#001 Power of Anger, Ayahuasca Insights + Screaming Underwater
One mind-expanding idea 💡
This week, I’ve been researching and writing about anger – what is it, where it comes from, most importantly, how to express it in a healthy way. Note: See below for a powerful technique for releasing anger.
It’s my way of processing a rather confronting anger episode I had in a Parisian campground a few months back (more on that another time).
One idea that’s resonating with me is: Anger isn’t the “bad” emotion it’s made out to be. It’s a powerful energy that can be used for good.
Anger is energising, up-regulating, clarifying, motivating – an emotion of action, creativity and change.
Anger allows you to determine right from wrong, to take a stand, and make an impact.
Anger can reveal the tender parts of you that you need to explore and heal.
By learning to feel anger as it arises, you can choose how you channel its energy.
In the shaky space between stimulus and response, you can choose destruction or creation.
“Anger is as existentially necessary for us as fire and magma are for the natural order on this planet. We need the ability to say no, the ability to destroy the old so that something new can be born, just as deadly floods of lava transform into fertile soil with time. These powers are two sides of the same coin, and neither of them, not the one in nature nor the one in ourselves, can be labeled as good or bad. A power is simply a power; it is neither good nor bad. The way in which it is implemented determines the direction of its impact.” – Vivian Dittmar, The Power of Feelings
One curiosity-igniting link 👀
I recently attended an ayahuasca ceremony in an undisclosed location. Ayahuasca is an ancient hallucinogenic brew that’s been used by various tribes in the Amazon Jungle for centuries. This was my third time drinking ayahuasca and the first outside of the Amazon (you can read about my earlier experiences in the essay, How it Feels to Die).
The morning after the most recent ceremony, I wrote about my experience in a Google doc. I wanted to ensure I had a record of my journey. I also wanted to have something to send friends who asked me, “So, how was it?…”
I feel like I received some profound insights on my journey that have given me a fresh perspective on the nature of reality.
Here’s a short excerpt:
“… there is enough beauty in the smallest unit of time, a fraction of a moment, to last infinite lifetimes. Happiness or contentment or love, is when we slow down and tune in enough to catch a small glimpse of this beauty.”
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One life-altering practice 🔥
In my exploration of anger, I’ve been researching and experimenting with how to release and express anger in healthy ways.
One of my favourite ways to release anger is by screaming underwater (I wrote a thread about it here).
You’ve probably heard of screaming into a pillow to release anger, but this is on a whole other level.
How to do it:
- I’m lucky enough to live by the beach so I like to do this in the ocean, but you can also do it in a pool, bath, or even a bucket of water.
- Submerge your whole body (or face) and let out the most ferocious scream you can muster. I like to thrash around and shadow box in the water, too. You don’t have to worry about swallowing water as the force of the scream is like a big exhale.
- Notice how you feel afterwards. Repeat up to 3x.
While screaming doesn’t get to the root cause of your anger, it provides a release valve for energy to escape.
Anger is an emotion that wants to move. Emotion is energy in motion after all.
I find screaming is a great way to release pent-up energy from your body.
You should find your mind is clearer, you feel lighter, and you’re in a better place to address the cause of your anger.
Full disclosure, there isn’t any good science that supports screaming for emotional release, but it’s been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries.
Thanks so much for reading.
— Jonathan