Author’s note: I have unveiled an enlightening chapter on the role of anger, love, war and spirituality. My words challenge the notion that anger should be suppressed, offering the perspective that it can be a creative force signaling when something is wrong. I debate the use of anger in self-defense, as well as its potential for positive change. Conversations with spiritual figures, like the Dalai Lama and the protagonist of the Hindu text Bhagavad-Gita, offer rich insights. I explore the views of Jules (not his real name), a meditation advocate who proposes peace as the answer to anger. The chapter cautions against weaponizing anger and encourage using it as a catalyst for positive change. Be it spiritual practice or confronting societal oppression, this chapter emphasizes the need for balance and active confrontation for justice. This chapter will not make it into the book, but it’s spirit will be sprinkled throughout No More Turning Away: Breaking the Conspiracy of Silence
CHAPTER 6: Anger, War, Self-Awareness, and Mastery
But you can’t get to any of these truths by sitting in a field smiling beatifically, avoiding your anger and damage and grief. Your anger and damage and grief are the way to the truth. We don’t have much truth to express unless we have gone into those rooms and closets and woods and abysses that we were told not to go into. When we have gone in and looked around for a long while, just breathing and finally taking it in – then we will be able to speak in our own voice and to stay in the present moment. And that moment is home.
—-Ann Lamott
Anger is not a shortcoming to be denied, but a creative force that tells us when something is wrong.
– Austin Channing Brown
We have been formed out of the sacred elements of our Universe, and we have access to all of its immense energy and possibilities for existence. We are created with both a feeling nature supported by our biology, love and emotions, and a thinking nature supported mainly by our biology, history, education, intelligence, and intuition. Yet, many of us have been hypnotized out of our basic wisdom, while also developing an aversion to listening to our feelings for what they are telling us, and instead allowing our intellect to rule the inner kingdom. Mainly by our need for social conformity, we have been fooled into ignoring our divine energy, intelligence and insight. We either find our authentic self, and express its energy, or we will remain oppressed and demoralized and fail to realize our full spiritual potential.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama had an extended dialogue, which was used to write the beautiful, enlightening book called “Book Of Joy: Lasting Happiness In A Changing World”, which we recently read in our book club. In this chapter I have recreated a similar, though much briefer dialogue that I had in 2017 with Jules. a long-term friend of the Dalai Lama. Jules, whom I have known for over thirty years, and who co-ministered our 1994 wedding ceremony with a former wife has stayed in contact with the monk for over twenty-five years. He visited with him in India several times, and co-sponsored two of his visits to the US, while also sponsoring several other Tibetan monks in the US.
Jules’ views are roughly parallel to the Dalai Lama’s on many issues. Jules, and the Dalai, Lama’s, views are part of our international spiritual common knowledge and have been completely documented within many books. In the documentation of our dialogue together, I have edited Jule’s responses, as I wanted this written representation to be an expansive exploration and description of my views, which have not become part of our common knowledge. I would like to point out that my perspective of life is not unique while being more closely aligned with the late Desmond Tutu’s than with the Dalai Lama’s, or my friend Jules.
I will begin with some introductory material, and then enter into the edited dialogue between Jules and myself.
Introduction
In these times when our leaders betray our trust, and when some of our fellow citizens and family members abandon all conscience and even stick out their middle finger at the truth, anger can arise. Anger can be a powerful, positive spiritual force when expressed from a clear heart and healing consciousness. Those who fear anger, fear change, and growth. Understand anger, know thyself, and apply anger and love as liberally as is needed. Those who continue to witness the world as it currently exists, with no response other than indifference, or offering spiritually derived platitudes, have their heads buried in the hypnotizing sands of personal fantasy, and are missing an opportunity to unfold into the immensity of their power and being.
I have found that the use of anger for defensive and humanitarian purposes, and as an act of tough love is quite similar, philosophically and spiritually, to the need to use military force, and war for humanitarian purposes. However, weaponized, institutionalized, and dehumanized anger can result in unnecessary suffering and unethical wars; Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism, like most religions, believe that war is undesirable and avoidable. I have never been a promoter or supporter of senseless and selfish wars, yet I don’t have much use for religions, especially Christianity as it is now understood and practiced, which I do not now see as developing sufficient insight into how each of its adherents may achieve the peaceful life, thus deterring interpersonal violence or war. The corruption of their moral and ethical fabric has become so prevalent in modern society that our present political and religious mores are almost indistinguishable from each other. Just tune into Pat Robertson of the 700 Club (666 Club), or listen to the children of Billy Graham to get a horrifying view of the modern disease of the American pseudo-Christian Spirit. We have all been victimized and traumatized by the well-meaning, and not so well-meaning, adherents of that philosophy.
All of the religions of our world still tend to guide much of the discussion about the rules for engagement with self, and the other. Religious reasoning around human emotions, such as happiness, sadness, disgust, fear, surprise, and anger tend to be attuned to the cultures and geographic locations in which the religions are practiced the most. And, these emotions, coupled with whatever rationality and reason might still be present in the humans experiencing them, become the foundation behind all action in our world, including the search for love, family and friend connections, personal and cultural evolution, healing, crime, and war. Understanding all of these internal relationships, ie. having deep insight into self and others, is essential to establish the foundation for proper action in the world.
A great story from classical spiritual literature around human values and war comes from the Hindu tradition and is called the Bhagavad Gita & War. In the classic Hindu text, the Bhagavad Gita & War is documented as the story of Arjuna, the fabled bowman of the Mahabharata. Lord Krishna’s view of war is revealed in the Gita. Krishna’s obsession throughout the entire Mahabharata was to establish a society where Dharma was the guiding principle. This is a society where there is protection and happiness for all, and where people live in a balanced, spiritually orientated way, with respect for other people, creatures and all of nature…
There were two warring factions in this story, Pandavas and Duryodhana. Pandavas, consciously strove to act for the betterment of the masses rather than for their gain. They were rulers who could be instrumental in bringing about such a society as Krishna wanted to create. The rulers from the Pandavas philosophy were guided by the principles underlying true statesmanship. On the other hand, Duryodhana stood for hedonism and self-aggrandizement and is the ancient version of America’s Trump phenomenon.
There is an incident in the Mahabharata where Duryodhana complains that Krishna always favored the Pandavas. Krishna’s reply was simple – “Adopt a Dharmic way of life, and I will give you, Duryodhana, the same support and guidance I give to the Pandavas.” As such, it would have been disastrous for society if Kauravas, the legendary king of the Duryodhana, had come to hold sway over the most influential and powerful kingdom of that era. A Kauravas victory would have meant a rule of darkness over Hastinapur, Indraprastha and beyond.
And for Arjuna, the warrior in dialogue with Lord Krishna, as a member of the “Kshatriya” or the warrior caste, fighting the battle is eminently ‘righteous’. It is a just cause and to defend it is his duty or dharma. He receives conscious support from Lord Krishna, who even bends the code of war to support Arjuna in defeating his foe. In this brief overview, it can be seen that Krishna’s guidance to the Pandavas reflects a universal and valid approach to certain predicaments that will always face mankind. His efforts to help the Pandavas should be understood in the sole context of the establishment of a righteous society.
The philosophies behind the decision to defend ourselves, and/or our communities, from attack from others, are biologically, historically, spiritually, and rationally based. Our biological natures, beginning at the cellular level with the dispatch of antibodies against foreign invaders such as bacteria and viruses, up to the threats against our lives by armed aggressors, demand that we work at self-preservation. Also, whenever there is an imminent threat against our community, our cultural and personal values and natures require that we protect ourselves from “outside threats” whenever those not from our area attempt to bring harm and/or steal resources from our community, especially after peaceful outreach and advances have been rebuffed. Just as a peace-loving community must generate a protective force against the bellicose attitudes and outside aggression of others who do not hold peace and loving communication as a cultural value, so must the individual within that community learn to entertain and balance those complex energies, to bring forth the most effective and life-affirming responses to threats.
So, just where does anger and love fit into this preliminary discussion? Some despair of the violence in society and within themselves. They seek to go beyond this distress, yet they perceive few available options. Not knowing that the answer lies deep within themselves, they seek elsewhere and find mentors, gurus, counselors, therapists, or methods of actually hiding from the self, such as excessive drinking, drugs, sex, or the obsessive pursuit of outward accomplishments in the world. Some go to India to sit at the feet of the latest Master of renown or follow the latest popular spiritual teachers, who appear to be popping up like weeds everywhere, including on television and Facebook. Unless the “Teacher” or “Master” loves the great outdoors, communes with nature and its glorious creatures, hikes, camps, bicycles, and generally love their own body, and its movement across this sacred planet Earth, they have nothing to offer to me but more spiritual “froth”. Our bodies are formed from the sacred soil of this sacred planet Earth, and those who do not honor or respect them as ONE can be no teacher for me. Finally, the teacher must appear within our hearts and minds, and it demands of us to be listened to or to be ignored at our peril.
Hope has two beautiful daughters; their names are Anger and Courage. Anger at the way things are, and Courage to see that they do not remain as they are.
—-Saint Augustine
Dialogue between Jules and myself
The time directly preceding our dialogue was an unprecedented period in my life. My experience in the first few months of 2017, was characterized by prolific writing, conscious dreaming, enhanced creativity, joy, happiness, and a desire to share some of the amazing insights that seemed to be just popping up like wildflowers. I called Jules (not his real name) after a remarkable shared experience around the onset of a brain tumor, and its subsequent removal, in a diseased, distressed, and now-deceased friend.
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Marty’s Death With Dignity party, the day before his passing.
This challenging time opened a mysterious, creative interior door within me. The timing of our extended lunch meeting where we had our dialogue was three months after Trump was inaugurated, in April of 2017. For reasons based on his understanding of proper attitude and action in this world, this US-based spiritual guide took exception to Portland’s, and to my own, anger at Trump becoming the president.
Jules founded the Universal Peace Studies and served as its president until four years ago. I wanted to resume my friendship with him, and I was excited about the new energy that had lifted me into a new dimension of understanding. We scheduled a lunch meeting, and I shared my desire to continue friendship and communication with him. In the past, I was much more reticent about sharing my insights, instead deferring to Jules and his persona of being a teacher and spiritual guide. I was much more aware of what was going on with Jules than he was with me, so I tried to bring him up to speed a bit. We were friendly and quite engaged with each other initially. He then stated:
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” There is so much hatred arising within our Portland area since the election of Donald Trump. It does not matter who is the President, for our society to continue to be a loving place, the people need to reign in their emotions and follow a path towards peace and reconciliation.”
“Jules, it is unsettling to be a witness to what is being uncovered in our country right now. I had no idea of the predominance of ignorance and anti-social tendencies of many Americans. I hope that we are not witnessing the takeover of our country by a false prophet and liar.”.
“Um, Bruce, perhaps there is a different way for all of us to see what is unfolding right now. When I think of you, I think of Joel Goldsmith’s teachings. I see you as the perfect channel for the great teachings from that mystic and spiritual guide. Isn’t there a more spiritually appropriate way for you to be viewing this national process?”.
“Jules, Joel’s teachings were indeed a blessing for me in the past, but a new energy has come upon me. I have a new love offering to bring to the spiritual buffet, I think, that is much more appropriate to the times, and the situation”.
“Oh, I look forward to hearing about your experience. Have you dramatically diverged from your spiritual path or is this just a new description of the way towards love and peace?”.
“No, I believe that a bridge to peace and healing has been provided for me to offer to those still struggling with the human condition. It is not a time for absolutist philosophies and reasoning. It is the time to acknowledge our sacred humanity and to not judge parts of ourselves as less divine, or Godly, than other parts. This divide-and-conquer routine that mankind has offered to the seeker is a fragmented, unholy approach to spiritual well-being. It is reminiscent of the “mortification of the flesh” processes that even the Buddha finally renounced”. I witnessed you almost destroy your own body through those disfiguring fasts that you performed in the late 1990s, thinking that by starving yourself, you would be closer to God. I am not sure how close to God you got, but you sure got close to death! The same principle applies when we try to starve ourselves of our own emotions. . . the fast fragments and eventually destroys the very fabric of our being and integrity.
“Bruce, I am not sure what you are trying to say. Can you give me some examples?”.
“Well, for instance, anger is one of our human emotions that is judged as unacceptable by those supposedly in the spiritual “know”. We are all beings sourced from the energy of infinity. Energy cannot be created or destroyed, but it certainly can be accessed, and modified to meet the needs of the moment. Anger is a name given to an aspect of human energy. Anger naturally arises in human consciousness, just as does love, sexual desire, and a desire for community, peace and personal safety. I have seen how anger itself is not either bad or good, it is a manifestation of the divine impulse within all of mankind. It is a call to immediate action with complete self-awareness, and not a call to escape into other people’s ideas as to how to behave”.
“Bruce, that is an ignorant, shocking statement. The Dalai Lama himself says that anger is hatred and that it damages the mind of all who use it as part of their life’s practice”.
“I have to respectfully, but STRONGLY, disagree, with your interpretation of what the Dalai Lama has said, or even with him, if he holds strong to that idea. This is America, Jules, not Tibet, or India. None of us were born, raised or treated like we were the next Jesus Christ, or reincarnated Enlightened One of the Buddhist traditions, like the Dalai Lama. Had he been born into my family; he would probably be speaking to you today with my point of view. Had I been born into his reality, perhaps I would be the one that you are quoting from right now. You simply cannot take a teaching like the Dalai Lamas and apply it universally like some sort of magic salve. This is America, and we are a broken culture and civilization. Anger is appropriate and necessary in these times, as long as it is not institutionalized anger like racism, misogyny, xenophobia, white supremacy, genocide, or religious persecution. Anger born of the moment is infinitely different, and pure, whereas anger born of collective or personal memory is the source of hatred, revenge, lack of forgiveness, and what you now appear to fear.”.
“Oh Bruce, I can’t believe that you are saying this. You have changed, and I don’t recognize you anymore. Please read my book again, and, here, make sure to read some of the Dalai Lamas’ teachings. You have gone astray.”.
“Jules, no, I believe that I have found a middle path. If a stranger were to come over to our table right now, and urinate on our meals, or hit us, anger would spontaneously arise. What about the young man or woman about to be raped by a predator in a dark alley? It is that very energy of self-protection and defense, that anger, that we can channel for the good of the moment, to either inform the individual of their injustice against us or to defend ourselves from the threat to our safety and well-being. To just sit there and turn the other cheek is NOT the proper response. If you believe that your thoughts and prayers could transmute the situation without action of any kind, that is fantasy thinking, and thus keeps us victimized and oppressed. We must stand up for our rights!
You have not fully connected with nor understood the inner matrix of collective consciousness that underpins the entirety of the human race, where darkness, isolation, fear, and hubris reign supreme, and operate as a strong potential energy under the surface of many men’s thoughts and actions. The Common Knowledge Game that plays out in collective human consciousness is what we have to consciously deal with. The aggressor is playing out a story that has been told and retold since man first created stories, and first lifted a hand against his innocent, or guilty, brother or sister, and either felt self-justified in doing so or was oblivious to his intentions. Our prisons are filled with millions of human beings whom all of humanity’s best thoughts and prayers could not and did not help.
Right now, virtually all of the people who you associate with cultivate peaceful, loving attitudes, and that is just great. But many of us still have to make contact with the rest of humanity, where such intentions are not even considered. I made trips through toxic male-dominated workplaces, and even the underworld, where such “sacred” concepts would be regarded with suspicion, if not outright antagonism. There is a fight for survival, a fight to defend one’s tiny little plot of life, land, illusions of thought and sense of self. There is mental illness and an indifference to the feelings of all others who are unlike their limited understanding of themselves. If we do not rise up and let the indifferent know not only that we exist, but we have feelings, and that we will defend our right to continue to have feelings and existence, then those who ignorantly attempt to repress and dominate us will continue their abhorrent behavior.
Like a virus, those who oppress will be drawn to others who also have a desire to oppress, and the infection spreads through the collective mob mind. It is the feedback that we give back to them that eventually becomes part of the new knowledge for them, that others have feelings, and need to be respected if they want to maintain some of their freedoms. If we sit back and pray, as if the offenders already have the sensitivity to pick up on those finer vibrations, and that all they need to be reminded of is the underlying goodness of all is a self-defeating delusion, as our good intentions and prayers have little power for those people. The prayer that has the greatest power is the vocal one uttered through.
THE SPOKEN WORD
We must be loud, if necessary, to remind the offender that another human being is present, has rights, and will protect himself and reflect back to the offender his offensive energy, until the offender finds a way to present a more favorable side of himself to the rest of the world. We are part of the feedback loop for the rest of the world. We neglect our responsibilities as teachers and healers if we do not confront evil wherever evil arises. To not confront evil, or to mask it over with another name, and make it OK, as long as its influence does not directly impact us at this moment, is a dereliction of spiritual duty, and is one of the responsible parties for the continued proliferation of darkness and evil upon our planet…
Your vessel is shining on the outside, yet on the inside there appears to be an incompleteness of understanding, and of spirit. You attempt to suppress and repress part of your humanity, and thus, the humanity of others. You are a well-meaning, but unconscious part of the conspiracy of silence, where men are made wrong for speaking or acting from their strongest emotions, through which our true spirit may reign supreme.”.
“Bruce, where you are wrong is simple. Through meditation, peace and reconciliation, we can create all of the relationships that either prevent the anger and hatred from arising that you believe that you may have to defend yourself against or give you a more creative, loving way to deal with the assaults.”.
“Jules, how is that working for you, and for our world, so far?”
“History shows the cyclical nature of human civilizations, with the rise of collective order, culture and spirituality, mutual trust, intelligence, creativity and the arts, and infrastructural stability, and then their decline into chaos and disorder, and then resurrection in new ways. Our personal history parallels the same cyclical principle, except in a more compressed time frame. To be aware is to note that as far as we can see, we can only see ourselves, and our projections of what we think that we see, or might be. Note that to not see what is happening in the real world is to remain in a dream world, the world of illusion, no matter how much you want to make peace and love the picture of the world. The world is in decline, no matter how much we might want to try to spin this one. The world is overpopulated with people who would rather defend their lies against facts, and fight for fantasies and conspiracy theories over established truth and knowledge. You cannot reason with insanity, or pray it away. It must be faced directly, honestly, courageously, and with access to all of our spiritual resources, which includes anger, as well as compassion and forgiveness.
The Far Side Wait, Wait, We don’t have to be just sheep
ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL.
Do you think that just because you are giving love to the offender, his behavior is going to spontaneously change? You noted at the start of our lunch the predominance of anger and hatred arising in Portland right now. I do not see all of our prayers and meditations working right now, nor have they for thousands of years. All of the Dalai Lama’s prayers and meditations for Tibet were useless. He left his country and did not defend himself. He left the country in fear for his own life, and his country was to be overrun by the Chinese, to be defended only by those who could not escape with him. Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama, was left behind and spent many years philosophically fighting the Chinese incursion, and languished in jail as a result of his best efforts. He stood up and made his voice heard, in the only place and way a man of true spiritual integrity could. The Dalai Lama’s peaceful attitude did not change one Chinese invader’s mind. I don’t see any of our thoughts and prayers reaching this reality TV star parading as our 45th President, either. Three hundred and fifty million jabs back at his pudgy belly will help, though.”.
“Violence begets more violence, period. I think that our lunchtime has come to an end. Please reconsider your position, Bruce. You have so much to give to the world, yet giving anger to the world is no gift, it is a curse. I can help, perhaps come to more meetings at our church, where we can give you the support of our spirit of peace”.
“Thanks, Jules. I know that you say this with love. And I say this to you, this is also love if only you had the ears to hear. Right anger leads to the right action, as well. Protecting oneself against violent assaults from others is an act of love, as well. Loving oneself through defending oneself, while giving an offensive human being necessary feedback from which to learn is an act of love, too. Would you watch your child torture and torment a neighbor’s pet, and have no emotional reaction to it, and not confront him and teach him another way to behave? Love and righteous anger as a response to aggressive and offensive philosophies can live together in harmony, and they must, if America is to survive. Jules, I don’t have a church or a book for you to read, nor can I provide a forum for you to understand what I am talking about. Just know that my own “still small voice” is thundering from the silence in the center of my being, affirming the truth as I speak it, and live it. I am not a lamb before another person’s sincere, but wayward teachings, I am led from within, and I will go where the teachings lead me.
Blessings to you on your journey, Jules. I love you.”.
And I left the lunch, and we have not spoken since, except for through Facebook and emails. He recently unfriended me from Facebook for my outrage at him for posting a bullshit meme and video from the king of antisemitism, hatred, racism and mediocre and outdated Rock and Roll, Ted Nugent. Ted was trying to “rehabilitate” his horrific image, without making any changes in his outlook, and I was not buying it.
Jules has an international audience and did not appreciate me calling him out before his crowd.
Jules has grown quite weary of my point of view, as have quite a few others.
I have not, however!!
Fear, anger, grief, and other oftentimes unpleasant feelings respond in healthy manners to our mindful attempts at understanding them. We must avoid becoming the oppressors of ourselves, we must avoid repressing feelings
My Monologue On Human Mastery
People-pleasing and ass-kissing behavior and unquestioning loyalty to people with power and influence is like renting a room in a burning building. Once we get in touch with our feelings, heal ourselves of the oppression by our culture, and undo the bondage from the repression of our true nature, we can finally bring integrity back to the forefront of our consciousness, and find the long-ignored leader within ourselves. Then we no longer rent a room in a burning building, but instead reside in the luxurious abode of “. . . the secret place of the Most High abiding under the shadow of the Almighty.”
In the timeless words of Bob Marley, come the words of a real spiritual warrior:
Get up, stand up, stand up for your rights:
And in the words of another great spiritual warrior:
“I come not to bring peace, but a sword!”
—-Jesus of Nazareth.
as he, too, tried to break down the patterns of social, economic, and religious injustice of the day.
Punch A Nazi Sign at June 2018 Portland, Oregon Rally for Immigrants and their families
A lifetime of oppression, of not being heard, having cries of pain and suffering ignored because of some sort of prevailing philosophy, thus ignoring major energy centers of who I AM, creates energy field corruption and damage. How can a young woman, or man, not respond with anger and fear while being sexually abused by yet another Toxic Man, and his distorted theories of how life should be? Extrapolate that to our entire country, where millions of our fellow Americans, or, more accurately, our fellow human beings, be they African American, Hispanic, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, or whatever label we want to foist on another child of God, continue to be persecuted and oppressed by the dark philosophies spawned by other Patriarchal ideologues…
For me, I layered myself with all manners of philosophies that suggested that I should ignore my human emotions, and all of the so-called dark energies that plague us, through the labeling, judging, and condemnation of all of these energies. Maya, or illusions, or cultural hypnosis, are terms coined by the “aware” that help us to understand that what appears to be in the “real world” may not be there, and to be aware of the potential of our minds to project out of our unenlightened ignorance our misunderstanding of life, and our actual relationship to it. Ignorance and darkness, and their love child, evil itself, do exist and are not an illusion. Rwanda, Syria, and any number of modern-day countries have witnessed the ravages of evil, and those residents who stayed seated in meditation and prayer are now dead, while those who are still alive escaped or had to defend themselves.
The key is to place these so-called dark energies in the service of understanding and love. Enlightened anger IS wisdom, and if we deny our anger about the oppression we have experienced, or that which is persecuting the innocents of the world, our access to vast sacred energy centers will continue to be blocked away from us, by those who inadvertently become part of the control mechanism that we are attempting to become liberated from..
Somebody has to act as a bridge between highbrow spiritual theories and/or realizations, and the damaged, hurt, misunderstood, persecuted, abused, sick and ill, and I AM THAT, along with countless millions of awakening abused people around the world. One size does NOT fit all, when it comes to how to spiritually respond to challenging situations. If we are sitting in an ivory tower or lofty spiritual “reality” then we will have one style of engagement with the world. If we are still in a relationship with all of humanity, we have to be ready for anything, and we will have to be ready to engage ALL of our resources to meet the safe and sane requirements for each unique relationship. This is how my awakening world now spins, around the reunification of all rejected energies of our Holy Spirit (the spirit of wholeness that still resides within all of us, even in the “least of these” people, who may still reside in hell).
There are those purporting to be “spiritual teachers” and advisors, who are admonishing their followers to abhor using human emotions with their dealings with the public. Specifically, I am frequently hearing that a “requirement for maintaining spiritual integrity” is to NOT EXPRESS ANGER, in any form, and instead to substitute “loving thoughts” and “forgiving actions”.
Really?
First things first!
Anger is a natural, normal response, in any particular new moment, to any assault on our being, on those that we love, or on our inner sensibilities. Anger, among all other emotions, and in balance with those aspects of our self, helps us to manage our response to the outer world, which is, at times, quite the aggressive, distressed, ugly, oppressive environment. Anger is not positive or negative energy, it is HUMAN ENERGY ITSELF, and like all aspects of our humanity, it needs to be understood in the context from which it arises, and when and how it expresses itself..
Anger can bring fear to the unaware among us, because of an incomplete or unhealed response to its expression in their past. We have all been persecuted, at one time or another (or many times), by the angry parent, boss, co-worker, or stranger driving next to us in a car. Or, how about the rapist, or child molester, who tries to attack us, or our children? According to classic psychology, humans engage in “fight or flight” behavior, when they experience fear and/or perceive that they are being attacked. Whether we choose one or the other depends on any number of circumstances, and ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL. When we are backed into a corner, and there is no way out, where is our energy to come from, when the attacker makes his final lunge at us?
We all feel a need to “be in control”, and to conform to social norms, especially those “norms” expressed in the common knowledge game that dominates the unaware human consciousness. Philosophies and theologies that stress the need to repress aspects of our human nature need to be examined in their fullness, and not accepted at face value. By their very nature, any umbrella philosophy and theology devalues the “intelligence of the moment”, and intentionally and/or unwittingly contribute to the suppression, and repression, of sacred human values and emotions. This unrepressed and unoppressed human energy, when balanced, keeps us as complete beings, capable of accessing and expressing the wholeness of our being, with emotionally intelligent actions appropriate to the activity of the moment.
There is a Wisdom deep inside us all, waiting to inform all of our thoughts and actions in this world. And this world requires Ultimate intelligence to navigate through it successfully, without bringing harm to ourselves and others needlessly. Anger and fear are not to be repressed by any healthy human being, but instead are to be witnessed, and studied, and utilized intelligently for wise action in this troubled world.
Stand up, stand up, stand up for your rights!
But, make sure that the anger is appropriate to the moment, and not some formulaic response that the “non-healed, unbalanced” nature within yourself offers up under many questionable circumstances. An “institutionalized expression of anger” becomes hatred in disguise, and that characterizes the oppressive nature of far too many male-originated, and dominated philosophies. When anger becomes an automatic response to all situations where the threat is perceived, then the intelligence of the moment is denied, and we are susceptible to bringing needless harm to our bodies, and to our minds, as well as to the “other”.
When I was an eight-year-old boy, while on a camping trip with family and friends, my sister and I complained to my parents about the father of the other family, who had severely overreacted to us, and we accused him of being excessively angry and threatening to us. When my father confronted Bob about his rage, Bob got angry again, denied that he threatened us, and then commanded me to “get my story straight”, before complaining about his behavior in the future. Several years later, while in a fit of rage with his wife, he intentionally crashed his car head-on into another car at a high rate of speed, killing himself and crippling his wife for life.
The act of “getting our story straight” and calling out ourselves or someone for being disrespectful or engaging in hurtful behavior will not necessarily guarantee any immediate positive outcomes, but it disrupts the conspiracy of silence, if only for a moment. In the seeing, or the development of insight into self, change is facilitated. Everybody needs to become more conscious of the self and fine-tune how we respond to our emotions, but the point is to accept personal responsibility for our emotions, see how they impact ourselves and others, and make necessary adjustments in the course if we have behaved inappropriately. Repression and oppression help nobody in the long run, though they maintain an order of false peace and control for the status quo.
To respond successfully in anger, we need to measure how mindfully we can engage these threats, and successfully group our thoughts and actions, with others also engaged in the situation, to either fight the oppressors, or to speak our truth, and be heard. We do not engage in mass protests because we want to go for a walk with a bunch of strangers, we engage in protests because we want our voices heard. Channeled anger is an effective, time-tested method for standing up to those who would keep us silent in the face of their misdeeds.
One only needs to review history to see how well the silent sheep held back the Nazi oppressors. If you want to conform to the “spiritual philosophies” of those who did grow up in our country and did not share in our American Experience, good luck to you. I choose to wisely tend to my own “flock” of thoughts and feelings, and not to become just another follower in someone’s “herd”. I am now a shepherd of my thoughts and feelings, and not just someone’s lamb.
Anecdotally, we hear of those rare few who have successfully mitigated dark, evil circumstances, through some fortunate “intervention” through prayer, or luck, where those who are attacking us somehow are diverted, and move their aggression elsewhere. Stories of Gandhi’s non-violent protest against British occupancy of India’s lands get a lot of play in so-called “spiritually aware circles”. Remember, though, the many years of British occupation before that stand, and Britain’s diminishing will to keep their empire extended throughout the world. We only need to watch the news, or read the paper, to see that these anecdotal stories do not embrace the reality underlying most of the final acts, and resulting actions, of the aggressive ones. Murder, rape, child molesting, intimidation, oppression, misogyny, road rage, terrorism, and paternal violence in ALL OF ITS FORMS, keeps manifesting themselves and has throughout all of history. Those who are inspired to make peaceful approaches to these problems must continue, yet, so do those who aggressively confront the forces of oppression and darkness.
WE NEED BOTH ENERGIES FOR CHANGE
By the way, have you ever noticed how so many of the so-called spiritual savants, or gurus from foreign lands, do not have families? What is the real teaching here, do you think? It is so much easier to talk about love and light for all beings, especially when one does not have to deal directly with the most challenging of human relationships. From the middle of 1987 to early 1988, I spent over 6 hours a day in meditation and prayer, and I had very few problems with my relationships with people. I lived in perfect peace and harmony within myself. Also, I had no children, or nobody to call me on my isolation and (potential) loneliness. All in all, it was beautiful for me, yet totally disengaged from the challenges of integration into society, and family and friendship development. I value my time in the “real world”, where the beauty, and the pain, of human existence is my greatest teacher. Mysticism has a place in our world, yet I struggle to find how to best stay in alignment with its ecstasy, and enlightenment while maintaining a “normal human experience”. Perhaps I will drink again from its deep waters when I have finally wearied of this world.
If our minds are fed anything other than facts, ESPECIALLY WITHIN ESTABLISHED COMMUNITIES OF HUMAN BEINGS, we are involved in a process known as Maya or illusion creating, and our world(s) tend to end up in chaos. The result is individual, and cultural, hypnosis and schizophrenia, where we can end up losing personal power, and we can be too easily bullied by the wayward opinions and false insights of others. Too often those who claim to have real knowledge are as lost as everybody else, even though they may be claiming righteousness, religious or otherwise. When we try to fit into a situation or setting where our heart tells us we don’t belong, honor those feelings, and investigate where they are coming from. If we feel that we are already “swimming in the divine ocean”, then we can watch, and wait, and see who is swimming with us, and join with them as indicated (or reach out and help lift another up, as they request help). While in the marketplace of human thought and reason,
LET THE BUYER BEWARE!
It has taken me many years to speak my truth to our cultural, political, and theological power and knowledge brokers. My enhanced attention to my inner needs and the greater good of all finally took precedence over my feelings of inadequacy in confronting this collective American life experience about its alienating, crazy-making communications and relationships, and its collective consciousness, and collective unconsciousness. Our cultural spiritual dementia needed to be challenged, lest we all lapse into deeper degrees of anxiousness, powerlessness, and unreality. Confronting a difficult reality takes more energy than most of us care to bring to the table, yet, not doing so diminishes our standing in Truth, Life, and Love.
I had very poor training since birth in how to successfully navigate group energy, up to, and including, the whole of society that we all participate in. As a boy, when family discussions turned into arguments, many times I found myself either raising my voice against the angry voice of my father or retreating into submission and fear at the threat of being attacked for being contrary to the flow. And, I internalized that I was probably wrong anyway, and would be punished if I stepped out and asserted myself too much. I learned that I could undertake less obvious means of rebelling against authority, sometimes through indirect, or obvious, self, or other, destructive behavior.
Passive/aggressive tendencies have haunted me most of my entire life, and becoming “self-aware” has gone a long way to keep me from employing those unskilled coping mechanisms unconsciously, though I am still occasionally haunted by their presence. Having undertaken the inner work of insight, and maintained mindfulness, and identified sources of suffering within myself, does not instantaneously remove all of the darkness within. But it also does not remove from me the responsibility to call out those who are the external agents of oppression and repression, no matter how much I might love them or want to protect them, or even to protect myself from the ramifications of asserting what is right, true, or proper in any situation.
What is not expressed is de-pressed. It seems the more we express, that is, bring out what is in, the more alive we are. The more we give voice to our pain in living, the less build-up we have between our soul and our way in the world. However, the more we repress, the more we push down and keep in, the smaller we become. The more we stuff between our heart and our daily experience, the more we have to work through to feel life directly.–Mark Nepo
Alcoholism, depression, mental illness, murder, suicide, participating in the continued destruction of our sacred Mother Earth, and other manifestations of disempowered male energy can be the results of loss of integrity, and stifling one’s feelings and voice. And, this is NOT yet another spiritual theory, this is the ACTUALITY of American male life, and of my life. Sitting in meditation, and or quoting other “spiritually enlightened individuals” may have brought me a temporary measure of peace, but this whole process became yet another “opiate”, and it never brought the change required by my spirit for its emergence into its unique wholeness. Thoughts and prayers are great preparation for action, but, without action, thoughts and prayers are only mental masturbation.
Ignorance, and its most deadly spawn Evil continue to exist, despite Love’s presence, and I will not allow the “wise ones” and their dismissive theories on evil to discourage me from confronting that force, both within myself and within my American culture. It takes a force of will, or an energy FAR transcending those that the absolutist philosophies of unconditional love promote, to address this darkness. Jesus facing the devil in the desert has no value to me, if I do not also face my own “devil”, and our collective “devils”. If I lived in a spiritual “ivory tower”, where I never witnessed man’s inhumanity to man, then these philosophies might serve my needs. Why would any sane man create more Fake News, deny what they see, and gloss it over with Universal Love, whatever that means? I no longer need permission from “higher powers” to deal with all of our difficult emotions directly and honestly.
