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Thoughts About Anger
An affliction of the Mind

*We are not our thoughts. Anger prevents prayer.
To root it out promotes the springing up of God's felt presence; God Consciousness.

• Anger can be entirely rooted out

• Consequences of anger: blindness

• Diminishes insight that springs from honest gaze

• No confidence of right thinking and acting

• Spiritual capacity is diminished

• Starts quarrels and loses esteem of others

• Disqualifies one from spiritual work

• Angry persons cannot discern

• Leads to: depression, madness, universal disharmony

• Goal is purity of heart: thoughts are obstacles to God. To ‘see God’ one must still thoughts: apatheia (later called hysechasm, meaning “at rest with the mind in the heart”)

• Active life is work of the thoughts: positive is practice of virtue

• Negative is letting go of thoughts

• Contemplative life is pure prayer: positive is knowing God by reason

• Negative is apophatic, unknowing, emptiness

• Prayer is lifting up one’s mind to God: expulsion of thoughts

• To move from purgative stages to illuminative stage one’s mind must be pure and clear.

• Mind calm. Anger must be rooted out.

• Discernment of spirits is fruit of clear mind.

• One must not hold on to ‘a little' anger. Anger blinds.

• Anger has a life of its own.

• One can’t rationalize that the size or seriousness of the injustice mitigates this teaching: when angry the soul is inaccessible.

• Practice: patience, non-violent response

• Keep vigilance over heart. Reconcile before the setting of the sun

• Reconciliation—if another has anything against you, must ask for forgiveness for we are one body

• Root out memory of wrongdoing; forget as many times as it takes

• Face anger and stay in relationships

• Entertain no idea that ‘if only’ I lived alone without so-and-so

• Because I only transfer my anger to things…knife, pen, etc.

• Prefer spiritual goals—constant attention

• Recollection: put good thoughts in mind…Scripture, Psalms

• Even during prayer refrain from thoughts about external life

• Practice non-thinking. Return to silence.

• Move toward Purity of Heart: is simply a clear mind without thoughts. In this clear mind charity springs up without effort.

• Practice discernment second stage: sort our sources of thoughts—of God, of self, of the devil.

• Avoid partial truths. See the whole picture.

• Check motivation

• Manifest thoughts (affliction of thought of anger) to a wise elder.

• Sort angry thoughts: nothing big enough, or serious enough, or urgent enough to ‘give-in’ to the thought of anger (no repression)

• Do nothing, especially spiritual practices motivated by rage.

• Friendships are divided by anger. Friends are to will and refuse the same thing. Equal in goodness they renounce thoughts. Both lectio and friendships strengthen the desire to meet God face to face.

The gift of friendship, says Abbot Joseph, can only last among those who are of equal goodness. They must share like-mindedness and common purpose. They never, or hardly ever, disagree, or if they do differ, it is in matters, which concern their progress in the spiritual life. But if they begin to get hot with eager disputes, it is clear that they have not made the three renunciations. For if they have truly renounced their thoughts then they could listen to another’s thoughts without scorn. (Conf. XVI.1–28)

• Frequent quarrels cool love; friends part their hearts, then their shared time and place. This is no surprise since anger fosters the road of adversarial thoughts, desires and passions.

• We have freedom to consent or not to consent to our thoughts: thoughts will come and thoughts will go. Our consent is key. Thoughts can be redirected.

• Must catch thoughts at first inkling of awareness: like a snake’s head, notice when it rises. The thought of anger feeds upon itself.

‘The experience of days, months, and years without anger brightens the eyes, clears the skin, and quickens the walk of the seeker’ (p. 81 Thoughts Matter).

‘Absence of anger enlightens the mind. Can read the books of experience, nature, Scripture, and friends are manifestations of God. An ineffable joy replaces gloom, anxiety and calculating details of life that swing out of control.’

Reverse anger to imitate Christ: role of sacrifice is to lay down one’s life for another. To endure unjust persecution is cost of discipleship.