How Can Meditation Fight Anger?

Meditation is a wonderful and healing process. By taking the time to distance yourself from the outside world and focus on the spiritual side, you gain the inner peace and confidence. I love meditating and would like to be doing it more often. 

I try to meditate in the mornings or afternoons, whenever the time allows. It cleanses my soul and gives me a right perspective in each situation. It keeps my moods at bay and allows a positivity to take over. I try to be optimistic and have a positive outlook on life; meditation creates a base to sustain these attitudes. 

It is easy to be affected by a rude person you meet on your way and have your positivity fly out of the window. Meditation gives you a distance in a negative situation; it lets you get the right perspective. You have the strength to choose which feeling you are going to allow taking over. Are you going to let a rage dictate your actions, or will you take a step back and let the negativity slide over your skin like water over a duck? It is your choice, that very moment. Allow a rage taking over and you spread the negativity. It is contagious, just like flu. Once you let it inside your mind, you will be itching to let it out. And guess what? You’re going to do it by bursting at the next opportunity – perhaps having a road rage when a senior driver hesitates on the crossroads? This will only create more anguish, as the other person is going to get upset and itching to burst too. A dead circle.

But there’s another way. Take a deep breath and smile at someone’s burst of anger. Don’t give them the satisfaction of upsetting you. They want to hurt somebody, as they have been hurt themselves – and it’s got nothing to do with you in particular. You’re just a convenient victim that happened to be on their way. By smiling and remaining calm, you show them their own reflection. By facing someone calm and happy they see themselves by a stark contrast – with angry eyes, filthy language and crooked face. They have nothing more to do but feel silly and calm down. They don’t want to be the ‘Ugly Kid Joe’ on the block; they want to be liked as any other person. It’s just they’ve been temporarily taken over by the rage, and they don’t know how to control it yet. Smile and show them the way. Maybe next time they will do the same and heal somebody else?