🔥 The Gift of Anger: Turning Fire Into Fuel for Soul Growth

Introduction to Anger as a Teacher 0:00

Hey friends, I'm your host Dr. Elizabeth Samantha, the intuitive psychiatrist, and you are listening to Stepping into Soul Power today. Today we are going to dive into a topic that if left unchecked can really do some damage. I mean I am talking about some bombs. Really blow up some situations in your life. But the thing is if it's understood, if its embraced, you can actually do something magical. It can be our greatest teacher or at least one of our great teachers and that's anger. I think that a lot of times we put emotions into categories.

There's some emotions that we label as good like joy, love, peace. And then there are other emotions that we're less comfortable with, that get uneasy around. And one of those is anger. Anger gets a bad rap. It does, it does. I think a lot of times when we think about anger, we about it being very destructive. In our society in the United States, or at least where I'm coming from, I talk about my worldview, A lot of times we tend to avoid or suppress, but the truth is anger is important. It is a vital emotion.

You can really get a light on what we care about, what value, and when it is channeled in a way that's healthy, it can move us, propel us. Take us in a direction where we actually grow, where speak our truth. And even if it's directed in the healthy way, it can even point us the direction or move in us direction of love.

What Anger Is and How It Shows Up 2:09

In this episode, we're going to explore what anger really is. What it is trying to tell us? Why it shows up and how it impacts our ability to live in alignment with our soul's purpose. Because let's be real. Let's, let us be honest. Your world really depends on the actions and the thoughts that you take. So why not use that to your advantage and create the world that You truly want to Live in. I'm going to share with you a strategy, some powerful techniques, three powerful that you can use to ride the waves of anger so that can work with this emotion rather than let it work you.

And so if you have found yourself getting pissed off, snapping at people, holding on to silent resentment, really feeling like anger clouds your intuition, makes it tough to really get a sense of what your soul is trying to tell you, this conversation is for you. Let's talk about how to tame that tiger, how it really transform anger into a guide on your souls journey. And so the first question is, all right, okay, what is anger? Are you clear on what that is? And I will speak for me how I define anger.

Really, when anger pops up, it's often rooted in a sense of injustice. When you feel that something in your life has not been fair, or even if there's a boundary that you have, and it has been violated, That's when we can feel anger come to the surface. And the signs that we notice of anger are real. It doesn't just come out with what we say, right? We can know somebody's angry by the words that they use, but the tone of their voice, how they say things can show. Something's boiling underneath there.

Body language speaks. Our bodies are always talking to us. And so when people come, I guess some of the signs of anger might be like a clenched, you know, when things are tensed up, clench jaw, clinched fists, just the narrowing of eyes, the facial expression can show us like, hey, that person's about to go off. And I'll say this, there are different levels to what anger looks like. It can be really mild, just slightly annoyed, a little bit irritated. And then it can go to a place, and some of y'all know what I'm talking about, where you are full-blown, blackout rage.

You are at it. End up doing some things, either really do some damage to relationships, jobs, situations. It can get to that point. And I'll say this a lot of how we react. A lot times we learn how to react based on how we saw others reacting when we were growing up. When we're kids, when you were in the ages of zero to seven, you are a sponge. Yes, so you're soaking up all the things that are around your environment. And so if you grew up in a space, in place around people who had trouble regulating their anger, who went from zero to a thousand in two seconds,

Why Anger Matters for the Soul 6:39

guess how you probably react to anger. I mean, it's probably the same. And so one of the beautiful things about this journey that we have here, our soul's journey, is that, we get the opportunity to really transform our lives, to grow, go from, from being stuck in a particular pattern, but taking power into our own hands, looking into ourselves to get stronger, to change, and really transforming how we use and go through emotions. And the other thing I wanna say is that there can be cultural differences in how anger is expressed, There can also be, you know, differences as far as how anger is expressed when gender comes.

And I'll say this, and I'm just talking as somebody that lives in the United States, I will say the tendency that I've seen is for I think of women in particular, are socialized to be a particular way. And so may not feel as safe and comfortable expressing their anger, just because there are repercussions for being angry as a woman when you live in the United States. Historically, there've been some labels that have been placed on women when they are angry. In the field of psychiatry, for example, you can go back, there's something called hysteria.

Run the tapes, and they would label women with that, she's being hysterical, when she was trying to express a sense of injustice. A lot of times, because of the price to pay, if you are externally, show your anger to other people, a lot times what women will do is they will bring internalize that anger they will instead of putting it out to other people right they're gonna keep it inside they would keep inside suppressed suppressed and the tough thing about that is that you know when when you can't express what is going on within you you end up getting stressed that cortisol, you know, stress hormones going up.

When stress hormone's going out, there can be real physical consequences for this, like high blood pressure, right? People talk about that, high pressure. It's not good. it is not in the long term when intense emotions like anger are directed inward and not expressed and let go. So, sometimes people internalize, they direct their anger onto themselves. The culture that I live in right now in the United States, it's more okay for men to express their angers. In fact, and sometimes it can be framed as, oh, that person is just, you know, really passionate about it.

But I don't want, I'm talking in generalizations, The expression of anger depends on the individual.

Three Steps to Ride the Wave of Anger 10:21

These are just some things to take note and really think about for yourself. Like, where do you fall in this mix? What does anger look like for you? And so the key takeaway, what I want you to takeaway from this is knowing who you are, who are you personally, how you experience and how express anger. Notice what anger looks like and feels like for you. And so now that we've defined anger and how it can show up for, you let's look at why it matters so much on a soul level. So when you think of anger's impact, when it's uncontrolled can mirror us off our past, make things look a little unclear.

It may be harder to see a big picture. I will say that uncontrolled anger can sometimes cloud intuition. it can derail us from acting in a way that's truly in alignment with our soul's purpose and how we want to show up in the world. And so the thing I want you to really look at is When anger shows up, what wound is asking to be tended to when anger arises? What is it? Because a lot of times something is there. And so it's important to embrace anger and reframe it not as something to avoided, but maybe as that is here to teach you something.

It's a signal. A signal that it's pointing to core values or some boundaries that are looking to be attended to. And it can be a fuel, something when it is directed constructively. You keep it real. to tell somebody the truth. It can inspire you to move towards justice and to act in a way that is real and true to you. So if anger is somebody that's here to to speak a truth, tell you a message. How do we move to a place where we're able to not just hear it, but listen to let it tell us like, hey, I'm speaking truth to you without letting it take over.

So here are three, and I'll walk you through three steps you can do to start using this right away. And so there are the three core techniques that I want you to use as far as riding the waves of anger. The first step, the number one step is acceptance and presence. It has to do those two things. And so many times, like these tough emotions like anger, things like sadness, grief, can be things that we try to avoid. We can try and numb it out by taking some substances that have a little drink or taking something that helps us not feel the feeling that is expressing or trying to express itself.

But the first step that need to do is to face it. Anger is asking us to show up and to acknowledge its presence, to knowledge it without suppressing it or acting out in a way that's gonna get us in trouble. And we're powerful, we can do that. So first step, accept it, acknowledge it. It's so you can tell yourself when you're in this space is, hey, anger, I notice you. I notice anger is here and it's feeling a little bit uncomfortable. But I know that you're here to tell me something and I allow you to exist.

And if you are able and willing to do this, to acknowledge it, it is going to move you in a more constructive path. This is so important because What we avoid can cause destruction. I like to tell people that I work with, I say like, okay, what you avoid and you're suppressed, it doesn't go away, goes into the basement of your mind and it starts lifting weights. It starts getting stronger and will show up in different aspects of life until you start addressing it. Avoidance only revs up emotions.

And so you gotta face, face it, acknowledge it. Step two in riding this wave is you got to remember who you are. It's time to check in with and remember, who are you? You are a soul, you're powerful. So what I want you to do is when anger shows up after you've acknowledged it is really be like, hey, okay, Who do I want to be in this moment? Because we all have an idea of the person that we'd like to show up, an ideal. So who is that person? That person has particular values. the value. When anger shows up, there's something that's being threatened.

Usually it's related to justice, respect, safety, love, like those things, right? And then align that with your higher self. Move towards a place where you are really thinking about how the higher version of you would act rather than reacting from a wounded place. So you've acknowledged, you thought about, hey, this is who I want to be in this space. And then step three is really about strategy and grounding. The reason why I like to bring up grounding is that it brings us into the present moment.

Like, it keeps us here, right? And it can be done in different ways, so putting, just really paying attention to your feet. Placing your foot on the ground or placing your hand on your heart could be very grounding. And really starting to pay attention your breath. The way that we breathe can really move us towards a space where we can think more clearly. And one of the ways to do that is through breath work and breathing deeply for a longer period of time. The time that you need to breathe will kind of depend on your situation, right?

What's going on with you medically. But in general, deep breathing, breaths that go deep into the belly can activate the part of your nervous system, the parasympathetic nervous that helps you to relax. You're getting into a relaxed state, and then you're thinking, once you feel a little bit grounded, you are thinking about how that higher version of you would react. And so I wanna do an exercise with you. We're gonna try something. So if it feels safe, go ahead, just gently close your eyes, Soften your gaze and take a slow, deep breath in through your nose.

And then exhale fully through you mouth. Let your shoulders drop. Bring your mind to a situation that recently stirred up anger for you.

Releasing Anger and Closing Reflections 19:30

No judgment. Just notice. And allow yourself to feel the energy of that moment without pushing it away. Then place your hand on your heart and ask yourself, if love were guiding me right here, right now, what would love do in this moment? And maybe love would remind you to speak your truth calmly. Maybe love will invite you set a boundary with kindness. Or maybe would simply tell you, hey, it's okay to rest. recuperate and tend to my own heart. And so take another deep breath in, hold for three, and slowly exhale.

It's so notice how even The smallest shift toward love changes how that moment feels in your body. This is how we can begin to change things. And I will say this, that as souls we are here, we try to grow. We're trying to level up as we go through our journey. And part of that means really integrating anger as something that's going to help our soul grow I want to emphasize that anger is not the enemy. It's a part the human experience. So it's part to the whole self. And I really want you to do a mindset shift, that it's here to tell you something.

It's a signal. But it is not here take over your life and lead to making decisions that were not in your greatest good. And so remember this process. Remember the process of acknowledging first. Number one, acknowledge. Listen, remember who you are, listen for the lesson, and then choose a soul-aligned response. And then the last step that I want you to really think about, it's an important step, is once you've done those things, right? It showed up, you thought about who want to be, learned the lessons, now you're choosing a solo-land response, It's time to release.

It is time let anger go. And you can do this in many ways. For some people, sometimes even just setting the intention to release is all they need to do. Other people releasing something is a little more involved. They may need express it in a different way. Like they may write a poem, they might create art, They might write letter and then tear it up, you know, like, or burn it. So think about what release means for you, but it's a really important step. So bringing all of this together, I'm gonna say that anger is not the enemy.

It is a part of our journey, it's a of part our experience as human beings. it makes this life that we're living has a little flavor. Think of a world without anger, right? But it is vehicle, It can be a vehicle for growth. So remember the process. acknowledge, you know, the feeling, remember who we want to be, listen for the lesson, choose a soul-aligned response and then release. So just to recap, anger, it's a signal about what we value and it tells us about the boundaries. What's okay, what's not okay.

And so remember, acceptance rather than avoidance of anger, remembering to check the, you know, who we want to be in that moment. The power of the soul, the power that we are able to change how we engage with anger rather then react, we can respond with thoughtfulness. And I'll be honest, like those patterns that when we were kids and just kind of learning from the people around us how we're going to interact and express anger, sometimes they can be tough to break. So give yourself, have a little compassion for yourself.

It's a process. May not happen overnight, but every little step that you take is a step in the right direction. You're learning, you're growing. And so redirect that anger into soul aligned action. So the next time your anger shows up, ask yourself, what would is seeking healing? How can I respond in the way that honors love and my soul's purpose? So thank you for listening to Stepping Into Soul Power. I'm Dr. Elizabeth Samanda and I'll see you in next episode. If you haven't heard it yet today, I appreciate you.

The soul in me honors the soul you if you want to see more episodes like this, please subscribe or click here. And friends, if this spoke to you, leave a comment below. We would love to hear from you