Sunday, February 12, 2023

Meditation Sunday: Holding on to Anger

Stevie Wonder: "That Girl"  

That girl, indeed.

As much as Sam Harris' lack of empathy drives me bonkers, he has been very helpful to Anne and me regarding meditation. 

One point he has made many times is that it takes effort to stay angry - emotion will dissipate if we step back and look at it. 

I have not found that to be true. The last time I was really angry, I did both walking and sitting meditation. I very specifically looked at the anger, and I knew it was irrational to be angry. None of this helped. 

It certainly seems that is also true for Sam. After his podcast with Ezra Klein, Sam ranted angrily about Ezra for at least a year (I lost track after a while). 

In a similar vein: for much of 2021, as discussed in Losing My Religions, I recognized and understood that I was depressed. The patterns of mind, the doom loops of thought - the physical sense of heaviness - I could observe all of those. But doing so didn't help me become not depressed.

There is little doubt that if I was a more adept and thoughtful meditator, I would be able to release anger and maybe even depression (?). (Working on it!) But it is clear to me that it doesn't take effort to stay angry.

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