Emotions: Choose Well

Anger of Spirit, Part 2

Mind-Based and Experience-Based Anger

Anger that is our spirit's response to our own self-talk and/or mental images is based in our mind. Mind-based anger arises, for example, when we form an opinion that another person's actions somehow wronged us. Often we form such opinions too quickly, making assumptions with inadequate information.

Anger that is experienced-based is our spirit's response to our in-the-world interactions with others that somehow threaten our life. For example, someone does us wrong for no apparent reason and our spirit responds with anger in order to protect ourselves and affirm the value of our life as well as the life of the offender.

Life-Denying and Life Affirming Anger

Generally speaking mind-based anger is life-denying. It is life-denying because it is our spirit's response to our own self-talk and mental images. However, it is inappropriately directed outwardly at a living being, place, thing, or event. It is incongruent. The frequent result is harm to both ourself and the other toward  whom we directed our anger.

Anger that is experienced-based tends to be life-affirming because it is our spirit's response to a genuine threat to and devaluing of our life. It is our natural way of defending ourselves because we value our life and that of others. It communicates clearly to the offender, "No! My life (spirit) is far too valuable for you to do that! And yours is far too valuable for me to allow you wrong me!" It inspires us to take appropriate protective action to end the threat.  

Anger is a healthy, appropriate emotion when it is experience-based and life-affirming.

Anger of Spirit, Part 1

How Anger Feels

We often feel anger as heat and tension in our chest. The heat can rise into our throat, face, eyes, and entire head. It can flush our face and eyes red with blood and heat. Our head can fill to the point of an aneurism with the heat of rage that rises from our heart. From our throat it might sound forth as a growl, yell, or wild, blood curdling scream.

Like other emotions, anger is a matter of that which makes us alive, our spirit. As such it is primarily a matter of thumology rather than psychology. 

Anger Defined

Anger is one of our spirit's responses to being wronged, mistreated, threatened, injured, or nearly killed.

When the well-being of our spirit is violated we do well to respond with anger. We do well to feel, express, and act on it. When we do, we defend and protect ourselves. When we suppress or internalize it, we misdirect it toward ourselves and do ourselves harm. 

From Low to High Intensity

Anger can range from low to high intensity. For example, our anger can range from feeling mildly annoyed all the way up to insanely enraged,

Acute and Chronic Anger

Acute anger can come on in a flash, for example, in response to an insult. It can dissipate as quickly with the reception of a genuine apology.

Chronic anger, bitterness, can smolder for months, years, and even a life-time.

Part 2 will explore mind-based and experience-based anger as well as life-denying and life-affirming anger.

Emotions: Up-stirrings of Our Spirit

Etymology of Emotion

To understand our emotions it can be helpful to explore the etymology of the word:

Our word "emotion" comes from Old French emouvoir "stir up" which comes from Latin emovere "move out, remove, agitate." Emovere is the sum of ex- "out" + movere "to move." 

The image of emotion is of something being stirred up and moving outward rather than inward, upward, downward or any other direction. 

The first recorded use of "emotion" to refer to a strong inner feeling was in the 1650s. It was used to refer to any inner feeling by 1808..

In other words, "emotion" originally referred  to external movements and stirrings and was applied metaphorically to the inner up stirrings we now call our emotions. Its metaphorical use is relatively recent and modern.

What is Stirred Up and Moves Outward?

So, what exactly is moved and stirred up when we feel emotions?

Is it our mind that is stirred up? I don't think so. What gets stirred up in our mind is our thoughts. 

Is it our body that is stirred up? I don't think so because we can experience the up stirring we call emotions and remain motionless. 

I think it's our spirit, that which makes us alive. Our spirit is stirred up, moved, or agitated and moves from within us outward to be expressed in our words and physical movements.    

Stimuli of Our Spirit

What stirs up our spirit? I suggest that our spirit responds to stimuli that either affirm or deny it. 

Stimuli that affirm our spirit support and sustain our spirit, our aliveness. We welcome such stimuli and call such stirrings joy, happiness, gratitude, excitement, fear, guilt, and sorrow. When we feel such stirrings we feel more alive, more spirited.

Stimuli that deny our spirit suppress and threaten our spirit, our aliveness. We resist such stimuli and call such stirrings fear, anger, sadness, guilt, loneliness, and despair. When we feel such stirrings we feel less alive, less spirited.

So, in my view our emotions are less about our minds and psychology and more about our spirits and thumology.