Have you ever gotten angry without any particular reason to be angry?
For example, has your boss ever asked you to do something and you got upset with his request? Or maybe your spouse took a certain action that got you fuming inside, and there really was no particular reason to get angry, except you didn’t like what you were asked to do or accept?
When these kinds of feelings arise, they are not justifiable reasons to get angry, but selfishness and self-righteousness rearing their ugly head. And it’s best not to take our sins out on others, but deal with them between ourselves and God.
To counteract the tendency to get angry without reason, I’ve found it helpful to understand better how mortal mind works in the human scheme of things. Like a garden that has untold weed seeds ready to sprout amongst the desirable vegetables when growing season is in full swing, the human mind has untold weed-beliefs that sprout at undesirable times.
In the book of Job, we find, “And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up an down in it.” Satan, or the evil mind, is like the wind carrying weed seeds through the atmosphere of mortal thought looking for a place to plant them. If our thinking is prone to accepting anger as normal, it might become one of those landing pads for resentment or animosity. We have to stay alert and awake to prevent our thinking from becoming a planting ground for error.
Like the faithful gardener keeping diligent watch over his crops and quickly removing all unwanted plants, we too must keep avid watch over our mental garden to quickly yank out any hints of negativity growing.
It’s not normal to feel angry. It’s not natural to get mad and fuss and fume. It’s divinely natural to feel love, express love and be filled with peace and warmth. This is the way God created us and designed us to remain.
So, think faithful to your true state of Mind—the divine Mind, which is filled with Love—and don’t let suggestions of hate and anger take root. Yank them out of consciousness with a rapid-fire response, and preserve your health and sanity. It’s a much more enjoyable way to live.
I disagree. I think anger is normal and natural when we have been wronged. It can also act as a warning that our boundaries are being violated. I don’t think anger arises out of no place at all, I think it needs to be heeded and respected and listened to. Behaviour that results in others being disrespected is not good, but anger doesn’t need to be blamed for that.
Interesting comment by anonymous. Having dealt with anger in my own life, I realize that anger is not a primary emotion but rather secondary. It is a choice of response, I beleive, rather than feeling the pain behind the anger. And most of the time, no matter how justified I felt, it just didnt set well with myself later. In searching for a different response, I found other ways to make boundaries and not allow other to take advantage of me or use me. I am convinced that it all begins with thought. and anger justified doesnt give more life to our own lives. Yet Americans love a good movie like Rambo where he is injured and he retaliates and blows the town apart for the unfair treatment he received. “Dont tread on me!” is a short term response. Like all sin, it is self destroying and implodes upon itself, eventually. Good is own reward and anger it’s own punishment.
Now I find, my feelings for anger are my best opportunities to examine and explore my own thoughts and see if I am seeing others in a call for love or call for punishment.
Just a thought……….. woody
Yeah… I used to love a good “mad”.
I thought it felt good. But, I had to learn a new view of what feeling good was about. The more I’ve learned that the anger hurt me more than it punished whoever it was aimed at and Love gave me the ultimate control over my boundaries–the more I’ve given up anger as a tool in my life. For me, I found that others often used my own anger as the ultimate weapon against me and turning it off and yielding to Love instead gave me the ability to move out of their range. Often the material world is unfriendly. Anger never once gave me the ticket out of it — but an increasing spiritual sense and learning to use a Love response instead has brought much freedom from the troubles of the world.
I’m only sharing what has been working for me and I was noted in the past for a short fuse, a flashing temperament, and railing against injustices large and small.
This way has achieved far more peace, respect, and success so far…. enough to convince me to continue working at it.
Thanks for the reminder Evan.
All the above is so good to ponder and learn from. Thanks for sharing.
Anger does often seem normal to a mortal sense of things. Even Jesus had his tense moments, like the time he threw the moneychangers out of the temple. But Jesus kept growing in his understanding and demonstration of Love too. To the point, at the crucifixion, the greatest injustice of all, where he forsook anger and mortal concern altogether, totally putting his future into the hands of God, assured that Love would triumph over the hate he faced. And it did. Love walked him out of the tomb alive 3 days later. And this is the example I look up to. If Jesus would have returned hate for hate, he would have fallen to the same low level as his persecutors. And he would have fallen victim to their evils. But he did not. He stayed above it all and transcended it, and eventually ascended, ascended in thought to the highest point of all–pure divine Love, or heaven. A very high aspiration for the rest of us, indeed!
Right on! Mrs. Eddy says to not even murmur over sin and hate, anger comes under that. It ain’t easy I know. I have blown up at everything under the sun. Maybe not verbally but you know, inside. It is the human way, to feel with our senses and until we start to get a grasp of the divine in our consciousness, we won’t progress. It’s taking the steps to lead a Christianly Scientific life that make people take a step back and rethink a little because they KNOW deep down that anger and hate isn’t the right thing and flees from good, God. Think like God and anger has no place. It is worth the effort; Evan, glad to see you back on the blog!!!
Nice thoughts and it comes at a time I had negative thoughts about a recent accident with my auto.
I began to realize my negative thoughts concerning the other parties statements to her insurance company which were not correct. Several days later the believed damage to my auto was not noticeable. I forgave my negative thoughts towards that person rather to focus on negative things.
I feel relieved and comfortable without any further actions.