Cooling the Flames

While watching a video by our favorite Swamis’ in which he talked about  characteristics of a saint and about anger, I was brought back to a memory.

I once got snarled up in Bengaluru’s silk board traffic. There was a red light at the intersection, and many vehicles were halted. An auto-wala was also continually honking for his vehicle to pass, but there was no space to do so. After some time he began verbally berating the biker in front of him. The biker became upset at his nasty statements. In response, the biker started verbally abusing him as well, which led to a fistfight between them in the middle of the road.

We live in a time of many sophisticated means of communication where Information may now go to the opposite side of the earth easily and fast. However, communication between people, including father and son, father and daughter, sister and brother, husband and wife, has become extremely difficult nowadays. What has made people so impatient, so intolerant, so hateful?

Families break up over minor issues because of their anger, doubt, impatience, and hostility, and we see people acting aggressively in response to minor issues.

Almost every day, I observe a woman in my neighbourhood who verbally and physically assaults her small child, who is maybe three years old. It’s tough for me to digest her so unkind behaviour to such a small child. If this continues, the child will most certainly inherit the same samskaras as he grows older.

Many individuals pray to the gods and goddesses, visit numerous temples, hospitals, and ingest a variety of remedies in order to have a child. Those that have it, however, are unaware of its significance.

As we delve deeper to understand why people suffer so greatly from such mental formations, we discover that its roots go deep and that ignorance, obsessions, failures, expectations, fury, and a variety of other factors contribute to their suffering. Until and unless we are liberated from these psychological blocks, we will not be able to live a happy life.

 A bomb ready to Explode

To be happy, to me, is to suffer less

— Thich Nhat Hanh

Anger has the power to utterly halt our spiritual advancement. It can take away from us God’s grace. It brings up a lot of suffering, affects our peace of mind, and harms other people as well as our loved ones. Therefore I chose this topic to cover in this post

We may have witnessed that many times, hasty remarks uttered in a moment of rage have ruined our relationships and trust of  others in us.

Showing anger itself is not wrong, but being unaware of your anger is. Because it harms both you and other people. Sometimes you can show anger purposefully. For example, a father may become enraged with his kids and behave sternly or yell at them if they endanger themselves, stray from the right path, or act out of line.

But, if we are unaware of our anger, the effects are regrettable and negative. When we are angry, do we feel good about the decisions we’ve made or the sarcastic remarks we’ve made? No, because we were completely insane and lost all consciousness when we are unaware of anger.

9 Ways To Address Anger

 To do so, we must consider both the biochemical and psychological elements of anger, because anger has origins in both our body and our mind.

1. Take care of your food

   The food we eat has a significant impact on our mood because there is a clear link between what we eat and how we feel. What we consume has a direct influence on brain function and, ultimately, mood. This is a two-way road. The brain has an immediate influence on the stomach and intestines, and the stomach has an equivalent influence on the brain. So, to feel at ease, retain your peace while eating and eat healthier.

   If we consume a lot of processed foods (bread, biscuits, cakes, sausage rolls, pies and pasties, etc), fatty foods(meat, egg, butter, etc), dairy products like cheese, butter, and paneer, or alcoholic beverages, they will stick in our intestines for a long time and take longer to digest. Eventually it causes dullness, depression, irritability, anger, heaviness, sadness, etc. as a result.

   Therefore, be mindful of what you feed your stomach, as it has a significant impact on how you feel. Everything we consume matters, including what, how, and when we consume it.

   If you want to feel calm and better, choose to eat simple, light foods that are simple to digest. Additionally, consume food in moderation to keep yourself feeling healthy. As a result, your stomach and intestines will be clean, and you’ll feel so free and light.

   On this, Swamiji has spoken brilliantly. Please feel free to view the videos below.

   1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vK3e8nKNESg
   2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IAeGjL_EYE

2. Take care of your sleep

   When we’re sleep-deprived, we tend to be more impulsive, hyperactive or dull, and emotional. We might find that interacting with other people becomes difficult.

   A lack of sleep can severely impact your digestive system, leading to indigestion. Again, since the brain, stomach, and intestines are all intricately connected, indigestion has an impact on our mood. It makes you agitated and angry and may make it harder for you to handle stress.
   Therefore, those who are sleep deprived are more likely to become agitated and fight with others even for smaller reasons.

   You may struggle to think properly and manage your emotions if you don’t get enough sleep. You may act erratically and have a short fuse — perhaps you rage at someone at work for making a mistake, or you walk away altogether if someone says something that irritates you. It can impair productivity at work, ruin relationships, and cause mood disorders including depression and aggression.

   In light of the close connection between sleep and mental health, it seems reasonable to assume that improving sleep can help better mental health and can be used to treat a variety of psychiatric disorders.

   A restful night’s sleep makes you feel better. Better sleep makes you feel calmer and significantly enhances your capacity for learning as well as your memory, concentration, and intuition.

   “You’re putting energy in the bank when you go to sleep,”
   — Barry Krakow

3. Take care of what you watch and listen

    

   Those who are tall, tend to trust more. So these sponsors, these influencers, the celebrities, why do they get paid in millions to do endorsements because the average human mind is unable to distinguish. They are thinking, well, he is somebody I look up to, he is somebody who made me laugh in a certain movie, they must be telling the truth. They can’t differentiate.
   — Om Swami

   Social media, television, and the internet are major advancements in the way information is transformed rapidly and easily. These mediums have enormous potential to affect individuals and spread both positivity and negative factors.

   When the film KABIR (Hindi)/ARJUN REDDY (Telugu) was released, I noticed a big trend among young people in which they imitated the main actor’s appearance, from beard to smoking to strolling. Many people began to smoking and drinking without hesitation after watching that movie, since such habits were celebrated in that cinema. Such is the influence of the media on our minds.

   Nowadays, social media, television, and the internet are all a part of our lives; yet, they can only help us if we use them wisely. However, many of us are now immersed in many unnecessary activities via these means. For many hours, we watch, listen, and read what is superfluous. We have no idea what we are eating, who is seated in front of us, or what we are talking about. To put it another way, we are functioning blindly.

   There have been countless cases of horrific things happening around the world that are unbelievable, including a school student who slaughtered tens of his classmates and a sister scheming to murder her sibling in order for her video to become viral, and so on and so forth.

   Is there something you think is influencing them to commit these horrific things? Is there something that corrupts their minds such that they lack empathy and love for others and become involved in such heinous acts?

   There could be a variety of factors, ranging from their social circle to family members, but I am confident that violent video games, films, television, and other media are having a significantly bad impact on young minds.

   We are consuming a limitless number of undesirable things through our eyes and ears.  People are lost in watching movies and playing video games. There are people who are playing video games even at a very old age. Elders in the family are watching all of the animosity, yelling, fighting, adultery, eroticism, and other things on their digital devices without a second thought for the children around them. In this way, we indirectly encourage children to imitate what they see on television, in web series, on social media, and so on. So, in some ways, even family members are too responsible for influencing their family’s young minds indefinitely and directly.

   We should use technology to create beneficial consequences for humanity rather than negative outcomes. When we have the power to communicate with everyone on the planet, we must do so in the appropriate language so that future generations understand what is best for them.

   We may now sit here and speak to the entire world. Why not put this ability to good use and contribute to making the world a better place?

4. Meditate

   Meditation can assist in the healing of anger on multiple levels by addressing the fundamental thoughts, emotions, and physiological responses.   It reduces our behavioral and physical responses to anger and produces a tranquil, balanced state of calm.

   As we are all meditators, there is no need to go into detail about what meditation can offer to our lives. So I’ll leave this matter to you.

   There are numerous videos by our favorite Swami ji. Please feel free to click on the link provided below.

   https://www.youtube.com/user/omswamitv

5. Do Pranayamas

   Pranayama techniques like Nadi Shodhana Pranayama (Alternate Nostril Breathing) and Shithali Pranayama can help calm the nervous system and release anger induced tension. They calms your mood, helps in anger management, and improves your focus. You’ll be more happy, calm, and relaxed if you do them regularly.

6. Spirituality in daily life

   Our lives become more joyful, creative, empathetic, and energetic as we pursue spirituality.

   When we are on the spiritual path, we are aware that we are mortal. We make every effort to use our time wisely in order to cleanse our minds of any cravings and aversions. Those who are not on the spiritual path, on the other hand, are unable to see death coming because their minds are filled with wants and emotions.

   If we do not cleanse our minds of impressions, we will die with the same thoughts and impressions. Anger, aversions, lust, and other emotions accompany us through many lives until we are free of them. So, in order to lose all of those, spirituality is crucial.

   Spirituality depicts life in a larger setting. We grow more open to myriad new possibilities that the average mind cannot comprehend or experience. As a result, a spiritual person becomes less concerned with surface matters such as what other people say, think, and so on. As a result, it eventually contributes to a happy and serene life.

7. Practice mindfulness

   Try to incorporate mindfulness into your regular routine. Eat gracefully, mindfully, and slowly, savouring each bite. Listen carefully to grasp the other person’s meaning behind his remarks. Speak intentionally and slowly to prevent making mistakes. Work thoughtfully to prevent making mistakes and forgetting things.

   It allows you to slow down and pay attention to your emotions, ideas, actions and cravings. However, do not do it while sleeping because it may create sleep deprivation because sleep demands no monitoring.

8. Do not dwell in the past

   Some past experiences continue to hold us back. Someone has wronged us, someone has spoken ill of us, and we have done something wrong. This caused us to feel a mixture of rage, anxiety, and guilt. But there is nothing to be gained by replaying such events in one’s mind. Whatever happened has happened, and it is over. Life is new every moment. So leave behind the past and move happily into the future.

9. Don’t expect from others

   Expectations are a part of life; they are natural. When expectations do arise, though, you should merely be conscious that expecting something from others only reduces your delight in life. Because unmet expectations are a key driver of disruptions.

One with true virtue
always seeks a way to give
One who lacks true virtue
always seeks a way to get.
  To the giver comes the fullness of life;
                                      to the taker, just an empty hand.                                       
– Tao

                 Peace and Love,

                     Narendra