From Righteous Anger to the Soul’s Flowering
Working in the clinic as I do each week, I notice that there are patterns in what people come in with. Things tend to come in waves that make it clear we are all being influenced by more than we know. Recently, I have frequently been using a set of acupoints that, among other things, treat “righteous anger.” Are you feeling it?
We are all trying to digest and metabolize an unbelievable level of needless suffering that our current government is perpetrating on both its human and other than human citizens. On the emotional level, this is like being force fed rocks instead of nourishing food. An emotional digestive system designed to run on love, caring and kindness cannot transform and digest a daily rock avalanche of fear, shock, and grief indefinitely without breaking down.
The undigested emotional rocks pile up and overwhelm our emotional digestive system. At some point, we experience the pile up as anger. In this instance, it is righteous anger.
The upward and outward movement of Spring that pushes the sap up from the roots, unfurls leaves, pushes babies into the world, and carries creative ideas into being arises through the Wood phase energy. This is the creative force that births all Life into being and carries the emotion of Hope. There is nothing that can stop the movement of Spring. If we tried, pressure would build up and Spring would bust through anyway. In people, if the movement of Spring/Wood is stifled and we can’t connect with Hope, pressure builds up and it becomes stress, anger, and frustration.
The classical texts that describe how these energies work together to give rise to Creation offer a helpful lens for us to understand what is happening to us collectively. These texts describe how the human body reflects the larger movements of Heaven and Earth, including the Five Phases and seasonal cycles. It is Spring here in the northern hemisphere until the end of April. All the up and out energy of Spring in Nature moves through us as well, energizing us, and urging us forward to full expression in our lives.
When it is healthy, Spring/Wood energy gives us the capacity to assess circumstances, make a plan, and have the vision and energy to see it through. It also is responsible for the capacity to make good decisions for ourselves and our communities based on what is “just and exact.” When our leaders lack capacity for good decisions that support all Life on this planet, anger is not only natural, but also appropriate.
Here is where the righteous anger comes from. What our government is doing is neither just nor exact. And we all know it and feel powerless to make it right.
The good news is that the Spring/Wood will transform into Summer/Fire energy around May 1st and bring relief to the righteous anger. The bad news is that Summer/Fire brings heat and passion that when healthy brings the hope and promise of spring into full flowering and expression. Unfortunately, any lingering righteous anger will get hotter and more passionate in the Summer/Fire Phase. That is not a good mix. At best it will be an uncomfortable internal environment for us individually. I hope I am wrong, but I am not expecting a relaxing summer here in the U.S.
Our collective society is made up of individuals. We may not be able to do much about what others are doing and saying, but we can endeavor to process our own righteous anger so that it doesn’t get hotter come summer.
When we transform ourselves, that transformation ripples outward into every interaction and invites others into their own transformations. This is the understanding behind the monks’ “Walk For Peace.” The collective is changed one consciousness at a time and that ripples out.
The main thing that helps stuck Spring/Wood is movement and action. This includes literally moving the body, writing your Congress member, hosting a potluck, showing up at a protest, or planting a garden for others to enjoy. Anything that is creative, kind and life affirming. (I’ll put a couple of pieces I have written in the past about working with the power of spring/wood energy in the notes below.)
For me, the action that helps keep my righteous anger from piling up is to support people in navigating these chaotic times without losing connection to their soul’s mission. We all incarnated at this time for a reason, and we all have soul gifts to contribute. The Earth and our communities need us to live at the fullest possible expression of our soul’s mission within the circumstances of this time. The “Emergence Seasonal Retreat Series,” beginning with Beltane, May 2nd, is my next offering to help people maintain connection with their soul’s mission and be less overwhelmed amid the Great Unraveling. We will take a day to cleanse, purify and heal the emotions caught in our bodies and kindle the Joy and fertility of the Fire phase so the heat and passion of summer can grow our most creative, true impulses into full flower, as it is meant to be.
The Emergence Seasonal Retreats will be held near the cross-quarter days. These are the mid-way points between the solstices and equinoxes and mark the thresholds of the seasons. The first, on May 2nd, is Beltane. Beltane is the threshold between spring and summer from the Celtic tradition. Beltane was a time for cleansing and celebration ensure abundant fertility of land, livestock, and people. No matter where your ancestors are from, there would have been similar rituals woven into their wheel of the year. When we answer the Earth’s invitation to join her in celebrating the arrival of Summer, something in our deep bone memory is awakened and we experience an embodied connection to the great cosmic movements that give rise to all of life. If you feel this stirring in your heart, please reach out for details.
Notes:
Spring, The Wood Phase Bursting into Life https://www.camdenacupuncture.me/blog/spring-the-wood-phase-bursting-into-life
Radical Hope: The Transformative Power of Spring/Wood Energy https://www.camdenacupuncture.me/blog/radical-hope-the-transformative-power-of-springwood-energy