How Mindfulness can reduce your Anger?
This is no doubt that more or less everyone faces anger in his or her life. Some people can manage, or some people fail to manage anger or face severe difficulties to manage anger. No doubt at all that anger make the life sometimes most miserable situation not only mentally but also sometimes physically too. Yet, anger arises in the Mind all on a sudden and throw the person in a terrible situation. If someone has understanding how anger arise & what consequences he or she has to face, pretty sure, the person might put the best efforts to reduce anger to avoid such miserable situation. In fact, Mindfulness can help to reduce anger, which many people are still unaware. Can Mindfulness really helps to reduce anger? How Mindfulness can reduce your Anger? These questions might come up in your Mind. If so, this Article can help you to understand in depth to have all answers.
Let’s have a basic understanding of what anger is? What effects arise physically & mentally when anger arise? What is Mindfulness?
Once have a basic understanding of all the above questions, it will be helpful to have much better understanding how Mindfulness can reduce your anger.
Let’s move on.
What is Anger?:
According to Wikipedia, Anger, also known as Wrath or Rage, is an intense emotional state involving a strong uncomfortable and non-cooperative response to a perceived provocation, hurt, or threat.
If you look at above, Anger is an emotional expression which is absolutely unpleasant or discomfort. In fact, Anger is the emotional response that someone has to an external or internal event perceived threat, or a violation or an injustice over the person.
Anger is a basic human emotion which is very common for everyone in life. Intensity of anger depends on the person, how he or she can manage. To control or reduce the anger is absolutely the ability of the Mind.
Are there any Physical & Mental effect caused by Anger?:
Yes, there are always a physical & mental effects caused by anger. Once someone become angry, he or she might experience increase of heart rate, increase of blood pressure, fast breathing, headache, etc.in physical level. Also, might face mental distraction like continuous arising of thoughts, anxiety, mental stress, etc. All these experiences are very common while anger arise. That fact is, when such experiences encounters by a person, he or she is not much of aware as the Mind is quite wild due to anger.
As anger is very natural in human life, it’s absolutely needed to control or manage or reduce level best to have a sound life. Otherwise, such anger can lead to create severe distraction, both physically or mentally. Once someone is aware about anger & consequences of anger, of course, he or she should think over how to reduce anger and keep the life more blissful.
Egocentric Mind brings everything to Self that creates conflicts in the Mind & Anger arises
Egocentric Mind always brings everything to connect to the image of Self. This is mine, this is not favorable for me, I don’t like this, why he refuse to do this, why he didn’t return my money, etc. are very common to understand about the ‘Self’.
Bringing everything towards to the image of self, the Mind starts to keep figuring out or start judging over them. Anything not goes in favor of such ‘Self’, conflicts starts in the Mind in between perceive or desires or intention and the situation or fact or whatever the reality appears. The Mind gets wild as things not happened as perceived, it starts to express unpleasant or uncomfortable intense by creating emotion.
That means, anger arises when the self-centric Mind finds things not happened or threatened or injustices happened as perceived. So, anger is a natural creation of the Mind like feelings, thoughts, etc., and no one is out of anger as being a human being.
What is meant by Mindfulness?:
According to Wikipedia –
Mindfulness is the practice of purposely bringing one’s attention in the present moment without evaluation, a skill one develops through meditation or through other training. Mindfulness drives from Sati, a significant element of Buddhist tradition.
If you base on the definition of Mindfulness as stated on Wikipedia, it clearly indicates that Mindfulness is the Mindfulness develops through Meditation or other training. That means Mindfulness is the ability of the Mind which developed through Meditation or some other training. So, Mindfulness is not the Meditation at all.
Wikipedia has also stated that Mindfulness derives from ‘Sati’ which is a significant element of Buddhism. Let’s look at the meaning of the word Sati.
Mindfulness originates from the Pali term ‘Sati’ in Sanskrit ‘Smrti’. Both Pali & Sanskrit are the Indian language.
In Pali language, the meaning is –
Self Collectedness, Powers of Reference, Retention
In Sanskrit, the meaning is –
To Remember, To recollect, To Bear in Mind
Based on depth analysis, that Mindfulness is the Power or capability to Retain or Hold.
So, the Meaning of Mindfulness we can draw that –
Mindfulness is the ability to consciously aware of the Present Moment without any Judgement..
But, the question comes, what to be aware of the Present Moment? Isn’t it?
Based on the above basic understanding as well your self experiences of anger, let’s move together to figure out how Mindfulness can reduce your Anger.
Be aware of Anger that is arising in the Present Moment in Mindfulness:
As Mindfulness is there in the Mind, that means the Mind has the ability to be aware of its own functions, activities, movement, surroundings, etc. in the Present Moment. What is happening, what is going on, what thoughts are arising, what emotions are arising, etc., the Mind is aware. If the Mind gets lost in the past or in the future or moving around in the present moment, etc., all get notices by the Mind. In fact, the Mind is totally aware of its own movement & keep continue to follow everything by awareness.
When anger arises in the Mind, that means, the anger is arising in the present moment. Anger is not arising in the past or in the future. As anger is arising at this very present moment, the Mind is aware of anger. The fact is to be aware of the present moment, no matter what is occurring or happening in the Mind. As anger arises, the Mind is totally aware that anger is arising. The Mind is aware of its own activities that the Anger is creating by the Mind.
As Mindfulness is there in Mind, that means the Mind has the ability to be aware. As anger is arising at the present moment, that means the Mind has the ability to be aware of anger also. Due to be aware of anger, the Mind can observe anger also.
The Mind observes the total movement of Anger in Mindfulness:
Once the Mind is aware that anger is arising, the Mind starts to observe the movement of anger. How anger is arising? How anger moves? What consequences are occurring in the Mind due to anger? Does such anger create more & more anger? The Mind only observe their movement without any judgement.
While the Mind is aware of anger, the Mind is putting its total attention on observing the movement of anger. Anger is not standing as a dumb man. Anger is not standing like a still picture. It’s moving around in the Mind after arise. Such movement either fast or slow. The movement of anger moves as a flow. It’s like ups & down.
This movement of anger is not a partial movement, it’s a total movement of anger from one point to another point. That is anger arising to the anger ending or disappearing. Observing the total movement of the anger without any judgement by the Mind, the Mind can realize or understand the true nature of the anger. If no judgement taken place over anger by the Mind, anger just arise & move and disappear. That means anger has no self power or no inherent power. Anger only gets activated or get powerful once the Mind get attached to them by judging.
Observe Anger without any Judgement in Mindfulness that leads to reduce Anger:
Why not to judge anger?
If judgement done over thoughts, anger, emotions, feelings, etc., the Mind obviously keep them in front of ‘Self’. That is the natural tendency of the Mind. Once the Mind starts to judge, of course, judgement takes place based on the intention of the ‘Self’. Everything judge based on whether they are in favor of the ‘Self’ or not. If they are not in favor of ‘Self’, they will be thrown showing or treating as dislikes, threats, bad, sad, unfavorable, discomfort, etc., showing as reasons which also creates by the Mind.
In such case, the true or real nature of the situation like anger or thoughts or feelings or emotions, etc., whatever it is, they lose their real or true nature. As judgement made based on ‘Self’, everything has been altered or changed or manipulated. No true or real nature is there. They became imitation due to judgement.
As the Mind has the ability to keep itself remain in without any judgement, the Mind can understand or realize the true or real nature of the anger. Anger arise, moves & disappear without any reaction or impact on the Mind as they were not judged at all by the Mind. The Mind can also understand or realize that anger has no inherent power at all. Anger is totally powerless unless they gain any power from the Mind. As anger has no inherent power, they become harmless. The Mind also understands or realizes that the anger never last long. Once anger arise, they move and disappear. In fact, anger is totally momentary by its own nature.
Anger creates & ceases by the Mind which can understand by the Mind while in Mindfulness:
As the Mind is aware at the Present Moment, the Mind is aware that anger is arising. Observing such anger without any judgement, the Mind can realize or understand the true nature of anger that anger is the creation of the Mind and anger never last long, and they also disappear in the Mind too. Anger has no inherent Power unless they gain the power from the Mind once they judged. As anger has no power, they can’t do anything in case the Mind don’t judge over anger.
That means, likes or dislikes, good or bad, nice or ugly, comfort or discomfort, etc., all are the creation of the Mind when the Mind is ‘Self’ Centric. The Mind also understands or realizes that anger is also the creation of the Mind like thoughts, feelings, emotion, etc. As the Mindfulness is there, the Mind is capable of being aware at the present moment without judgement. As no judgement over anger, anger becomes a powerless creation of the Mind with movement to cease in the Mind. The Mind only observes as an Observer without any judgement.
The Mind can understand that Anger is a natural function while remains in Mindfulness:
Being aware of anger from arising to disappearing in the Mind, the Mind understands & realizes that anger is a natural creation of the Mind like thoughts, feelings, emotion, etc. If anger is judged by the Mind, anger creates more & more anger. As a result, the Mind gets distracted and expresses anger through unpleasant, intense emotion. Ultimately, the Mind has to suffer. The Mind totally understand or realize the true nature of Anger by observation.
As the Mid is aware & able to observe anger, the Mind faces every movement of anger. Keep continues to aware, observe without judgement, the Mind understand, anger is a natural function or activity of the Mind like thoughts, feelings, etc. Keeping continuous observation by awareness & remaining in without judgement, the Mind doesn’t encounter any difficulties to face anger whenever anger arise. As the Mind has realized or understood the true nature or real nature of anger that anger has no inherent power unless the Mind get attached to judge them, the Mind skillfully observes. As a result, anger arise & disappear without any impact over the Mind.
Once the Mind can understand or realize the true or real nature of anger, the Mind only keeps itself aware of anger, observes the anger without getting attached to judge anger, the Mind lets the anger to go away or disappear in its natural way. Thus, Mindfulness can reduce your Anger naturally.
Conclusion:
Being aware of the Present Moment, the Mind is totally aware that Anger is arising. As the Mind has the ability to observe the anger that arising in the Present Moment, the Mind pays its total attention to observe from the arising to disappear anger in the Mind without any judgement. Remaining in Mindfulness, the Mind can realize or understand the true or real nature of Anger that has no inherent power unless it gains power from the Mind by judgement. Anger arise like all other natural functions or activities or phenomena as the creation of the Mind.
As a result, the Mind only be keep itself in the awareness & observe anger without any judgement. Hence, Anger can’t inspire or engage the Mind to react or judge over it. In such case, anger has no other alternate option, rather to disappear as usual without keeping any impact over the Mind.
This is the way, Mindfulness can reduce your Anger. Be in Mindfulness and be away from anger.