Beyond anger
There seems to be a vast excess of anger in our world and it shows at both individual and collective level. Moods are more and more polarized and the contrast between the angry, harsh, dominating pole and the depressed, soft and dominated one is visible everywhere. And while there seems to be an increased awareness of the transgressions caused by the “hot” mood, it paradoxically coexists with an ever growing prevalence of it. The deep causes of this are many and almost all are well hidden in the subtle system structure and function, thus rather invisible without the Self-realized awareness and the consequence is that only “palliation” is possible without actual inner transformation.
One of the causes of the ever growing amount of anger is the giant wave of materialism we are all riding upon. For the last almost 2 centuries, acquisition instinct has become stronger and stronger and accepted as the first and most important driver of human existence. Possession has been equated with happiness, implicitly and explicitly through a thousand information and interaction channels. Pressure to compete in manufacturing objects or performing services leads to pressure in marketing them then in acquiring them, etc, etc in a never ending and always higher stakes game that traps us inside a robotic action figure. But in our heart of hearts we all know this is not at all the road to happiness. An obvious example is that acquiring a stable, secure and functional dwelling is a good thing. But what makes it a home is the love shared by the occupants - and that love IS the happiness itself.
It is very easy to understand this in subtle system terms. What we seek in “happiness” is the joy itself. That is an emotion, it is “produced” in the heart, on the left side. While our material existence happens on the right side and by itself it simply cannot touch the heart. It is only when matter becomes a source of sharing and giving, a vehicle of concern and affection, that it can have any connection with happiness at all. When matter is only used for self-indulgence it never gives any lasting satisfaction and in time the depth of frustration and feeling of waste gives rise to growing self-destructive behaviours of many sorts. In parallel, the pressure to acquire and “perform” creates a lot of extra heat in our liver and then entire right side through the mental and / or physical overactivity and creates a personality that, automatically, feels entitled to control and dominate others in order to “achieve goals”. And when any resistance is encountered, the reaction comes out as one manifestation of anger or another. Clearly not the recipe for happiness…
Once we get Self Realization, it is amazing to feel how much extra heat is in our system here in the Western world. Luckily there are simple ways for getting rid of it over time. This also can help us improve some ailments that may have appeared due to the excess heat (hypertension, some forms of asthma, etc) and more importantly allows us to move forward to a more detached state of mind, beyond acquisition pressures and into a calm and sharing mood. This should be experienced first hand through practice of true meditation and a little bit of introspection and cleansing.