you peace freedom and love.
