defeated me, he robbed me” – those who dwell
on such thoughts will never be free from hatred.
- Buddha,
Dhammapada
In a state of extreme desire, anger, greed, confusion, pride or envy, enter your own heart and discover the underlying peace.
- Vijnanabhairava Tantra
Anger and fear seem to be the most primitive emotional drives we know. They are directly related to the “fight or flight” response in the literature of psychosomatic medicine. As functions of the r-system they have stayed with us on our evolutionary journey presumably to ensure our survival. Our reptilian ancestors (the “r” is r-system) used these basic functions without any nagging conceptual overlays to negotiate the terrain where all was “eat or be eaten.” Actually, there are four primary functions of this ancient brain within us sometimes referred to as the “four fs:” feeding, fighting, fleeing and . . . well, you can guess the next. (Call me, baby.) In other words, anger and fear are related to deep, primal instinctual energy within us.
There is no question of their value in terms of individual and species survival and propagation. I remember a time in fifth or sixth grade when I was attacked by four boys. They were out to drag me onto the middle of the playground and “pants” me. This was a popular custom of our time in which a group would drag some poor kid out into the crowd and expose him or her in front of everyone. Although, it was not truly life threatening, I felt it to be pretty humiliating and immediately the r-system kicked in, adrenaline got pumped and I was able to fight off all four of them – an amazing feat considering I was a skinny little guy. I was certainly surprised with myself.
The fight or flight response however doesn’t give us any room to think or to feel on a deeper level. Stress, as is commonly understood, is the accumulation of bio-chemical response to constant, unresolved fight or flight crises on a day to day basis. When the boss calls us into the office, we can neither beat her up nor run away. When we are late and stuck in traffic the energy kick from adrenaline doesn’t help. Anger, fear and desire are at the basis of duality; our “me (or us) versus them” mentality. When this mechanism enters into our intimate relationships, it portends disaster. When it becomes chronic it destroys our emotional and physical health.
Anger is more than just an instinctive reaction, though. It is an emotion that involves the limbic system, which is generally considered to be our “old mammalian,” or emotional brain and uses aspects of more recently evolved neo-cortex. The neo-cortex is where we are able to employ intellect, make plans and value decisions, etc. When we become vindictive, plot revenge or strategize for war with our enemies we are using the higher parts of brain/minds in service of the instinctual impulses of our r-system. We use our conceptual constructs to help maintain and foster feelings of anger, resentment, etc. within us. Joseph Chilton Pearce writes, “Using intellect defensively we function in an anti-evolutionary mode: Our neocortical system serves our lowest and most primitive structures.” Evolution's End: Claiming the Potential of Our Intelligence
In How God Changes Your Brain
authors Andrew Newberry, MD and Mark Robert Waldman write, “. . . of all the emotions we are born with, anger is the most primal and difficult to control.” Beyond the necessary fight or flight response which might be necessary to fend off or run from an attacker, anger can become more of a chronic and habitual stance towards others and the world. We become primed for anger, not just in response to a physical threat, but to a threat to our egos, self-esteem, belief system or addictive defenses. Anger disrupts the functioning of our frontal lobes decreasing our capacity for reason, empathy or compassion. Instead of being rational, we rationalize. Instead of connecting with others we hide within our defensive fortress. We become, in the words of William Blake, “armed crustaceans eternally on the alert.”Following the breakup of a relationship I remember turning to a tape of a talk by Tich Naht Hahn hoping for solace. Instead, of course, he talked about the need to give up our self-centered position in relationships, to extend empathy and compassion. I turned the tape off because now I was angry with Tich Nhat Hahn! Such is the nature of our ego-defensive positions. Anger defends us against realizing our inherent Buddha-nature. Neuroscience shows that anger undermines the higher functions of our brains. According to Newberry and Waldman, anger “. . . releases a cascade of neurochemicals that actually destroy those parts of the brain that control emotional reactivity.” The more that we react negatively the more we reinforce that negativity.
So, how do we start to disrupt cycles of anger within us? Meditation can be very helpful here. As we are able to develop or awaken to an inner witnessing awareness we gain the necessary perspective to see through our own mind traps. It is not enough to enter into a state of peaceful relaxation in meditation practice, however. The whole point is to develop a deeper perspective that we take into daily activities, interactions, thoughts and feelings. Self-aware presence is the key. We have to watch our habitual, automatic thoughts and we have to know how to relax and let them go on a physical level as well. Our bodies tell us first when we are starting to move into anger. Tightness, tension, restlessness are all signals of unacknowledged anger within us.
Physical yoga practices, asanas, help to release tension from muscles which have become tight due to stress. They also help to promote balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems which regulate states of arousal or relaxation in the body. Meditation promotes the activity of the parasympathetic system leading to the “relaxation response.” The practices of hatha yoga and relaxation/meditation help to break the feedback cycle of mental and physical stress. However, we can’t necessarily take time to practice yoga like this at moments of stress in our lives. Regular practice can help us attune better to our bodies though so that we can recognize the stress response. Regular practice of yogic breathing can come in very handy in helping to become calm.
The meditative ability to watch thoughts, when carried over into the daily activities of life, gives us leverage for managing states of fear and anger. Our willingness to step outside of our egoic need to be right, unwarranted suspicions, etc. is important. Sometimes our thoughts and perceptions of given situations can be quite comical when we are able to view them more objectively. It is important to remember that our view of ourselves, others and the world is not really “out there” but much more of an inner construct. Psychotherapy, especially when it utilizes mindfulness training, is like a form of meditation as it helps to deconstruct world-views which lead to unnecessary suffering. If one is prone to depression, angry outbursts, panic attacks, etc. a therapist may be necessary to help in this process.
Psychotherapy and meditative yoga work very effectively hand-in-hand for many people. Meditation can take us, however, beyond the scope of therapy to find an inner peace, calm and joy – an experience of well being, wisdom and self-transcendence. Sometimes it is not explained to us when we enter a spiritual path or practice that we need to confront our psychological issues along the way. A spiritual orientation based on experiential insight, however, helps to provide inner strength and positive motivation.
(Please make comments if you are so inclined. Let me know what else might be helpful in terms of future posts. Thanks.)
