Anger and the Role of Forgiveness

Anger is a human emotion. It is strongly linked to rage, and all of us have experienced it in some form since we were children. We are taught as children that anger and rage are not OK, and so we learn very early on and very skilfully to hide our anger and our rage.

Anger is also linked to fear. It is often a fear response that triggers an angry outburst, and is part of the fight or flight response. But fighting and retreating are actions that we take in response to an external threat. These actions are inbuilt into our system, and exist in order to preserve our life - they are a function of the part of our brain known as the limbic system. When this function of the limbic system is triggered, we find we have acted before we have realised it consciously. On the other hand, fear and anger are emotions that are part of the same response, but generally are responding to an internal thought or perception about a situation. Since these are an internal representation of what we see, we can usually do something about these types of reactions before they create a problem for us in the external world.

Does this mean that we can make the emotions disappear? Emotion is energy. What happens to energy when it is no longer discernible - does it cease to exist? Or is it transformed into something else? Physics teaches us that energy cannot be destroyed, it is always transformed into something else. If we push down and deny our anger, it will re-emerge in some other form, often as pain and disease in the body. Or we project it on to those around us and become a target for another's anger. Which sets up a cycle of blame and recrimination, sometimes for decades.

If you attract angry people in your life, it might be worth examining situations where you do not own your own angry emotions. You have the option to transform your unwanted anger into a more productive force. Anger has so much energy in it, imagine what you could accomplish if you could transmute it into an area in your life that needs a burst of energy and enthusiasm!

The need for forgiveness of those who have earned our angry or raging emotions is critical so that we avoid these emotions turning against ourselves and emerging as serious health issues. Often we feel anger, and are unable to forgive those who have wronged us - we believe that they should pay for what they have done. But if we look at our output on an energetic level, what we put out comes back to us three times and more. If we are putting our anger "out there" then we attract it back to us x 3. If we put out forgiveness, the same thing. Love, acceptance, kindness - what do you want to attract back to yourself?

Forgiveness is not about letting people off the hook. It is about freeing yourself from a destructive cycle that has no good outcome for your mind, your relationships or your health.

Estelle is a certified Life Coach, NLP Practitioner, NLP Performance Coach, a certified Remedial Massage Therapist and the owner of Esprit Coaching. She is passionate about providing her clients with successful strategies for realising a life of purpose, meaning and fulfillment using the best in change tools to ensure rapid results. Visit Esprit Coaching today http://www.espritcoaching.com.au/ and get your copy of the Success Booster MP3.
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