Daily Meditations for Calming Your Angry Mind by Jeffrey Brantley

Author:Jeffrey Brantley [Brantley, Jeffrey, and Millstine, Wendy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781626251694
Publisher: New Harbinger Publications
Published: 2015-07-01T00:00:00+00:00

May sleep embrace you and wrap you delicately in her arms like a newborn baby held in a mother’s arms under a star-filled sky.

4. Be Kinder to Your Anger

Upset and anger can come quickly when you see someone taking advantage of another or if your property is damaged or stolen, or when you feel someone is humiliating you in public. Rude, disrespectful, or harmful behavior may come in the form of small or large irritation. Either way, it can fester, leaving you feeling affronted, provoked, and infuriated. You may want to scream at someone, throw a heavy object at the wall, or take some other kind of action in order to release your anger. When you feel outraged, disregarded, and ready to explode, you may clench your fists or teeth, and you may feel an irresistible urge to direct your anger at someone or something. Where should you go from here?

The good news is that mindfulness and compassion are your allies when anger takes hold and you feel like lashing out. The next mindfulness-based practice will help you to cultivate more tenderness and warmheartedness for your mind and body, even in the throes of upset. Let’s try it now.

Start with the breath. Each breath that you notice and observe is a confirmation and affirmation that you are alive right now in this moment. Each in-breath is an opportunity to pay attention to your mind and body. Each out-breath is an opening for growth and change in your perspective. Be here now, with your breath, for several minutes.

Take this moment to notice what agitates you or ruffles your feathers. You may be experiencing extreme frustration and resentment. Many things can occur in your day that feed your anger. Just notice what thoughts and sensations arise without trying to change or fix them. Simply let them be.

Now, pay attention to what is good about right now. Perhaps you’ve had a nice meal and feel sated and full. Perhaps your car is running smoothly. Perhaps you feel particularly good in your outfit. Perhaps you’ve completed an important work project and there’s a sense of accomplishment and relief. Take a mindful moment to breath in the goodness and exhale what you perceive to be wrong.

Now, consider the times when you were guided by the power of tenderness and compassion from within. Perhaps it was when your child spilled his drink everywhere and you didn’t let it upset you. Perhaps it was a time when you let someone go ahead of you in line because you weren’t in a hurry and it felt good to be kind to a stranger. With each in-breath and out-breath, take in those occasions or memories of being kind and know that they reside in you and are always a part of who you are.

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