Welcome,
And thank you for joining me.
Today we are going to explore the emotions of anger and sorrow.
And I'm going to use some of the wisdom of the Sufi philosopher and poet Rumi to help us to look at these emotions in a bit of a different way.
From time to time we all experience emotions of anger and sorrow.
Sorrow does not always visit us as a result of the loss of a loved one.
In recent times the wellbeing of our planet can cause sorrow to engulf us.
Seeing the suffering of innocent people and children can be overwhelming.
So before we get started and dive into these topics,
Let's centre ourselves and just find a moment of calm.
We are going to use the 4-7-8 breath cycle to calm our minds and calm our bodies.
So that means we are going to breathe in through our nose for 4,
Hold our breath for 7,
And then breathe out through our mouth for 8.
And we will be doing 3 sets of these.
I will count us in and count us through these breaths.
So let's get started.
If you've not already closed your eyes and you feel comfortable doing so,
Now would be the time to do so.
In through your nose for 4,
1,
2,
3,
4,
Hold,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
And out through your mouth,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8.
And in through your nose for 4,
1,
2,
3,
4,
Hold,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
And out through your mouth,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8.
One last time.
In,
2,
3,
4,
And out.
Sorry,
Hold,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
And out,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8.
Now let your breath return to its normal flow.
For some of us,
We choose to bury our sorrow under a blanket of anger.
We lash out,
We say things we do not mean.
These emotions are not something we need to run from,
But instead we need to acknowledge them.
We need to find a way to embrace them,
Forgive,
Accept them,
And possibly even learn from them.
As Rumi stated,
These pains you feel are messengers.
Listen to them.
Sometimes,
As Rumi says,
We have to keep breaking our hearts until it opens.
In those moments where we want to lash out in anger,
Try to quiet yourself for a moment and remember,
Raise your words,
Not your voice.
It is rain that grows flowers,
Not thunder.
Our anger or frustration is often driven by our experience that life is simply unfair and unjust.
When these emotions want to take over the reins of your life,
When it wants to harden our hearts,
We need to pause and consider the following phrases.
This being human is a guesthouse.
Every morning is a new arrival,
A joy,
A depression,
A meanness.
Some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all.
Treat each guest honorably.
The dark thought,
The shame,
The malice,
Meet them at the door,
Laughing and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes because each has been sent as a guide.
And when sorrow creeps into our lives and it feels like we will never taste the sweetness of joy again,
Remember these words.
Sorrow prepares you for joy.
It violently sweeps everything out of your house so that new joy can find space to enter.
It shakes the yellow leaves from the bough of your heart so that fresh green leaves can grow in their place.
It pulls up the rotten roots so that new roots hidden beneath have room to grow.
Whenever sorrow shakes from your heart,
Far better things will take their place.
And in closing,
We often invite false hatred,
Anger or sorrow because we catastrophize,
Because we are in fact fearful,
Because we imagine a world that does not yet exist.
When times like these,
The Rumi poem I am and I am not,
As translated by Feridong Kia,
Comes to mind.
I am drenched in the flood which has yet to come.
I am tied up in the prison which has yet to exist.
Not having played the game of chess,
I am already the checkmate.
Not having tasted a single cup of your wine,
I am already drunk.
Not having entered the battlefield,
I am already wounded and slain.
I no longer know the difference between image and reality.
Like the shadow,
I am and I am not.
When it comes to fear in particular,
Remember that more often than not,
Fear is false emotions appearing real.
I hope you found all of these words as some guidance to help you through difficult times.
I wish you all a peaceful day filled with love and joy.
Namaste.
