BellaOnline Forums Religion and Spirituality Buddhism Working with Difficult Emotions - anger, greed...

I agree that it's a matter of keeping one's inner and outer equaniminity. I have been working on the extreme couponing thing lately and it could be soooo easy to get frustrated and snarky with some of the cashiers. But it's just a matter of keeping one's inner cool, being friendly and understanding, and having no charge behind such scary words as, "can we talk to your manager?"

I am very proud that I have been able to do this - be nice and accomodating yet firm. It's a matter of being committed to interacting that way - i think being grumpy just comes too readily when one feels resistance.

That is a fantastic example Jill - you hit an issue and you speak up, and you do it in a way that's gentle and understanding!

Hi all, since this article resonated with a lot of people, this week I did an article on Buddhaghosa's three personality types, which correspond to the three 'shadows' or 'poisons' of greed, anger and ignorance. He wrote in the 5th century, and recommended specific meditation techniques for each type of person...very interesting...

Lisa, what a great article!!! I can see that I am the greed/faith type! I was just envying a friend's iPad recently. And then feeling very disappointed that it's not in my budget, and probably won't be for a very long time. So I focused on what I do have, and things I am grateful for. For one, at least I have a computer!!!

But I like that idea of meditating on impermanence. That seems to be a big one for me!! I do get caught up in needing things to make me feel better. Sometimes life is just so stressful, that a new book or purse solves ALL my problems (at least for a little while LOL).

At least I know this about myself now, but I still have difficulty with helping to ease that feeling without making a purchase.

Lisa- that is a great article- thank you for posting that!

Deanna - do you have any substitutes that are not purchase oriented? Like a hot bath or favorite movie?

Glad you liked it Deanna. I love this approach because it emphasizes that different spiritual practices resonate with each of us - that's a very individual process. For a long time, working with anger was my biggest issue, although anyone who knew me casually would probably never have seen this, it was deep-seated. So the teachings on handling that really resonated with me. Now things have shifted, and I'm working on other fronts. I think greed is a tough one for all of us, especially in this consumeristic culture...

I want to thank you all for validating my own beliefs regarding anger. In short, I have buried my anger for over 60 years, and after recent explosive events in my life this year, I have finally released it. Not all, but it's no longer being buried and denied. I have been exploding over the smallest things, but only verbally in my home, and not to hurt anyone. It's finally coming out - getting rid of the poison! All the years that I buried my anger and hurt, and 'turned the other cheek' and lived in emotional denial (always being nice!) I caused this negative energy to bring illness and disease to my body and torment to my mind. I've had psychiatrists telling me how unhealthy it is to bury anger and not let it out in some safe way, but I was so conditioned to hide my feelings that I found this impossible - until this year, when my world fell apart in a different way. It was like a volcano erupting. I can testify that denying anger can really make your body very sick - and your mind and emotions too. Peace!

I absolutely agree!

You can be the most peaceful, nice, polite individual out there, but if it isn't genuine and truthfully, it's kind of hard to feel perfect 100% of the time to be accomodating to everything, it takes a toll.

It can come up, just like that saying "dis-ease." I know it probably sounds like such a cliche, but I've witnessed and experience the effects of emotional "poison."

Once you're free, it shows on the inside and the out, making you even look quite younger than you really are

Thanks Elleise. I must go and look at your Clairvoyance forum. it sounds interesting. Best wishes.

Onealone - thanks so much for sharing, and good luck with your process. I so agree with Elleise that this shift in approach can really change everything for the better, on the level of mind, body and spirit.