What to Do with Rage and Anger
Jun 18, 2020Once, on a trip to Hawaii, my daughter Zoe, who was about 4 years old at the time, was jumping on the hotel bed. I told her to stop. She did, but she looked me in the eye and declared, “Mommy, you filled my heart with rage!”
I’ve been contemplating rage, as it seems to be a prevalent emotion these days. What are we supposed to do with rage as it surfaces in such giant waves? And why is it so tumultuous right now? And what’s the best action to take in the storm?
Let’s dive in.
1. What to do with all the rage?
There are ultimately 2 choices. Fight rage with rage by being against what’s happening OR be for what you actually want.
When you choose to fight against something, you create energetic tension, which then creates more energy towards what you don’t want.
When you choose to be for something, you create an opening for a new possibility. By embracing the uncomfortable, you can transmute it into love.
Mother Theresa said that she would never attend an anti-war rally because being against war still brings all the focus to war. However, she would attend peace rallies because she was for peace.
On a practical level, spilling out anger, rage, and fury onto others keeps things as they are. If you want to create change in yourself (and in the world), the most important thing is to embrace the difficult emotions.
Emotional mastery is the mature and responsible way to move forward and to create a world you actually want to live in.
You can embrace emotions in 3 simple steps:
- Notice the emotion (instead of pretending it’s not there, or hiding it away for some unknown date).
- Locate where in your body the emotion is present as sensation. Pay attention to the sensation.
- Bring movement to the sensation to help it move through you instead of staying stuck. I teach my clients how to breathe consciously to initiate transformation. You can also move your body with intention to keep the energy flowing.
Here's some great news. When anger is integrated, it becomes passion and who doesn't want more passion for life and its many adventures?
Very good. Next issue.
2. Why is it so tumultuous right now?
Human consciousness is going through a tremendous shift. Although it doesn’t necessarily seem like it on the surface, we are moving more and more towards being a collective based on love rather than power.
Since that’s where we’re headed, everything that doesn’t match that higher vibration is being brought to the surface right now. As I mentioned in my last message, it’s getting revealed to be healed.
That rising happens in our human bodies and in our society as well. We’re headed somewhere new and so it’s time to sort out what’s no longer an energetic match for that new frequency.
It can be helpful to remember that we’re each on our own path.
We’re like drops of water in a river. Some drops flow through easily, and have a beautiful journey. Some get stuck in eddies and go around and around until they catch the current again. Other drops go through the rapids and experience a rougher ride.
In the end, we’re all headed for the ocean and we’ll all get there. It’s not your job to control how all the drops get to the ocean. The most powerful way to contribute to the journey is to focus on your personal evolution. And the other point about that is that every single person can have a beautiful and meaningful journey. We get to create our experiences.
That brings us to the final point. (Good job reading this far! I know it's a long one. Apparently I had a lot to say...)
3. What’s the best action to take?
First, decide on what you’re for. What kind of world do you want to live in? I highly recommend writing it down. The act of writing gives so much more clarity than thinking.
Second, listen to your heart. Different people’s hearts will have different messages. Some people will be called to go within. Others will be called to stand along with others. Some people will feel the urge to create art. Others will want to read and learn. You’ll know the message is coming from your heart (and not your unresolved, unprocessed emotions) if it has the elements of expansion, love and the quality of being for the highest good of all involved.
Next, notice and embrace ALL emotions that come up. Deal with them responsibly. Your emotions are your own work. It’s worth repeating that spilling out uncomfortable/unpleasant emotions onto others only creates more issues. The most courageous and powerful action you can take is to integrate your emotions. Anything that’s a trigger right now has its original roots from long ago. Whatever's coming up right now is being revealed to be healed.
Finally, know that it’s absolutely ok to feel happy, alive and good. Some people erroneously believe that they need to feel bad for others in order to be compassionate. They think it’s not good to feel joy when others are suffering. However, it’s the exact opposite. If you’re habituated to feeling worried, anxious or low, you’re actually contributing to corresponding energies. The more you can integrate those habituated emotions and then move into happiness, contentment and enjoyment, the more you’re having a positive impact on yourself, your loved ones and the world as a whole. Shazam!
Whew. That was long. I hadn’t intended to send you a letter right now, but I felt compelled to write and this is what came through. I hope it’s served you in some way.
Oh, and what did Zoe do with her heart filled with rage? She ran around the room, burned it off, and returned to her happy self. Kids are such great teachers!
With stacks of love and mountains of courage,
Christina
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