Diffusion + Compassion For Anger

Hello,

And welcome to this meditation on diffusing anger and having compassion for yourself when you feel anger or are struggling with feelings of anger.

My name is Kate,

And I regularly talk about courage at yourcourageouslife.

Com and particularly want to bring up that I think it's very courageous to decide to look at why you get angry and what that experience is about.

For today's meditation,

I would suggest getting into a comfortable position.

Maybe have a piece of paper and a notebook nearby if you need it.

You can have your eyes open or closed,

But just contemplate some of the questions or ideas that I'm going to propose,

Breathe with them,

And really get present to these questions.

For most people,

Anger is a scary emotion.

We've all been harmed by someone else's anger,

And anger within ourselves can feel wild and out of control.

In our desire not to do harm,

We may tamp it down.

Try not to feel it.

Try not to express it.

And for others,

Anger is a form of armor,

A form of protection because we can lash out to protect ourselves when our world feels out of control.

And that might result in overly expressing our anger at other people,

At ourselves.

So there are some things that we can start to notice with anger,

And that's what I invite you into today.

So breathe with these ideas,

Take what you like,

And leave the rest.

For all of these ideas,

The invitation is for you to take a breath with them and contemplate them,

And take what you like and leave the rest.

So first,

You are not bad or wrong for feeling angry.

Anger is part of the human experience.

It's a transitory emotion.

It's okay that you feel it.

Give yourself some space with that.

You are not bad or wrong for feeling angry.

Another idea.

Anger does not define who you are.

You feel it,

But you are not it.

You might have made mistakes in the past when you were angry,

But the anger is still not who you are.

And the mistakes are not who you are either.

Anger does not define who you are.

The next idea.

Anger is a signal,

And it is worth listening to.

Anger tells us where we are at capacity.

And by this,

I don't mean that if you are angry,

It must mean you've been wronged.

Maybe it does,

Maybe it doesn't.

But what I mean is that anger is a signal that we are at capacity in some way.

It is helpful to listen to the signals that we are at capacity and to ask ourselves,

What do I need to give myself?

Not how should others be different before I can be okay.

Not how should the world be different before I can be okay.

But again,

Anger is a signal,

And it is worth listening to.

When you are at capacity,

The question is,

What do I need to give myself?

And often the answers that arise are things like,

I need to give myself space.

Or I need to give myself,

To allow myself,

My voice,

My opinion.

Or I need to give myself boundaries.

So I'm going to invite you to sit with this question for about three minutes.

When I am angry and I am at capacity,

What do I need to give myself?

I'm going to ask this question once more,

And then just sit with this,

Breathe with this question,

Turning it over as many times as you need to,

And just noticing what answers arise.

When I am angry and I am at capacity,

What do I need to give myself?

I'm going to ask this question once more,

And then just sit with this,

Breathe with this,

Breathe with this.

When I am angry and I am at capacity,

What do I need to give myself?

I'm going to ask this question once more,

And then just sitting with this,

Breathe with this,

Breathe with this.

When I am angry and I am at capacity,

What do I need to give myself?

I'm going to ask this question once more,

And then just sit with this,

Breathe with this,

Breathe with this.

When I am angry and I am at capacity,

What do I need to give myself?

I'm going to ask this question once more,

And then just sit with this,

Breathe with this,

Breathe with this.

Thank you.

All right.

Begin moving about.

Give yourself a moment.

Perhaps write down any insights you have that you want to take with you today.

I'll leave you with one last reminder that you are not bad or wrong for feeling angry.

Anger does not define you any more than boredom would define you or contentment would define you or any other emotion.

The emotions are transitory.

They change all the time,

And you are not bad or wrong for what you feel.

The you that you are is beyond these transitory emotions.

You are good.

You are whole,

And you belong in this world.

May you have compassion for your anger.

May you have compassion for your human experience.

Have a beautiful rest of your day.