ANGER AND WAY'S TO CONTROL IT.

Our thoughts and experiences trigger emotions, but we do not all respond the same way to the same experiences - what makes one person angry might make another person laugh (and that person's laughter might even make the angry person angrier!). Part of the human experience is to feel a full spectrum of emotion, including anger - emotions are the colors with which we paint the canvas of our lives. Emotions enrich our lives and deepen our experience. Even negative emotions such as grief, sadness, and anger are all natural human emotions that serve a purpose in each person's life.

Even the Dalai Lama admits to feeling anger from time to time - the key is not to hold onto it, and not to let it be your first response, your most frequent response, or your default reaction. A true emotion is a response to what is occurring in the moment, and once that emotion is felt, it is released. A child experiences pure emotion from one moment to the next: laughing, then crying, then laughing again. If you hold onto an emotion such as anger longer than the moment in which it is triggered, you will build resentment. Rage and resentment are the buildup of anger and grudges over time, which fester in the heart and soul, and causes dis-ease in the body and mind.

Being resentful is not an emotion, it is a state of being, and it is a choice. Peace and joy are not emotions either - they are both states of being, and they are also choices. When you choose to live in the state of peace and joy, then you may still feel anger from time to time, but it will not last, because you will soon return to your normal state of peace and joy. The same is true when you live in a state of anger - you can feel peace and joy from time to time, but they will not last because you will soon return to your "normal" default state of anger. In order to change your state of being, you need to change your statement of being an angry person. Let go of anger as part of your identity, release anger as your automatic response to everything, and be willing to live in a state of peace and joy. So, how do you get over resentment and anger?