Tantra on Anger

[Guest guest]

Tantra on Anger

 

Anger is merely a diversionary tactic to avoid looking at our pain. When we use

anger we

create a little fire or skirmish elsewhere to take the heat off what is really

happening. That

our pain has been prodded and provoked.

 

We all carry backpacks full of pain. These backpacks get fuller and fuller as

we

find ourselves

in situations that keep reinforcing our pain. The name of the pain can be

abandoned, belittled,

not enough, not heard, disbelieved, not trusted or any other experience that has

imprinted deeply

on our life. When we have a backpack and carry this personal pain around, the

Universe keeps providing us with new situations that give us an opportunity to

look

at the situation differently

and to see the truth of our pain. We become stuck in a groove, like a stuck

record, and we say

the same words over and over again. Life then gives us a similar situation over

and over again.

The Universe wants us to pick up the stylus and move it and hear new words, to

listen to a

different song.

 

When the backpack of a particular pain is full, and we have yet another

situation

that reinforces

that pain, we get angry because we can’t take on board any more pain. Our load

is

full and it already weighs us down. We focus on someone or something and blame

them for our anger

when really it is our overloaded pain. If we divert away from ourselves and

maintain our

anger outward we get some respite from our pain.

 

A young woman in Australia had a fight with her mother and left home in anger.

She

was

murdered. The mother was European and soon left to return to her homeland saying

in

anger

to all who would listen “Australia killed my daughter” . Her personal pain load

and

her personal sense of responsibility were so overwhelming she could not face

them

so she chose to blame something else for her daughters death. She used anger to

avoid looking at what the real issue

was – her pain.

 

A small boy about to go on camp came to his mother and said “please don’t buy

anything

“Home Brand” (generic brand) for me to take on camp”. His mother became really

angry with

him. She said he was selfish and uncaring about her and not considerate of her

circumstances.

Her real issue was her pain at not having enough. Not having enough money to

buy

brand label items in the supermarket and needing to buy cheaper generic brand

foods. She did this every

week and every week her backpack of pain was filled with her sense of lack, not

having enough. Her son’s comments overfilled her sense of pain and she could

not

face it.

 

Every situation of anger is masking a pain. The anger is a big sign, saying look

at

the pain that

lies here, what can I do about the pain? How can I look at this differently?

What

new tune

can I sing about this pain? How can I let go of this pain? If we ignore the

big

sign, next time

we will get a bigger sign and then again a bigger sign until we finally get the

point. Our anger is

a message to take more notice of what is going on within.

 

Susanne Macrae

© 1999