I'm mad, therefore...I think
Posted January 24th, 2008 by Lisa Rohleder
Lumiel sent me a link to this very, very interesting article:
http://www.livescience.com/health/070611_anger_rational.html
She sent it to me because I keep saying that I think anger is useful, maybe even necessary to doing community acupuncture; that if you're not genuinely mad about the status quo, you run the risk of getting sucked back into it. But I certainly never imagined that there might be a research study that would back me up on that!
And I think it's a really interesting illustration of the Wood Element connection between anger (Liver) and decision-making (Gall Bladder).
Pretty nifty. Thanks, Lumiel.
Re: I'm mad, therefore...I think
i think too that this is what is so inspiring about CAN. CANistas deep down are motivated by love. we see the problem with the health care system. The injustice in lack of access for far too many of us, the cost to those who can "afford" it, how medicine seems to be created around the potential of profitability first(side effects and whether it is even needed or pushing unhealthy lifestyles upon us somewhere much further down the list), and the alienation and separate walls it fosters amongst self/planet/doctor/patient, and we act to change it by creating what it is we do want. it seems to me that much more than "fighting" the system(or maybe fighting by not fighting) we are creating systems of cooperation that work for us on a very practical and personal level. much more likely to succeed and a hell of a lot more fun than trying to fight within the beast i think. first we take Manhattan.........
Re: I'm mad, therefore...I think
i like the balimore ravens article, especially the highlighted text that one can be "fiery" as well as humble at the same time.i think it is actually such a beautiful meshing of qualities that takes so long to refine and is so rare to come across. studying with a particular ayurvedic doctor was my first experience with this exact phenomenon. i was blown away by how truly humble and vulnerable he could be. completely soft, giving, and compassionate to everyone at all times. despite being a complete bad ass, he always could just as easily open up enough to learn from his students. at the same time he spoke a fiery sense of truth that burned through you, broke down any grasp you thought you had on the subject and you just knew he knew, and not just intellectually. but you never felt inferior for this or nervous about sharing your own thoughts/experiences. you could sit completely wrapped up in it with your jaw to the floor and tears in your eyes for hours on end, open and inspired. he can just as easily stand out in a crowd as he can disappear in it. he really taught me how to redefine leadership and "authority" in a new way. he has true authority because he didn't scare it in to you, claim it, grasp for it....or even need it. authority was something to be given and not taken, earned and not horded, and so the structure and way we usually perceive authority is not truly authority, but an interaction based primarily around coercion and fear. a destructive relationship.
i think there is a BIG difference between anger and a fiery truth though. i understand and even sometimes use anger as a tool to action, and it can't be denied that a lot of totally righteous individuals and social movements have used anger as fuel to making change. but i still think it ultimately sells us short of our capabilities. somehow clouds us over.... in a different but still similar way that passivity does. i still cant fully understand or back up why i innately feel this way though. i always have dug the Che quote something along the lines of, "a true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love". maybe this is where the forces of truth come together outside the realm of the anger/non- anger dichotomy?
Re: I'm mad, therefore...I think
From the hiring process of John Harbaugh, new coach of the Ravens:
"When we started that first meeting, Steve (Skip note: Biscotti, the owner of the Ravens) spoke about what he thinks a leader should be. It was a fascinating description. (Steve is about as regular a guy as can be. He’s a jeans-wearing, fun-loving, let’s-have-a-beer and go to the Terps’ game guy. His close friends are his grade school, high school and college buddies, along with those who helped him with the start of his business.) Despite his every-man likeability, there are times when Steve says something that has you thinking: “Oh, I see why Forbes Magazine says he’s worth over a billion and a half.” It’s not an accident, or “lucky,” as Steve says.
Bisciotti said that when he looks for a leader, there are the obvious things, including competence, problem solving, communicator, etc. But, Steve also said great leaders are humble and willing to share their vulnerability with others. He pointed to Ozzie and Dick as two leaders he greatly admired and possessed that something that is really hard to define. In the end, he said, that we would recognize who our head coach should be. That that man would have recognizable skills, but also something tangible that is hard to define. [b]Steve also noted that being fiery and humble are not exclusive – you could have both to be a great leader.[/b]"
Bold is my emphasis.
http://boards.baltimoreravens.com/index.php?automodule=blog&blogid=15&sh...
Re: I'm mad, therefore...I think
I do agree with Lisa that a bit of anger is a necessary ingredient for taking up and sticking with a CAP. This commitment must have the fire of anger warming the waters of compassion. Plenty of BA practitioners have compassion, but where is their fire?
In my experience, while I was very interested in a CA practice and wanted to be more accessable to potential patients, I was having a hard time leaving practice strategies that just won't fit into the time frame of a CAP. I was always trying to find ways to make the CA model fit my practice. Should I book every 20 minutes at a flat rate of thirty dollars? Book every 15 minutes instead of ten? It wasn't until I picked up and read a book called Inequality Matters, edited by Lardner and Smith that I was ready to make my practice fit the CA model. It made me so ANGRY to read the real numbers concerning the inequality of resources and opportunity that is becoming ever more stratified each day. The anger opened my eyes and finally helped me come to grips with a decision I was struggling with for a long time. Anger, eyes, decision...Thank your stars for Wood!! Wood Community Acupuncture...WCA?
Re: I'm mad, therefore...I think
From someone who just bought a third copy of "The Remedy" yesterday (I keep "loaning" out copies.) I don't feel I am tuning into the writings of a madman. Instead, I feel inspired by, and connect with what feels more like a very active form of compassion. But perhaps we are defining our terms differently.
I think there is a mistaken stereotype which equates peacefulness with passivity. However, history debunks this, as some of the greatest proponents of peace in recent history (Gandhi, Martin Luther King, His Holiness the Dalai Lama to name just three, lived - and continue to live in His Holiness' case - extremely active lives with vigorous and principled stands against violence and injustice.
As a former psychology major, I never found any of the conclusions of social psychology more than merely amusing. At a certain point, I realized I was looking for deeper answers, something I could trust on my deathbed and beyond.
The tricky part about anger - from a Buddhist point of view - is whether or not it serves to increase one's delusions. In other words, does it tend to strengthen our belief in a solid, separate, independent ego? We have to look carefully for ourselves here.
For example, do I feel closer to President Bush and Dick Cheney when I jump on the popular urge to criticize them personally (instead of their policies)? Or do I flatly say to myself, I don't care whether they rot in hell? Can we really claim to be true lineage holders of the healing tradition if we say yes to the latter? A more enlightened response, in my mind, would be to work tirelessly towards a just world rather than to participate in the trashing of another individual's basic dignity as a human being.
Buddhism does say it is possible for anger to be an expression of enlightened energy, with compassion and the understanding of interdependence as its base. However, ultimately the anger of a "wrathful Buddha" is directed against the delusions themselves, and not any conventionally existent person.
The danger for a person of lesser wisdom (like me) is that the anger only fuels the delusions - creating more externally existent enemies and fortifying my larger than life Ego, opening the door wide to future suffering. But again, your "anger" doesn't strike me as that kind of anger Lisa.