what we don’t engage we cannot transform
Below are a few quotes from Robert Augustus Masters. He does a good job with shadow work. All those parts of ourselves we want to pretend are not there. His work in large part speaks to how dangerous it is to not be cognizant of these parts of ourselves.
first:
Real spiritual opening is not some cleancut or antiseptic undertaking, but rather an inherently messy undertaking, as intense, unpredictable, and alive as birth, eventually necessitating full-blooded entry into everything we are, including what we dislike about ourselves. The dirt cannot be avoided, and nor should it necessarily be. In fact, it needs to be appreciated and known without gloves or a cement overlay, or else it won’t become fitting soil for our emergence.
and
Do not be so misled by endarkened feeling that you asylum it. If you keep shuttering its rooms, keep sealing it off, keep rejecting or otherwise disowning it, such feeling will become even more desperate and badly behaved, seeking your attention in whatever way it can, however destructive or painful. But reach into that subterranean cell, that limping darkness, that emotional ghetto, and reach in wholeheartedly, and what is in there will eventually start reaching out to you unfisted and vulnerably atremble, fitting into your embrace, revealing itself to be not a problematic it, but rather only reclaimed you.
and perhaps most importantly for this post:
Though aggression might seem to be an inevitable outcome of anger, it actually is an avoidance of anger and the hurt and vulnerability that are part of it. Viewing anger as aggression or as the cause of aggression provides us with an excuse to classify it as a “lower” or “primitive” emotion. Yes, anger does have a primitive side — shared with every mammal — but it’s far more than just a primitive arising, despite the fact that our use of it is often far from civilized.
All above quote by: Robert Augustus Masters
The collection:
Mindfully taming anger
The alchemy of anger
On anger…
the necessity of honoring ours and others rage
Quote of the day ~ anger
Fascinating video on the nature of anger and thought
Dealing with anger
Thich Nhat Hanh on transforming anger (as applicable to the activist)
Spirituality and Politics (activism) — what we don’t embrace we cannot transform
Quote of the day — Anger
Anger — long quotes from Sally Clay and Ghandi
And some more related:
Healing through the dark emotions
Making the Unconscious Conscious: Embracing the Dark Night of the Soul
How to be in the darkness
the PRACTICE of embracing what is… (anger too)
Meditation, not all bliss and roses — A very common misunderstanding about meditation that can lead to discouragement is that it’s supposed to be all bliss and roses. That is simply not the case on the ground, so to speak. Sometimes meditation is about being with the dark and ugly and anxious and angry parts of our being too.
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