A Releasing Your Unlimited Creativity discussion topic

Copyright 2009 by K. Ferlic,   All Rights Reserved

The creativity perspective on anger is that at some level of our being we know we are not separate and we are creating an illusion. We know there is a truth within our being and we need to live that truth. When we are denied the opportunity to express the truth that is within our own being we are hurt and one feels pain The normal response is to pull away form that which causes us pain because we deny ourselves. If we continue to be thwarted or stopped in our attempts to express ourselves, there is a likelihood we become angry. Whether we become angry because we cannot express our true nature or we become angry because we cannot express ourselves in the way we have learned to adapt ourselves to the world doesn’t matter. If we do not have the outlet to express ourselves we become angry. The question then become, "What do we do with this anger?"

Anger is only an energy that has built up and needs to be processed and dissipated. It is much like a thunderstorm or hurricane. The energy builds up as a result of natural processes and it must flow to dissipation. The more intense the natural process that creates the thunderstorm or hurricane the greater the storm. Although we may not like how the energy dissipates, it must be allowed to dissipate. If we thwart that energy it will be express and will not be contained. The energy will flow and find an outlet one way or another. What is not realized is that we can disarm the anger long before it becomes anger if we understand the process that cause anger in the first place. Additionally we can create conditions for the anger that does form to dissipate in that rather than trying to control the anger or suppress it and the energy is channel into to dissipation. But this cannot be done unless one understand the conditions that are causing the anger to arise.

From a creativity perspective, all anger is ultimately rooted in judgment. In this regard, anger is not an emotion of the body or a creation of the body and something uncontrollable that arises from within our being. Rather, it is a creation of the mind. It is just we do not understand how we are creating it for most the effort to create occurs nonconsciously.

Anger arises because we have a standard of some type that we, another or the world had dictated we must meet. Whether or not we, the other, or the world accepts our standard doesn’t matter. The fact that our expectation is not met and/or continually thwarted we cause ourselves to become angry. However, creatively, all anger is not misdirected energy. Or alternatively said, all the judgments that we hold that cause anger to arise are not necessarily wrong or bad. If we are angry because we are not allowed to live the truth of our own being and express the essence of our true nature, that anger will never go away until we are allowed to flow in accordance to that nature. If however, the anger arise from not meeting an expectation that mind has choose to embrace or is based on something that we have come to believe which is not necessarily true, we simply need to change the beliefs and we will cause the energy within the anger to become free and flow in another direction.

The problem with anger is how we do, or do not, respond to it and how we do or do not dissipate the energy within the anger. To do anything with anger, one must first recognize it is present and then determine its origins. Namely, what is being denied within our being giving rise to that anger. Is it the denial of the expression of the truth of our being or our inability to reach fulfillment of an expectation of the mind.

Many of us however, have learned to deny and suppress our anger so that we don’t even recognize it for what it is. We feel it when it is too late - that is, it burst forth in some unexpected way. There are a variety of ways that individuals have learned to address anger. But, unless the method they use allows the energy to freely flow and dissipate, we will scatter and fragment our creative life energy for our energy becomes bound in lack of flow.

One of the more typical ways to deal with anger other than suppressing it is to get the other person or the world to respond to our expectations. People get angry at us and we at them because of the expectations we have which have not been met. Although the expectation may be completely unrealistic and we, or they, cannot possible meet the agenda those expectations create for life, anger is generated. If we get individuals to respond to anger in the way we think they should be going, we feel successful and think the energy has dissipated. However, rather than dissipating the anger, the energy of the anger becomes bound in the tension between the two individuals and the energy hold us and the other in separation in the same way we would erect a barrier to keep ourselves away from what we fear and/or from something that we feel will harm us.

The anger itself maybe may have its origins in the defense of the ego and/or a defense against a fear held by the ego. It may be a fear against being humiliated, embarrassed, being seen less than one is, being mocked or made fun of, loss of face, not getting one’s own way, and a collection of other similar fears. Anger in these cases are a defense mechanism and the anger can be seen as protecting one against another and the anger simply arises as a barrier to keep one safe. Yet, as was said above, the anger we feel may have nothing to do with fear or defense of the ego or its expectations. Rather, the anger may arise because we are not being allowed to become who and what we are true to our nature. In any case, if we can’t get the other person to move in response to our anger, the question the become, "What do we do with it?" The answer of course, depends on the individual and what they believe and how they think.

Some individuals turn this anger inward and become guilty. They become disappointed in themselves for having become angry and feel they have not, or cannot, live up to the expectations of the idealized self they have created. They in fact find themselves hearing the voices of mommy, daddy or some other authority figure haunting them and hounding them as to how they are failing themselves for having got angry.

Others run their anger into a righteous anger. Righteous anger is an anger where the individual perceives they have been wronged and it is therefore acceptable to become furious even to the point of harming or killing another. If we look carefully, many action heroes, real or fictional, found in the ranks of the military, police or society itself carry a righteous anger. Yet righteousness, especially righteous anger, is a disservice to the individual and to others. Righteous anger only lead to punishment, violence, war and other ways of creating pain, harm and heartaches. It causes a separation within the individual and between the individual and those to whom the anger is directed. Anger is very much a two edged sword that cuts both ways. Including harming those outside of us to whomever the anger is directed there is also collateral damage to innocent people who are often in the way of our actions and it creates separation within our being. Anger also creates damaging chemicals and physiological responses that have been known to damage the body. Many are familiar with the effects of anger on upsetting the stomach, increased blood pressure and other stressful symptoms. But many are probably not familiar with how anger can be related to illness  itself

The traditional sacred warrior was never to act out of anger. There is the traditional Samurai story of where a samurai warrior had cornered a vicious robber and killer. The samurai drew his sword to kill the man in accordance with the law and his duty just as the man spit on him. The samurai feeling anger at the man resheathed his sword rather than kill the man in anger. The samurai’s duty was to kill the man. To kill the man in anger would have be personal and the samurai was never to kill for personal reasons. He was only to kill in clear mind and consciousness in accordance to the code of laws he swore to uphold. Anger is a personal issue and to act in anger causes separation within one’s self.

Anger should never be encouraged but rather recognized so one can both allow the energy to dissipate in a way that is not harmful and to be explored to understand its origins at its roots. In pulling the string to explore the roots of anger one will either find a demand of our being that flows from the Source of Life Itself or an expectation of the mind that has gone unfulfilled. Unless we deal with the anger at this root, the anger will only return and continue to return in other ways until this root is addressed.

Anger is only removed by love and understanding. A love sufficiently deep to love oneself enough to explore the depth of the origins of the anger and an understanding capable of disarming the root. Sometimes the love that is necessary is quite profound for the root of anger lies deep within one’s being and requires a great effort to dig down and explore the depth and breath of one’s being to find the root. In exploring the cause of our anger we may also have to face the pain and hurt that forced us into an angry response because all else had failed. In exploring the cause we can provide a remedy to the situation that is lasting and often more in alignment with the desired flow of our creative life energy. This alignment will then allows us to recover and call back our creative power rather than having it scattered and fragmented by the anger. As one explores anger they will find holding onto anger only causes physical and emotional consequences within our own being and it gets in the way of efficient creative action in life.

Related topics
Fragmentation of our creative ability and creative power
Loss of creative play
A cage of our own making

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