Hi all, this is the third instalment in a series of posts where we will explore the 5 Reiki Precepts and applying them in the modern world. In the first post we illuminated a little on stress and we’ll open that up further here. In the second we reviewed the first precept with a simplistic look at worrying, now let’s look at the angry Hulk.
2. Just for today, I will not be angry.
Stress is healthy when controlled and is kept in balance. Eustress is what gets us out of bed in the morning and makes us pay attention and stay alert to the goings on throughout the day. Distress, on the other hand, causes many of us to be irritable, resentful and sometimes just very angry. This happens when the stress is too much, is no longer a motivator and is often when there are multiple stressors and things just keep piling up.
Each stressor, whether acute or chronic can trigger a cascade of stress hormones that produce well-orchestrated and superfast physiological changes within the body, making the heart pound, breath quicken, muscles tense, etc, also known as the “fight-or-flight” (and also freeze) response because it evolved as a survival mechanism, enabling people and other mammals to react quickly to life-threatening situations. These days we are not faced with being chased up the main street in Lusk by the sabre-toothed tiger or the hangry bear but our limbic system, amygdala and hypothalamus hasn’t caught up with this fact and unfortunately the body can now also overreact to stressors that are not life-threatening, such as traffic jams on the M50, work pressure, and family difficulties.
Once our bodies and consciousness perceive the stressor or stressors through our senses or even in our minds, our amygdala sends a distress signal to the hypothalamus which activates the sympathetic nervous system by sending signals through the autonomic nerves to the adrenal glands, which respond by pumping the hormone epinephrine (also known as adrenaline) into the bloodstream.
Now just think about this for a minute, how many times even in a given day do we personally experience stressors like the ones mentioned, even if we just are thinking about them, the fight with your partner, that ignorant fecker up the road that never responds to your hello, that one that you think is cutting the back of you, that argument you should’ve won, that thing that shouldn’t have happened to you, all the stuff you have to do when you get home, all the things that we mull over in our heads, maybe the constant stinking thinking, the list goes on. Now think about the fact that each time we even think about one of these stressors, our physiology reacts at some level to it…..that’s a lot right? Also consider our intake of substances that often increase stress and anger, such as sugar, caffeine, excess food and nicotine.
Over time, repeated and prolonged activation of the stress response takes a toll on the body contributing to high blood pressure, promoting the formation of artery-clogging deposits and causing brain changes that may contribute to anxiety, depression, and even addiction. Research also suggests that chronic stress may also contribute to obesity, both directly (causing people to eat more) or indirectly (decreasing sleep and exercise).
So, when we are feeling stressed or angry, there can be a lot contributing to it and fuelling it and oftentimes it is because we are chronically overwhelmed. We often keep somewhat of a lid on it which ends up being blown off over something quite innocuous like being cut off by another driver on our way to work and we probably default to anger.
So for today do not anger… of course we have to address the balance through exercise, healthy eating, mindfulness, walks, yoga, pilates, reiki treatments, quality time with family and in nature and doing things that bring us joy and in the moment when we get cut off in traffic, why not just take a deep breath, relax, forgive and let it go. What will you achieve by remaining angry and cutting him off to “get back at him?” nothing. All that you’ll end up with is an elevated heart rate and more stress which is not good for your well-being.
This doesn’t mean to keep anger bottled up inside or to pretend that it isn’t there. But don’t let anger consume you. Use reiki to become more aware of yourself and to change your stinking thinking. Remember that energy flows where intention goes and we attract all of that which we experience in life. If you have experienced an angry situation, avoid thinking through the wounded ego, be subjective and look at yourself as an energetic being and seek what aspect of you has attracted that situation and what could be the learning from it. The anger might not have felt good but regardless how we judge it, it is certainly rich in experience and opportunities to learn. We attract to ourselves that which we are, and what you hold in mind tends to manifest so when you can look at the situation that you react to with anger you can often uncover information about yourself and your expectations.
Something I took from a book I read years ago called Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch about choosing to create a response to something rather than just reacting to it was that “REACTIVE” and “CREATIVE” are the same 8 letters, it just depends on how you “C” it. The soul creates, the mind reacts so become a Creator, rather than Reactor.
“If you want to awaken all of humanity,
then awaken all of yourself
If you want to eliminate the suffering in the world,
then eliminate all that is dark and negative in yourself.
Truly the greatest gift you have to give,
is that of your own transformation”
Lao Tzu
To finish off, if you’re like me and you often get a tune stuck in your head for days……then there’s no better tune to have stuck in there than this one from Bobby McFerrin “Don’t Worry Be Happy”. Click the link and have a listen….you know you want to 😊 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-diB65scQU