By Rabbi Lazer Brody
Thesis: Anger is a bummer. It does nobody any good; get rid of it and find peace.
Stuff to remember:
- Different levels of anger
- 1 – Overt anger and violent revenge
- 2 – Silent anger and emotional revenge
- 3 – Incessant overt anger, but no revenge.
- 4 – Conventionally polite – calm in public, angry at home
- 5 – Periodically explosive, but trying to do better.
- 6 – Advanced spiritual trainee – no more outward anger
- 7 – Forgives and forgets, no more anger in thought, but hurt when reminded of painful experiences
- 8 – The peacemaker
- 9 – Repays cruelty with kindness
- 10 – Loves God and his fellow human no matter what, and is equally happy at bad times as at good times.
- How can you be happy with the bad as well as the good?
- Remember that the Almighty runs the world.
- Remember that the Almighty has infinite love for all his creatures.
- Remember that the almighty knows what’s best for each.
- If you have higher expectations than realizations, you’ll be angry.
- 12 Self-destructive Damagers of Anger
- Damage to the soul
- Damage to one’s appearance
- Angry people invoke sever judgment against themselves
- Anger shortens health and life span.
- Anger damages your income
- Anger causes sadness.
- Anger causes fear.
- Anger induces stupidity and bad judgment.
- Society dislikes angry people.
- Anger clouds truth.
- Anger causes amnesia
- Anger locks the door to spiritual gain.
- Spiritual awareness
- Understanding that the creation of the universe and all of its inhabitants, from the great galaxies to the one-celled ameba, wasn’t a random, inexplicable event. The Almighty created the world for a purpose, and continues to sustain all that He created.
- Understanding that each individual creation has a unique purpose.
- Understanding that you have a soul within you, a divine spark of the Almighty, which elevates you above all the other creations.
- Understanding that God controls the universe and all its inhabitants, but grants you the freedom to do good or evil.
- Understanding that God talks to you personally by way of the stimuli in your environment and the events of your life.
- Understand that you have a very special mission in this world.
- One week plan
- Sunday – Don’t act according to instinct. Stop, compose yourself, and think before you act or speak.
- Monday – Use your mind in a active mode, not a passive mode.
- Tuesday – Decide you’ll be happy today no matter what.
- Wednesday – Observe the world around you, for each stimulus in our lives is a message from Heaven. Contemplate God to the best of your ability.
- Thursday – Try to perform good deeds.
- Friday – Abstain from mind-influencing substances.
- Saturday – Talk to God.
- You know you have improved your spiritual awareness if:
- You are courageous, calm, and have inner security.
- Happiness.
- Improved physical and mental health.
- Peace, both internal and external, the opposite of anger.
- Soul over body priorities.
- Giving over receiving priorities.
- Efficiency
- When I begin to realize I know nothing.
- Avoid self induced suffering by:
- Observation,
- Self evaluation, and
- Implementation
- 12 Causes of Self-Induced Suffering
- Hurting another’s feelings
- Negligence in performing a good deed
- Negligence in developing one’s spiritual self
- Wrongdoing
- Sadness and ingratitude
- Lack of trust in God
- Flattery
- Arrogance
- Verbally abusing one’s fellow man
- Setting a trap for others
- Buffoonery
- Taking pleasure in another person’s sorrow
- Anger makes you a tyrant
- Anger based on superficial or circumstantial evidence
- Denying a person the benefit of the doubt, and therefore considering him guilty before he has a chance to prove otherwise.
- Failing to consider a fact that could overturn a verdict.
- Judgments based on stereotypes or preconceptions.
- Projecting our own weakness, insecurity, and character flaws on others, arriving at mistaken conclusions accordingly.
- Be at peace with yourself
- Look for your good points; try to find your particularly special attributes and cultivate them.
- Divide your weaknesses into two categories: those you can control and those you can’t. Do what you can to improve those you can control.
- The weaknesses out of your control are your blessings – they help you make spiritual growth and channel you to your purpose in life. Resenting those weaknesses destroys your inner peace and keeps you away from the truth.
- Judge yourself fairly
- Never look back
- Stop torturing yourself
- Be constructive
- No guilt!
- Utilize your talents for the benefit of society
- Don’t e angry or disappointed when you fail. Never despair. Make a new start.
- Only doers fail
- Failure teaches, and usually triggers a stronger effort
- Failure brings us closer to God
- Experience is life’s best teacher
- Small-scale failure assures large-scale success
- Live your own life! Don’t live according to society’s expectations of you; in other words, don’t play the world’s game. Play your own game. Avoid competing with others and concentrate on competing with yourself.
- Don’t blame yourself for your setbacks. Conversely, don’t take credit for your successes. Just do the best you can with the tools you have.
- Understand your very special mission on earth. Try your best to understand why God created you the way He did.
- Understand that your soul is timeless. You will affect the world long after you’re gone.